Indian axe?

kronckew · 25th April 2016, 08:04 PM

picked this one up for the starting price, only bidder. maybe because it IS a stage axe. i seem to recall similar axes from the tribal areas of NE india, but cannot find them online. only info is the pics, and a indication it's threee feet long, and the weight at 1.3 kilos. thought it might be worth a punt...

anyone recognise where it might have come from, other than the prop room?
needs a bit of oxide removal & oiling.

thanks for any info &/or comments.. for good or ill...

mahratt · 25th April 2016, 08:38 PM

My opinion - this is not the old thing. In addition, I can not remember such items with a "star". Although I will be glad if someone will show authentic old Indian ax, buyout will look like this

Jim McDougall · 25th April 2016, 08:49 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by mahratt

My opinion - this is not the old thing. In addition, I can not remember such items with a "star". Although I will be glad if someone will show authentic old Indian ax, buyout will look like this

I totally agree, the 'battle axe' was primarily out of the picture as a combat weapon quite early relative to most of the array of other arms used in India. They did however become popular in bearing and ceremonial or court context. That being the case, in my opinion these often well embellished arms seem intended to impress, and in this case even a bit over done to almost 'theatrical' proportions.

kronckew · 25th April 2016, 10:57 PM

reminds me of this one i found with google: described as an 1800 model bulova axe...

mahratt · 26th April 2016, 04:42 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by kronckew

reminds me of this one i found with google: described as an 1800 model bulova axe...

Something tells me that this is not a description of the collection of the Ethnographic Museum or the Museum of arms and armor

Oh yeah. This is an advertisement for the sale)))) I would not always trust what they write sellers wishing to sell an item ....

kronckew · 26th April 2016, 06:17 AM

ah, well. i can stick it in my OOPs corner.

or re-sell it.

Timo Nieminen · 28th April 2016, 11:09 PM

To echo a lot of the above comment: modern.

When they not advertised as "Medieval axe" or "Mid-evil axe", they often called "star farsha". If you want to look for more examples, "star farsha axe" might be the best search term.

kronckew · 29th April 2016, 12:21 AM

interesting. that is definitely a copy of this axe. mine does not appear to be stainless steel, so assuming they copied something to come up with the star farsha stainless axe, this could be an earlier model that they copied. or did they copy an earlier real weapon?

ariel · 29th April 2016, 01:05 AM

Somewhere I have a book called "Axes of Power" ( do not recall the name of the author).
According to it, the definitive sign of a fighting axe is the wedge head. Flat ones are always decorative.

Ian · 29th April 2016, 02:02 PM

Ariel, are you referring to Axes of War and Power by James Gamble (2002)? I think that book is out of print now.

Ian.

Quote:

Originally Posted by ariel

Somewhere I have a book called "Axes of Power" ( do not recall the name of the author).
According to it, the definitive sign of a fighting axe is the wedge head. Flat ones are always decorative.

ariel · 30th April 2016, 02:05 PM

Yup, that's the one. My wife rearranged my books, and I have to spend hours trying to find one...
They used to be in such easily understandable disarray... :-(((

broadaxe · 30th April 2016, 11:27 PM

It is a modern axe from India, the 'star' one and the 'sickle' one were advertised in pairs (sometimes described as 'Mongolian battle axes'), usually at the end pages of various magazines of the 1990's. Blades were highly polished carbon steel.

kronckew · 1st May 2016, 09:51 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by ariel

Somewhere I have a book called "Axes of Power" ( do not recall the name of the author).
According to it, the definitive sign of a fighting axe is the wedge head. Flat ones are always decorative.

it arrived sat. p.m., oddly enough the head tapers in thickness from the back edge & the tangs to the front. the crescent is welded to the two tangs, still it is a match for those modern replica star farshas. the star reinforces the tangs. the welds sadly counteract that by weakening the blade/tang junction as they are not overlapped, likely arc welded. otherwise heavily built. will clean it a bit, oil it and proudly display it in the closet. would make a better weapon of i cut the axe part off at the eye, leaving the spikes & spear point which are substantially built.

25th April 2016, 08:04 PM	#1
kronckew Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Room 101, Glos. UK Posts: 4,150	Indian axe? picked this one up for the starting price, only bidder. maybe because it IS a stage axe. i seem to recall similar axes from the tribal areas of NE india, but cannot find them online. only info is the pics, and a indication it's threee feet long, and the weight at 1.3 kilos. thought it might be worth a punt... anyone recognise where it might have come from, other than the prop room? needs a bit of oxide removal & oiling. thanks for any info &/or comments.. for good or ill... Attached Images

25th April 2016, 10:57 PM	#4
kronckew Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Room 101, Glos. UK Posts: 4,150	reminds me of this one i found with google: described as an 1800 model bulova axe... Attached Images

25th April 2016, 08:38 PM	#2
mahratt Member Join Date: Nov 2009 Location: Russia Posts: 1,042	My opinion - this is not the old thing. In addition, I can not remember such items with a "star". Although I will be glad if someone will show authentic old Indian ax, buyout will look like this

26th April 2016, 06:17 AM	#6
kronckew Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Room 101, Glos. UK Posts: 4,150	ah, well. i can stick it in my OOPs corner. or re-sell it.

28th April 2016, 11:09 PM	#7
Timo Nieminen Member Join Date: Mar 2012 Posts: 422	To echo a lot of the above comment: modern. When they not advertised as "Medieval axe" or "Mid-evil axe", they often called "star farsha". If you want to look for more examples, "star farsha axe" might be the best search term.

29th April 2016, 12:21 AM	#8
kronckew Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Room 101, Glos. UK Posts: 4,150	interesting. that is definitely a copy of this axe. mine does not appear to be stainless steel, so assuming they copied something to come up with the star farsha stainless axe, this could be an earlier model that they copied. or did they copy an earlier real weapon?

29th April 2016, 01:05 AM	#9
ariel Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Ann Arbor, MI Posts: 5,503	Somewhere I have a book called "Axes of Power" ( do not recall the name of the author). According to it, the definitive sign of a fighting axe is the wedge head. Flat ones are always decorative.

30th April 2016, 02:05 PM	#11
ariel Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Ann Arbor, MI Posts: 5,503	Yup, that's the one. My wife rearranged my books, and I have to spend hours trying to find one... They used to be in such easily understandable disarray... :-(((

30th April 2016, 11:27 PM	#12
broadaxe Member Join Date: Nov 2008 Posts: 332	It is a modern axe from India, the 'star' one and the 'sickle' one were advertised in pairs (sometimes described as 'Mongolian battle axes'), usually at the end pages of various magazines of the 1990's. Blades were highly polished carbon steel.