Hi Pukka,
First you must remember that the word tulwar/talwar is used when describing many types of swords in general. Some say a tulwar with an Indian blade or a tulwar with a shamshir blade, but when the hilt is a tulwar hilt, it is a tulwar.
Secondly you should know, that the same sword often was called differently in the different parts of India, like the sosun patta, which in Hyderabad/Deccan was called a sailaba – or maybe it was even called by both names, who knows.
Thirdly, the Indians had many different names for weapons, which only differed little, names unknown to us to day, but maybe still known to someone in India.
So if the authors definition is correct, many of the ‘tulwars’ should be named halab, but I don’t understand what he means, by writing that the hilt mostly is of russet iron – I doubt that he means rusty
.
Jens