tulwar or talwar

Jens Nordlunde · 13th June 2005, 02:11 PM

Hi Henk, I did not expect you to tell the price, but if you could convince you wife that it was cheap, it must have been quite a barging

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A farangi is described in two ways, either as a sword with a foreign blade and a khanda hilt, or like an (Indian) sword with a foreign blade – I think it should be understood that the sword has a khanda hilt, although it is not said, just like you see it on the pictures in Stone and other places. The word farangi has a broad meaning, but when it comes to the sword Henk shows I would prefer to call it a tulwar hilted sword with a straight foreign blade. In this way everyone will have an idea of what it looks like, even if they have not seen it. If you on the other hand call it a farangi everyone will think of a sword with a khanda hilt. Maybe you should also have a look in Tirri’s book page 331 figure 251, and while we are at it, what about the tulwar hilted maces, the hit would have been more like chopping than draw and cut, but maybe the hilt was bigger when they had a mace in the other end, rather than a blade.

The sword is unusual/interesting in more than one way. To see a rapier blade with a tulwar hilt is most unusual, when you to this add that where foreign blades were mostly used, most of the hilts had a hand guard, but this one does not. I also find the ‘bulb’ on the grip unusual, almost like the one in Tirri’s book page 328 figure 249C (the second from left), although the one on Henk’s sword is a bit more pointed. All this means that it could have come from within a very big area, as some things point in one direction, other in another direction. The fact that the spike has been sawn off is a puzzle to me, although I doubt that it can have been very long, not on such a hilt, it is likely to have been rather short and pointed.

13th June 2005, 02:11 PM	#31
Jens Nordlunde Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Europe Posts: 2,718	Hi Henk, I did not expect you to tell the price, but if you could convince you wife that it was cheap, it must have been quite a barging. A farangi is described in two ways, either as a sword with a foreign blade and a khanda hilt, or like an (Indian) sword with a foreign blade – I think it should be understood that the sword has a khanda hilt, although it is not said, just like you see it on the pictures in Stone and other places. The word farangi has a broad meaning, but when it comes to the sword Henk shows I would prefer to call it a tulwar hilted sword with a straight foreign blade. In this way everyone will have an idea of what it looks like, even if they have not seen it. If you on the other hand call it a farangi everyone will think of a sword with a khanda hilt. Maybe you should also have a look in Tirri’s book page 331 figure 251, and while we are at it, what about the tulwar hilted maces, the hit would have been more like chopping than draw and cut, but maybe the hilt was bigger when they had a mace in the other end, rather than a blade. The sword is unusual/interesting in more than one way. To see a rapier blade with a tulwar hilt is most unusual, when you to this add that where foreign blades were mostly used, most of the hilts had a hand guard, but this one does not. I also find the ‘bulb’ on the grip unusual, almost like the one in Tirri’s book page 328 figure 249C (the second from left), although the one on Henk’s sword is a bit more pointed. All this means that it could have come from within a very big area, as some things point in one direction, other in another direction. The fact that the spike has been sawn off is a puzzle to me, although I doubt that it can have been very long, not on such a hilt, it is likely to have been rather short and pointed.