Riyadh's old Bazaar

S.Al-Anizi · 21st January 2007, 12:15 AM

I had learned alot from this old man. First, that not all wootz is great as it sounds, some biyaadh (lit. 'whiteness', non-wootz blades) such as Wilhelm Clauberg blades, which he calls "Abu Askiri" (lit. Bearer of the Soldier), exceed in quality some zaraag (lit. blueness), wootz blades. He also generalises, that Indian wootz, is much better than persian wootz, even the famed assadollah blades, which he has many of. He actually offered me a persian wootz, slender kilic blade, with a very nice curve and yelman, very nice pattern, and old Syrian fittings, for $1200, when he wouldnt sell a clauberg blade for less than $1500. He also is under the impression that clauberg blades are 'Anglais', not German. I also learned from him, that he puts 90% of the price, on the blade itself, the fittings and their material being only a trifle, and the the blade and its quality is the most important thing. I also asked him about the provenance of the many arab karabellas that I saw in the souk, and in his shop, he told me that these were mainly produced in Najran, but also at San'aa. While handling that purple tulwar, it occured to me to ask him why he thinks they have smaller hilts, he replied by saying that the Indians have smaller hands than us. Terminology, he helped me with that too, swords with persian blades that have an extreme curve, are called 'hilali' (crescent shaped), swords with straight blades, are called 'gurda' (is that a hungarian word?), and swords, not falling into these categories, are called saif. Of course, to a person not knowledged in swords, every sword is a saif. Newly uncovered facts, not listed in Elgoods book

I also asked about the issue of polish, and that most blades coming out of arabia are buffed. He told me that he does not use a buffing wheel, rather, he uses special polishing stones, sandpaper, oil, and alot of elbow grease for polishing blades. He says, unfortunately, most people like to go the easy way, not willing to pay for a good polish job, and take their old, valuable blades to a blacksmith, who would buff them for a very cheap price. When I asked what he recommends for polishing wootz, he says that people used a a special kind of sand, mixed with spices, called 'narmahan', which, when rubbed against the blade, would bring out the pattern, without causing any oxidisation.

When it comes to Jambiyas, he told me that in Oman, two centres where the main ones in producing them, one was Muscat, the other, being the settlement at the Buraimi oasis, which included a large number of bladesmiths and metalworkers. The finest silver and goldwork being the 'Ibri (arabic for hebrew), nothing comes close.

Finally, I asked him about the many new, and not-so-old swords coming out of Saudi Arabia, usually having silver fittings and a nice blade, like the ones eftihis and I own, of which I say MANY at the souk. He told me that a large factory at Ta'if, produces those in huge quantities, mass produced, but hand assembled of course. He told me that the older ones, like 10 years ago or more, were of very good quality, having forged blades (spring steel) , heat treated, and bone, or sometimes even ivory hilts, depending on the blade (if it were new or old). Maria Theresa Thalers were used to make the silver fittings. The newer ones, however, are of display quality. Having machine milled, stock removal blades, plastic hilt slabs, and silver mixed with nickel. They have two uses, either for display, or for sword dances. They however, are still way better than the stuff coming out of Syria, still having steel blades.

FenrisWolf · 22nd January 2007, 01:29 PM

Quote:

Originally Posted by S.Al-Anizi

I had learned alot from this old man. First, that not all wootz is great as it sounds, some biyaadh (lit. 'whiteness', non-wootz blades) such as Wilhelm Clauberg blades, which he calls "Abu Askiri" (lit. Bearer of the Soldier), exceed in quality some zaraag (lit. blueness), wootz blades. He also generalises, that Indian wootz, is much better than persian wootz, even the famed assadollah blades, which he has many of.

This opinion doesn't surprise me. Some time back when I was surfing the web I came across a dissertation by a couple of PH.D metallurgists about the origins of wootz steel (and I wish I'd saved that link!) that explained much of why the Indian wootz would be prized.

My memory is a bit rusty, so bear with me while I try and remember the particulars. It seems that at the time of wootz's first appearance, India was the center for the mining and smelting of iron ore as well as producing billets of steel. The ore deposits that were the source for wootx steel had natural impurities in the ore that produced the patterned blades.

In addition to being the source of Indian wootz, India actually provided the steel used by early Middle Eastern smiths to make their blades. Billets of steel travelled on the Silk Road from India to the Middle East. It was later on, when the deposits in the original mines petered out or changed that the smiths had to experiment to create their own patterned wootz steel, but it was never quite the same as the originals from India. I believe that the reason the Indian blades continued to do well was that, being close to the source, the Indian metalsmiths had a better chance of duplicating the impurities after the ore changed.

Anyway, that's what I remembered when you mentioned your source's preferences for Indian over Persian wootz. I will hunt for that article, but it's been so many years I don't know if I'll be able to track it down.

Fenris

21st January 2007, 12:15 AM	#1
S.Al-Anizi Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Location: Arabia Posts: 278	I had learned alot from this old man. First, that not all wootz is great as it sounds, some biyaadh (lit. 'whiteness', non-wootz blades) such as Wilhelm Clauberg blades, which he calls "Abu Askiri" (lit. Bearer of the Soldier), exceed in quality some zaraag (lit. blueness), wootz blades. He also generalises, that Indian wootz, is much better than persian wootz, even the famed assadollah blades, which he has many of. He actually offered me a persian wootz, slender kilic blade, with a very nice curve and yelman, very nice pattern, and old Syrian fittings, for $1200, when he wouldnt sell a clauberg blade for less than $1500. He also is under the impression that clauberg blades are 'Anglais', not German. I also learned from him, that he puts 90% of the price, on the blade itself, the fittings and their material being only a trifle, and the the blade and its quality is the most important thing. I also asked him about the provenance of the many arab karabellas that I saw in the souk, and in his shop, he told me that these were mainly produced in Najran, but also at San'aa. While handling that purple tulwar, it occured to me to ask him why he thinks they have smaller hilts, he replied by saying that the Indians have smaller hands than us. Terminology, he helped me with that too, swords with persian blades that have an extreme curve, are called 'hilali' (crescent shaped), swords with straight blades, are called 'gurda' (is that a hungarian word?), and swords, not falling into these categories, are called saif. Of course, to a person not knowledged in swords, every sword is a saif. Newly uncovered facts, not listed in Elgoods book I also asked about the issue of polish, and that most blades coming out of arabia are buffed. He told me that he does not use a buffing wheel, rather, he uses special polishing stones, sandpaper, oil, and alot of elbow grease for polishing blades. He says, unfortunately, most people like to go the easy way, not willing to pay for a good polish job, and take their old, valuable blades to a blacksmith, who would buff them for a very cheap price. When I asked what he recommends for polishing wootz, he says that people used a a special kind of sand, mixed with spices, called 'narmahan', which, when rubbed against the blade, would bring out the pattern, without causing any oxidisation. When it comes to Jambiyas, he told me that in Oman, two centres where the main ones in producing them, one was Muscat, the other, being the settlement at the Buraimi oasis, which included a large number of bladesmiths and metalworkers. The finest silver and goldwork being the 'Ibri (arabic for hebrew), nothing comes close. Finally, I asked him about the many new, and not-so-old swords coming out of Saudi Arabia, usually having silver fittings and a nice blade, like the ones eftihis and I own, of which I say MANY at the souk. He told me that a large factory at Ta'if, produces those in huge quantities, mass produced, but hand assembled of course. He told me that the older ones, like 10 years ago or more, were of very good quality, having forged blades (spring steel) , heat treated, and bone, or sometimes even ivory hilts, depending on the blade (if it were new or old). Maria Theresa Thalers were used to make the silver fittings. The newer ones, however, are of display quality. Having machine milled, stock removal blades, plastic hilt slabs, and silver mixed with nickel. They have two uses, either for display, or for sword dances. They however, are still way better than the stuff coming out of Syria, still having steel blades. Last edited by S.Al-Anizi; 21st January 2007 at 11:58 PM.