Thibetan sword hilt wanted

dennee · 21st June 2007, 11:36 PM

It strikes me that a Bhutanese hilt alone is not somethign that someone would keep around---except perhaps for one of the cast pommels. Reduced to their consituents parts, they are a wood core, some kind of wrap (wire or shagreen), and the pommel---nothing very valuable to the Bhutanese for reuse except for the pommel, especially considering that, if it came apart, it was likely broken in some fashion. I corresponded with someone recently who has a Bhutanese sword whose hilt comes off (and goes back on--evidence of a lack of a through tang?), but it's still associated with the rest of the weapon.

If you can't find a pommel in Bhutan (!), it's possible that you could find a cast pommel from a dealer, perhaps someone like Robert Hales in London. The wood core could be fabricated, and the simplest wrap would probably be to glue a piece of rayskin on. Finally, if you don't find one of the finer, cast pommels, you could probably have one fabricated out of thin sheet metal, as some pommels were essentially plain caps.

21st June 2007, 11:36 PM	#6
dennee Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: College Park, MD Posts: 186	It strikes me that a Bhutanese hilt alone is not somethign that someone would keep around---except perhaps for one of the cast pommels. Reduced to their consituents parts, they are a wood core, some kind of wrap (wire or shagreen), and the pommel---nothing very valuable to the Bhutanese for reuse except for the pommel, especially considering that, if it came apart, it was likely broken in some fashion. I corresponded with someone recently who has a Bhutanese sword whose hilt comes off (and goes back on--evidence of a lack of a through tang?), but it's still associated with the rest of the weapon. If you can't find a pommel in Bhutan (!), it's possible that you could find a cast pommel from a dealer, perhaps someone like Robert Hales in London. The wood core could be fabricated, and the simplest wrap would probably be to glue a piece of rayskin on. Finally, if you don't find one of the finer, cast pommels, you could probably have one fabricated out of thin sheet metal, as some pommels were essentially plain caps.