Indian tulwar, again

[Tatyana Dianova]

Here is a tulwar which has caught my eyes because of its nice silver Koftgari. But after some cleaning and etching it appears that it has also a nice pattern welded blade. Is this type of Damascus common for tulwars? Any ideas about age (it seems to me that it comes from 19 ct…)

[rand]

Hey Tatyana,

Not all laminated blades made were meant to be etched, they were made for function. Yours appears to be one of the blades made for function. Most European swords are made with laminated blades also and polished bright at time of use.

About 25 years ago the damascus craze started with collectors and Sellers. Pattern welded modern blades were getting huge prices and cost often deermind by the inch. Some over zealous Sellers ecthed laminated blades and called it damasacus steel to inflate value. You see this still happening today.

Your sabre is genuine and from the time of use, the hilt is in excellent condition, the blade was made to absorb shock and not break.

There were many levels of Quality in damascus steel. AT the top of the heap the high contrast wootz blades with a sought after pattern( rose, kirk nar diban, Mohameds ladder, forty steps, double rung, zig zag ladder, oval pattern, etc....). to different grades of wootz (Khora Khorassan, Khorassan, maidens hair, qum,etc....) to pattern welds( core twist, star pattern, strainght laminate, etc...) to laminated blades meant to be polished bright.

There are always exceptions to the rule... the rating is for Islamic arms in general.

Nice tulwar.... I believe that translates to "par excellence"

rand

[Lew]

Hi Tatyana

Very nice tulwar the blade has a very nice random pattern in the blade. The silver koftgari is still in great shape. Here is a pic of a hilt that has similar work. As far as age goes I say early to mid 1800s.


Lew

[ariel]

Dear Tatiana,
You should be grounded and not allowed to set foot in any antique store: you get all the nice things!!!
Very nice tulwar with a very nice pattern.
I am just curious: the adhesive ( the brown stuff holding the blade) looks unexpectedly intact and even overflowing. Is it real Indian stuff or a modern dyed aquarium putty?

[Tatyana Dianova]

Thank you all for the comments!
Well, I have found it in the largest antique store in the world that most of you (or maybe even all of you) visit - eBay
The Koftgari on the other side of the hilt is not so good preserved, as well, as the brown glue... In fact, when the tulwar arrived, almost the half of the Koftgari visible now was hidden beneath very old dirt and patina - the steel patina and the silver patina were both almost black, but have had a different colour (a bit). I have rubbed the hilt with Flitz and have "discovered" a lot of well preserved Koftgari. Dear LOUIEBLADES, I recommend you to make the same with your hilt.
The sword itself was made for business - you can feel it the same moment you take it in your hand. The blade has a solid presence and is extremely well balanced.
I think you are right about etching, but I will leave it as it is in the moment, because I like it the way it is

[Jens Nordlunde]

Tatyana, nice to see you here. You have gotten yourself a nice tulwar, but you know this already, from the posts, and from your own knowledge, as you are not someone who lets ‘all the steam’ off at one time, which is a good idea, as it attracts more posts – and maybe more information’s.

I have a hilt decorated in almost the same way, it is however slim and diamond shaped without a hand guard. The decoration on you hilt is nicely done, and I like the decoration on the inside of the hand guard. I have one or two decorated in the same way. Interesting flower on the disc. Personally I would not do anything more about the blade, as I like these blades a lot, although Rand has a point, not all blades were meant to be etched, but then again, we don’t know where the Indians draw the line, so to say. Very nice photographs. Congratulations.