My first Tulwar

[katana]

Usually, though not always, a blade decorated on one side only.... is usually 'ceremonial'. It is a nice Tulwar, I like it , congrats Fernando

I would have thought that a coverted wootz blade would never be 'heavily engraved' with designs ....or are they

[fernando]

Thanks a lot David, for both congrats and info.
I'll bear that in mind.

I would have thought that a coverted wootz blade would never be 'heavily engraved' with designs ....or are they

This one is for the experts.

[Jim McDougall]

You are welcome Fernando, it is an interesting tulwar and it is enjoyable to discuss its possibilities. I am really glad to see Jens come in on this. He's handled more tulwars than anyone I know, so his suggestion of more into the 19th century is probably correct. It is very difficult to really estimate age on these and it is unclear whether slight variations suggest different period or regional preference and I am not aware of the chronological progression of hilt elements. I was not aware that the quillons angled downward suggested an earlier example but it is an interesting concept.

As David has noted, the motif on the face of the blade does seem to suggest a ceremonial or parade weapon. It may have been carried blade upright, face forward with the motif displayed. If this was the case, it would be interesting to know if there was particular symbolism in the motif, what sort of flower would that be?....Jens what do you think?

Best regards,
Jim

[Jens Nordlunde]

Fernando, don’t be disappointed about my dating. Dating Indian weapons is at the best a vague guess in most cases, and even blades with a date inscribed can’t always be trusted, so Ariel and Jim’s guess may be right due to the decoration and the wear. You don’t see this decoration on a blade often, so a bit of research should give you a good idea of from where in India it comes. It is interesting that the blade is only decorated on one side, but it happens now and again, probably due to cost saving I would think.

Katana, 'heavely engraved' blades can be made of wootz, but this is seldom, besides, 'if' the blade is 'only' engraved on one side due to cost saving, the blade would not be made of wootz, as this would have made the blade more expensive, but there can also have been other reasons for it being decorated on one side.
Jim/Katana, this could be a cermonial tulwar, although I am not convinsed. Tell me another thing, could/would some of the cermonial weapons have been used in war?

[katana]

Thanks for the info Jens ....I am surprised that some wootz blades are 'heavily engraved' for several reasons....the main one being that I would imagine due to wootz's 'granular construction' of harder and softer steels it would make chiseling more difficult and less predictable as the steel's hardness is not 'uniform'.

Hi Jim ,
I do agree that the motifs would probably provide a good indication as to whether it's ceremonial. It has occured to me that perhaps the design being 'one sided' is not ceremonial afterall.

In my 'mind's eye' I see the possibillity that a type of 'sword salute' displaying the engraved side could show personal or 'clan' loyalty or have religious, talismatic or cultural meaning , either directed at the enemy or your own fellow warriors/commanders

Hi Fernando ,
how does the Tulwar 'feel' ....do you think that the balance etc, would make this a good functional sword. Is the blade edged where the decorated part of the blade is ?

Regards David

[CourseEight]

Hi --

I thought I'd link to a sword on Oriental Arms that is relavent to the "Chiseled Wootz" discussion:

http://www.oriental-arms.co.il/item.php?id=1926

Not exactly a Tulwar but might be of interest. Of course, plenty not wootz too:

http://www.oriental-arms.co.il/item.php?id=1331

That's all I've got! Very nice sword, regardless.

--Radleigh

[fernando]

Hi Jim, thanks for your support.
I was also influenced by Ariel's assessment that the slanted quillons would mean an earlier specimen. I wish he would come back here to tell us more about this.
I understand that basically the decoration on one only side of the blade signifies that such swords are made for parade purposes, but the decoding of this specific motif could drive us to a different explanation, in a way as David sugests.
One thing is certain, in both cases, this one is right handed

Hi Jens, i see what you mean.
A decorated sword doesn't necessarily limit its use to ceremonies ... they may as well go into action.
I have already started some research on the decoration, but my resources are very limited and also my knowledge is not backgrounded enough to direct my search in an objective way. Nevertheless i am trying, despite my blindness on the subject.

Hi David, about the "seriousness" of this piece.
It feels well balanced, as far as i can tell when i hold it with my ( only ) left hand ... i don't have the same perception as when i had my dexterous one
It has functional characteristics, with a sharp bibevel (?) all along the cutting edge, except for the 5,5 cms.( over 2" ) ricasso.
Its thickness is 5,5 m/m ( 0,21" ) at the forte ... wouldn't pure parade blades be thinner?!
Its total length is 80 cms. ( 31 1/2" ) from the tip to the pommel button ... this to say that the point of balance is found aprox. 51 cms. ( 20" ) away from the tip.
The width being 38 m/m ( 1 1/2" ) at the forte widens 3 m/m at the curved section befores tapering towards the tip.
Its wight is 973 grams ( 2,16 pounds. ), which i would find 'too heavy' for a parade piece?!
Back to its feel and as a curiosity, i am posting pictures handing the sword. As the grip is rather short, i thaught i would hold it with the forefinger in front of the quillon, using the ricasso functionality. To have it pictured by both sides, i had to borrow my wife's right hand. She said she was busy, but i managed to convince her .

Kind regards to all
fernando