"Arabian" sword with strange handle. Opinions?

ariel · 5th November 2009, 07:32 PM

Just ended.
http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...=STRK:MEWAX:IT

I was so inrtigued by the handle that I even considered bidding on it. Only harsh economic reality and Jim's gentle psychotherapy ( Thanks, Jim!!!) prevented me from sniping it to the bitter end:-)

Still, I am a bit curious. Is this handle just a "theatrical" one from 1980s or thereabouts, or is it real. The only similar (whole cast, brass, no lower langets) pattern I found in the book about Cossack Sabers, it was local Ukrainian manufacture of 17-18th centuries, but the decoration was very different: leaves and grape clusters on the Ukrainian, geometric here.
Whoever has a brilliant idea, please stand up and blurt it out.
There are no wrong answers, because we have no idea what is the right one.
As psychologists say, I need a closure.

Atlantia · 5th November 2009, 08:02 PM

Looks like mid 20th century souvenier/tourist stuff thats been roughly sharpened and treated like carp.
Really can't understand why its achieved such a price. Blade looks like a rough piece of shaped steel plate. Look at the thickness at the hilt. Pictures 9-10 show close-ups of the balde and what seem to be the remains of semi-circular grinder marks rusted in.
I guess I'm in a minority though, as it made the kind of money that would buy a fairly good weapon, so others think its 'legit'.

ariel · 5th November 2009, 09:17 PM

Forget the blade: it is 24 carat junk.
I am intrigued purely by the handle.

G. McCormack · 5th November 2009, 10:59 PM

I'd vote movie-prop.

Atlantia · 6th November 2009, 09:02 AM

hmm, the bronze handle looks like it was silvered.

5th November 2009, 07:32 PM	#1
ariel Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Ann Arbor, MI Posts: 5,503	"Arabian" sword with strange handle. Opinions? Just ended. http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll...=STRK:MEWAX:IT I was so inrtigued by the handle that I even considered bidding on it. Only harsh economic reality and Jim's gentle psychotherapy ( Thanks, Jim!!!) prevented me from sniping it to the bitter end:-) Still, I am a bit curious. Is this handle just a "theatrical" one from 1980s or thereabouts, or is it real. The only similar (whole cast, brass, no lower langets) pattern I found in the book about Cossack Sabers, it was local Ukrainian manufacture of 17-18th centuries, but the decoration was very different: leaves and grape clusters on the Ukrainian, geometric here. Whoever has a brilliant idea, please stand up and blurt it out. There are no wrong answers, because we have no idea what is the right one. As psychologists say, I need a closure.

5th November 2009, 08:02 PM	#2
Atlantia Member Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: The Sharp end Posts: 2,928	Looks like mid 20th century souvenier/tourist stuff thats been roughly sharpened and treated like carp. Really can't understand why its achieved such a price. Blade looks like a rough piece of shaped steel plate. Look at the thickness at the hilt. Pictures 9-10 show close-ups of the balde and what seem to be the remains of semi-circular grinder marks rusted in. I guess I'm in a minority though, as it made the kind of money that would buy a fairly good weapon, so others think its 'legit'.

5th November 2009, 09:17 PM	#3
ariel Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Ann Arbor, MI Posts: 5,503	Forget the blade: it is 24 carat junk. I am intrigued purely by the handle.

5th November 2009, 10:59 PM	#4
G. McCormack Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Tallahassee, FL Posts: 131	I'd vote movie-prop.

6th November 2009, 09:02 AM	#5
Atlantia Member Join Date: Jun 2008 Location: The Sharp end Posts: 2,928	hmm, the bronze handle looks like it was silvered.