An Afghan/North Indian Pulouar

Tatyana Dianova · 31st August 2007, 06:58 PM

I’ve got this nice Pulouar from one of the Forum community members. It is quite interesting sword. It has long, thick and heavy Wootz blade, which is differentially hardened (please notice the dark area on the picture). The upper part of the blade with inscriptions (closer to the handle) is forged from the plain steel. The handle seems to be added later to the blade, because part of the inscriptions is hidden by the cross guard. I would like to hear the comments about age and origin of the sword, also help with the Arabic (Farsi?) inscriptions will be much appreciated.

Battara · 31st August 2007, 08:08 PM

Actually it looks like the whole blade is wootz - just needs a little polish and etching.

Very nice piece. I'll wait for the others.

Tatyana Dianova · 31st August 2007, 09:07 PM

Well, it was polished already with 600 and 1000 grid sanding paper, and I do not want to polish it more. Otherwise too much steel should be removed because of the shallow pitting. I have etched the blade several times at home (it was a very difficult piece), that's why I am 100% sure, that the steel near the handle is not Wootz, and that it is differentially hardened

ALEX · 1st September 2007, 05:07 AM

I tend to agree with Battara. It is possible that the heat/fire was used while removing/replacing the hilt, resulting in wootz pattern loss or modification (especially if non-wootz area appears close to the hilt). Moreover, in welded blades the joining point would be closer to the center of the blade (is it correct?).
Also, are there any blades which are edge-hardened and welded at the same time? I've heard of one or another, but never of both.
Interesting and nice sword. Both blade and hilt look like of Indian origin to me.
Would be interesting to hear from subject matter experts like Rick, Ariel and others.

tom hyle · 1st September 2007, 04:30 PM

I've seen welds in the center and at the blade base. European blades often (not always by any means) have a weld in the tang.

31st August 2007, 06:58 PM	#1
Tatyana Dianova Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 689	An Afghan/North Indian Pulouar I’ve got this nice Pulouar from one of the Forum community members. It is quite interesting sword. It has long, thick and heavy Wootz blade, which is differentially hardened (please notice the dark area on the picture). The upper part of the blade with inscriptions (closer to the handle) is forged from the plain steel. The handle seems to be added later to the blade, because part of the inscriptions is hidden by the cross guard. I would like to hear the comments about age and origin of the sword, also help with the Arabic (Farsi?) inscriptions will be much appreciated. Attached Images

1st September 2007, 05:07 AM	#4
ALEX Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 936	I tend to agree with Battara. It is possible that the heat/fire was used while removing/replacing the hilt, resulting in wootz pattern loss or modification (especially if non-wootz area appears close to the hilt). Moreover, in welded blades the joining point would be closer to the center of the blade (is it correct?). Also, are there any blades which are edge-hardened and welded at the same time? I've heard of one or another, but never of both. Interesting and nice sword. Both blade and hilt look like of Indian origin to me. Would be interesting to hear from subject matter experts like Rick, Ariel and others. Last edited by ALEX; 1st September 2007 at 05:26 AM.

31st August 2007, 08:08 PM	#2
Battara EAAF Staff Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Louisville, KY Posts: 7,189	Actually it looks like the whole blade is wootz - just needs a little polish and etching. Very nice piece. I'll wait for the others.

31st August 2007, 09:07 PM	#3
Tatyana Dianova Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 689	Well, it was polished already with 600 and 1000 grid sanding paper, and I do not want to polish it more. Otherwise too much steel should be removed because of the shallow pitting. I have etched the blade several times at home (it was a very difficult piece), that's why I am 100% sure, that the steel near the handle is not Wootz, and that it is differentially hardened

1st September 2007, 04:30 PM	#5
tom hyle Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Houston, TX, USA Posts: 1,254	I've seen welds in the center and at the blade base. European blades often (not always by any means) have a weld in the tang.