My first Tulwar-Disappointment

[VivatHussar]

Hallo to all the members of this forum, after already being a silent reader for a longer time i finally decided to participate in a more active manner.
I´m a guy from Germany(so sorry for potential grammar mistakes), having Polish roots it didn´t took me too long to come up with an appropriate avatar

So, what´s the story.....?
Recently i purchased by auction an tulwar that was supposed to be my first item of the planed collection. The pix looked not too bad, so the 85 Euro seemed to be an acceptable prize.

But when it arrived i was quite disappointed, of course i didn´t expect an masterpiece of forging art, but at least a munition grade exemplar with a functional blade for cutting tests.
But from my impression this seems to be a el cheapo tourist wallhanger, even as of an older date.
The blade is made in a quite crude way, with visible forging and grinding marks. It´s quite flimsy(just bout 3-4 mm at the base), plain and has just an hint of a cutting edge, European 19th century sabers are "sharper" then this. The are no visible maker marks. The hilt is also quite crude and made of very thin metal, but seems to me more genuine then the blade.

As that is my first contact to the world of Indian arms, i have trouble to come to a decisive conclusion. Is this a fake wallhanger blade with a possible old hilt or are basic Indian tulwars often made in in such an plain way, as dull as it is i doubt it its a functional fighting weapon at all
I would appreciate i you give me some advise, there are dozens of old European blades at home but eastern blades is a completely new topic to me.

[Dom]

Originally Posted by VivatHussar

Recently i purchased by auction an tulwar that was supposed to be my first item of the planed collection. The pix looked not too bad, so the 85 Euro seemed to be an acceptable prize.

But when it arrived i was quite disappointed, of course i didn´t expect an masterpiece of forging art, but at least a munition grade exemplar with a functional blade for cutting tests.
But from my impression this seems to be a el cheapo tourist wallhanger, even as of an older date.
The blade is made in a quite crude way, with visible forging and grinding marks. It´s quite flimsy(just bout 3-4 mm at the base), plain and has just an hint of a cutting edge, European 19th century sabers are "sharper" then this. The are no visible maker marks. The hilt is also quite crude and made of very thin metal, but seems to me more genuine then the blade.

As that is my first contact to the world of Indian arms, i have trouble to come to a decisive conclusion. Is this a fake wallhanger blade with a possible old hilt or are basic Indian tulwars often made in in such an plain way, as dull as it is i doubt it its a functional fighting weapon at all
I would appreciate i you give me some advise, there are dozens of old European blades at home but eastern blades is a completely new topic to me.

Wecome "VivatHussar"
I'm not sure that it's a replica
you are correct, when you estimate that it's not a first quality
but it's not a reason, for that your "tulwar" been a fake
just a rough production 20th C.
I think that, for the price you paid, you didn't been too much screwed
don't expect to found on all blades, a blacksmith's mark, specially on "tulwar"
if I may provide you with an advice; watch and read as far as much you can
don't forget the fonction "pictures, or images" from "Google"

à +

Dom

[Stan S.]

This is not a fake. Making fakes of such a basic tulwar does not pay as the materials used will cost more than thhe sword itself. This is a type of a munition grade tulwar from teh turn of teh 19th-20th centuries but most likely made not for the military service (those usually have a crudely cut and shallow fuller on both sides of the blade) but by a blacksmith in some village. The blade is simple. So is the hilt, which appears to be missing a tip of a langet and secured with a bent piece of heavy wire or a large nail rather than a rivet. However, this looks like a fully functional sword. 85 Euro may or may not have been too high of a price to pay for it. Personally, I think that the hammer marks give this piece a nice character and it shows good and honest use. I like it!

[Henk]

Completely agree with Dom and Stan.

An honest but simple tulwar.