Tulwar scabbard

[Pukka Bundook]

I'm here again for some help!

I'm working on the scabbard for the "Good news/bad news Tulwar"
This Tulwar is from N/W india, and has an Afghan scabbard.

And here's what I find;
The middle fitting on the original broken scabbard fits on with the decorative side on the "wrong" side, .....In other words, it Looks at first glance to be made for a left-hander.
The wood has a clean patch, where the fitting sat, so there's no doubt it was put on this way

Now then!......... What I Do Not understand, is the middle fitting Only matches the "imprint" on the wood, when it is fitted UPside down.
In other words, when the carrying ring is on the lower side, (To-wards the cutting edge)

Also, the middle mount is worn, where the ring passes through it, on this same 'wrong end'

It looks awfully like the scabbard was made, to carry the sword with the 'sharp-side UP.

Question:- Has anyone seen an Afghan scabbard made to carry a sword this way????

Thank you for any help! it is wonderful to have a resource like this!

Richard.

[Rick]

Originally Posted by Pukka Bundook

I'm here again for some help!

I'm working on the scabbard for the "Good news/bad news Tulwar"
This Tulwar is from N/W india, and has an Afghan scabbard.

And here's what I find;
The middle fitting on the original broken scabbard fits on with the decorative side on the "wrong" side, .....In other words, it Looks at first glance to be made for a left-hander.
The wood has a clean patch, where the fitting sat, so there's no doubt it was put on this way

Now then!......... What I Do Not understand, is the middle fitting Only matches the "imprint" on the wood, when it is fitted UPside down.
In other words, when the carrying ring is on the lower side, (To-wards the cutting edge)

Also, the middle mount is worn, where the ring passes through it, on this same 'wrong end'

It looks awfully like the scabbard was made, to carry the sword with the 'sharp-side UP.

Question:- Has anyone seen an Afghan scabbard made to carry a sword this way????

Thank you for any help! it is wonderful to have a resource like this!

Richard.

Quite possibly ........

http://www.vikingsword.com/vb/showth...ighlight=afgan

[Jens Nordlunde]

Richard,

The way the middle fitting is shown on your picture, the ring is on the inside of the curve, and this is the way it would have been. To draw a sword with a tulwar hilt, with a hand guard, would not be easy if the rings are on the outside of the curve. Other swords can be seen with the rings either way, but they have different hilts. The tulwar was worn carried in the hand, stuck into the belt, carried attached to the belt with straps and rings or worn over the shoulder in a string. Btw your sword can be Afghan, but it can be north/northwest Indian as well.

The example Rick shows could also be a variant, but these swords have only one ring, and yours must have had two.


Jens

[Pukka Bundook]

Thank you for the link, Rick.

Jens,
I know on the photo's of this scabbard show the ring in the usual place, but the middle fitting was slack as the scabbard is broken at that point.
When I removed the fitting, the "Imprint" on the wood only matches with the fitting when the fitting is put on the other way up.
When the fitting is in the usual position,(As seen in the photos) the imprint and fitting don't align.

Best wishes,
R

[Jens Nordlunde]

Richard,
What if you turn the fitting upside down and turn it? It could be, that the seller just put it on the scabbard, not thinking on how it should be.
Jens

[Pukka Bundook]

Jens,
If I turn the fitting upside down and turn it, the decorative side won't be where the 'imprint' is. I can see we might bog down on this one, as it is hard to describe what I mean!
Below are added some pictures.

The first picture shows the middle fitting with the decorative side facing us.
The "imprint" on the wood, shows that the decorative side was always On this side. As can be seen, this would appear to make the scabbard left-handed.

#2, shows decoration and imprint aligned, but this means that the ring is on the cutting side of blade.

#3, shows that with the ring in the usual position, (on the inside of the curve) the decoration does not line up quite with the 'imprint.

#4, shows the 'imprint on this side of the scabbard.

#5 shows the mount removed from decoration, it appears to have never been apart before, but notice, the ring is on the narrower side of the mount, as though it was indeed made to fit on the 'outsid' of the curve, ie, ring nearest the cutting edge.

This struck me as a bit interesting, but if no-one has seen one mounted in this manner, I'll just mount it in the conventional way.

Sorry this sounds a bit confusing!!

Richard.