European blades in India

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

Originally Posted by ariel

Ibrahim,

You are correct 100%. But Angria's snide remark is the only known reference to the "inferiority" of European blades. In fact, they were the object of awe and desire among the locals and there were multitudes of them on Indian weapons to the point of creation of specific classes such as "firangi" and "alemani". North Sumatran Piso Podang ( heavily influenced by Indians) got its name from the Portugese espadao. European officers bought Indian and Persian blades because of their wootz-y beauty but the natives hunted for European blades because of their quality.

Angria was just snarking out his "sour grapes" :-)

Salaams Ariel... History is full of odd remarks and India by its very size must be teeming with them... Well noted on the Piso Podang. It rather underlines the importance of India as an Ethnographic hub and clearly it is a candidate to be treated in its own right as an Ethnographic Region. The difficulty I suppose is that many other countries weapons are reflected in and by Indian styles.
Regards,
Ibrahiim al Balooshi.