Tulwar?

[Atlantia]

LOL, bloody hell Michael! Wish I could accidentally spend nearly $500 on a sword and be so calm about it!
As for the sword itself, I think its actually nicer than the one you wanted

Wouldn't worry too much about the missing handle parts, it looks like the hilt is carved so it wouldn't be too much of a problem to contact some of the websites in India selling newly made weapons and get a bespoke replacement.
Worth the effort as its only going to be a fraction of what the sword's already cost you, and you can use the handle to match the design perfectly.

Nice sword btw, wonder what the steel will be?

Regards
Gene

[Emanuel]

Monitor was dark, didn't realize the handle was carved. Makes it even nicer.
Forum member Sandeep Singh is a koftgari artist if I'm not mistaken. Perhaps he can facilitate a replacement.

Do you have additional pictures?

[KuKulzA28]

I've no doubt Sandeep Singh could do a great job on it.
He's got my recommendation.

Excuse a novice's question, but what exactly sets a tulwar apart from a tegha? This sword's blade seems pretty broad, like a tegha's, and doesn't taper to as thin a point at the end... does it have to do with the handle?

[Jens Nordlunde]

Michael, do you have close ups of the tulwar hilt and the place where the disc was?

If it looks like an old remove of the disc I would leave it as it is. You sometimes see hilts like this, but not very often. Tirri shows one, and I have heard of two others taken near the Khyber pass, after the last British cavalry attack around 1930.

[Michael Blalock]

I don't have it yet. I will post when I do.

[Emanuel]

KuKulZa, a tegha blade is often as wide as the guard, almost reaching the finials of the quillons.
There is no rule for this, it's more to do with the general proportions of the thing, blade width to hilt proportions. Rule of thumb I use - tulwar blades are narrower than the disk pommel, while tegha blades are wider than the disk.

Compare below, tegha from OA.

[sandeepsingh]

Nice Tegha

Thanks Emanuel and KuKulzA28 for the recommodation !

Sandeep

[Michael Blalock]

I took some photos of this Tulwar. My camera is only working in wide angle mode so the focus is poor in close-ups.
The hilt not really that nice, cast brass with a cast or cut in pattern. Is this a european blade. I have seen the stamped makers mark elsewhere. It looks like a bee or fly to me. Maybe on this site as some time.
I think I can see a pattern in the steel but I am not sure, though the pictures don't show as much as the naked eye. If it's european there this would not be wootz? I tried some nitric acid, which did not seem to bring any more out. Do I have to polish the steel to see the pattern better? Should I use the 3M wet/dry paper? Sand with oil, or dry sand?

I assume the hilt is set in pitch and if I heat it up the blade should pull out?