Chakram for discussion

DaveA · 21st March 2013, 09:38 PM

I've been working hard all day and my brain is now mushy. That means it is time to go out on a limb or too. Feel free to saw it off behind me

I will hazard a guess on the age of this item. Although it might be newer, it is likely early to mid 1800's. After the Sikh wars and mutiny of 1857, the British ordered many of their weapons destroyed and used for scrap metal. Chakram are hard to find so we can surmise that there has not been a thriving trade for them since that time. That's just probability talking.

It is also worth considering that it might not be a Sikh weapon (although that is most likely). Sikhs are not the only ones who used Chakram. Others have used torus type weapons:
— Aboriginal and other tribes of Central India
— the people of the Andaman islands
— the Mongol cavalry
— also reportedly found in Tibet and the Indonesian Archipelago.

Very nice item in any event. Writing as both a Frisbee aficionado and one who appreciates the finer aspects of aerodynamics engineering, the chakram is a marvel and has always been one of my favorites.

Best,

Dave A.

RonHen · 21st March 2013, 10:00 PM

Dave,

Going off of other examples I have seen, I was putting the age somewhere around when you suggested, but as you know dating such items can be problematic.

Having been unable to find a concrete link between the marking and Sikhism yet, I will do some reseach in other areas. You have given some great examples to explore. There seems to be very little info and on these weapons, it will take some digging.

Ron

21st March 2013, 09:38 PM	#1
DaveA Member Join Date: Apr 2007 Location: Wisconsin, USA Posts: 416	Chakrum I've been working hard all day and my brain is now mushy. That means it is time to go out on a limb or too. Feel free to saw it off behind me I will hazard a guess on the age of this item. Although it might be newer, it is likely early to mid 1800's. After the Sikh wars and mutiny of 1857, the British ordered many of their weapons destroyed and used for scrap metal. Chakram are hard to find so we can surmise that there has not been a thriving trade for them since that time. That's just probability talking. It is also worth considering that it might not be a Sikh weapon (although that is most likely). Sikhs are not the only ones who used Chakram. Others have used torus type weapons: — Aboriginal and other tribes of Central India — the people of the Andaman islands — the Mongol cavalry — also reportedly found in Tibet and the Indonesian Archipelago. Very nice item in any event. Writing as both a Frisbee aficionado and one who appreciates the finer aspects of aerodynamics engineering, the chakram is a marvel and has always been one of my favorites. Best, Dave A.

21st March 2013, 10:00 PM	#2
RonHen Member Join Date: May 2011 Posts: 12	Dave, Going off of other examples I have seen, I was putting the age somewhere around when you suggested, but as you know dating such items can be problematic. Having been unable to find a concrete link between the marking and Sikhism yet, I will do some reseach in other areas. You have given some great examples to explore. There seems to be very little info and on these weapons, it will take some digging. Ron