Question about integral bolsters

ariel · 17th February 2016, 03:55 AM

I have a yataghan looking like Bulgarian karakulak, with Sarajevo-like "nuclear" decorations on the handle and integral bolster, dated 1838 ( NOT Islamic date!)

I think we may be talking about parallel development. If bladesmiths had a common idea of a blade, what prevented them to have a common idea of an integral bolster?

Emanuel · 17th February 2016, 03:19 PM

I think if we looked we would find that most all yataghan blades,and most other swords are heat treated in this manner. There is no reason to harden the tang/blade transition area.

The karakulak underscores my point.
Basically ALL Balkan yataghan don't have integral bolster.
Karakulak and Ionian yataghan ALL HAVE integral bolster. These things were contemporary in the same geographic area.

The cutler/swordsmith separation brings more questions to mind.
We have early knives in Istanbul and Italy with integral bolster.
Then we have short sword yataghan in the Balkans without integral bolster.
At the same time we have big knife karakulak in Bulgaria and very long sword yataghan in Ionia (western Anatolia) with integral bolster. Who made the knives and who made the swords?

My thinking is that we're seeing commonalities between bladesmithing traditions ultimately associated with common populations, specifically the Yoruks of both Thrace and the Ionian coast.

ariel · 17th February 2016, 04:27 PM

My only hesitation relates to the fact that Turkmen knives do not have integral bolsters. On the contrary, they had to be made of some kind of copper alloy to be used for slaughtering animals in a "halal" fashion.

17th February 2016, 03:55 AM	#1
ariel Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Ann Arbor, MI Posts: 5,503	I have a yataghan looking like Bulgarian karakulak, with Sarajevo-like "nuclear" decorations on the handle and integral bolster, dated 1838 ( NOT Islamic date!) I think we may be talking about parallel development. If bladesmiths had a common idea of a blade, what prevented them to have a common idea of an integral bolster?

17th February 2016, 03:19 PM	#2
Emanuel Member Join Date: Jul 2005 Location: Toronto, Canada Posts: 1,242	I think if we looked we would find that most all yataghan blades,and most other swords are heat treated in this manner. There is no reason to harden the tang/blade transition area. The karakulak underscores my point. Basically ALL Balkan yataghan don't have integral bolster. Karakulak and Ionian yataghan ALL HAVE integral bolster. These things were contemporary in the same geographic area. The cutler/swordsmith separation brings more questions to mind. We have early knives in Istanbul and Italy with integral bolster. Then we have short sword yataghan in the Balkans without integral bolster. At the same time we have big knife karakulak in Bulgaria and very long sword yataghan in Ionia (western Anatolia) with integral bolster. Who made the knives and who made the swords? My thinking is that we're seeing commonalities between bladesmithing traditions ultimately associated with common populations, specifically the Yoruks of both Thrace and the Ionian coast.

17th February 2016, 04:27 PM	#3
ariel Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Ann Arbor, MI Posts: 5,503	My only hesitation relates to the fact that Turkmen knives do not have integral bolsters. On the contrary, they had to be made of some kind of copper alloy to be used for slaughtering animals in a "halal" fashion.