Strtaight Blade Tulwar

[Norman McCormick]

Hi Robert,
Here are some photos of my straight bladed Indian sword. The blade on mine is definitely not European and as yours looks like a very close relative I would suggest neither is yours. The hilt on mine was gilded at some point so not a munitions grade weapon. The hilt on yours is of a low quality as I'm sure you know but as has been said previously blades were rehilted as and when necessary so the hilt your blade now sports is not necessarily the one it started out with. I tried to look into this type of blade as much as the internet and the books I have would let me and I came to the conclusion, rightly or wrongly, that this is a Sukhela primarily because of the straightness and flexibility of the blade rather than any other attribute. I also think that my blade and I suspect yours do have a bit of age, at least the early to middle 190thC if not a bit earlier. I think these are good blades, light and fast, and my example is one of my favourite pieces.
Regards,
Norman.

[Rick]

And submitting this example for the umpteenth time.
Very fine grained wootz; light and flexible.

[RobertGuy]

Wow, thank you all for your replies. A lot of information there. I guess that teminology can be a bit of a minefield in this area. Straight bladed tulwar , firangi (firanghi?) or Sukhela. This is facinating stuff, especially when fired up by a £40 sword.
Norman, your blade does look identical although mated to a nicer hilt.
Rick , I have tried to dupicate your picture with a little success. These really are nice blades.
I have tried to get a better closeup and include a picture taken with a USB microscope. I think the blade is mono steel but the pattination and pitting makes it difficult for me to tell as I have no experiance of wootz in the flesh as it were.

[Rick]

Def. the same blade characteristics.
From my experience these swords are uncommon.

[Norman McCormick]

Originally Posted by Rick

Def. the same blade characteristics.
From my experience these swords are uncommon.

Yup and Yup

[RobertGuy]

I've been thinking about Wootz and have tried to get some better pictures. I buffed up a portion of the blade and applied ferric chloride etchant to the blade edge.. Here are closeups with different filters applied.There mis a structure to be seen but is it Wootz? I do not have the expertise to judge. What do you all think?

[mariusgmioc]

Originally Posted by RobertGuy

I've been thinking about Wootz and have tried to get some better pictures. I buffed up a portion of the blade and applied ferric chloride etchant to the blade edge.. Here are closeups with different filters applied.There mis a structure to be seen but is it Wootz? I do not have the expertise to judge. What do you all think?

In order for etching to work, the surface must be first polished to grit 2000-3000. Then you may get some relevant result after etching.

However, I don't think there is any chance for your blade to be wootz as it doesn't even appear to be Indian.