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#1 |
Member
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: Brooklyn, NY USA
Posts: 227
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I am having a debate with a collector friend over this axe. He claims it to be a typical Qajar period Indo Persian. To me it looks like a not-so-modern repro. It is just too crude overall to be a real thing. Note the top spike - it is just a part of the hollow haft flattened to resemble a spike! I also think I am seeing some welding seams where axe head/blade meets the socket
![]() Sorry for the poor quality pics. The axe does not belong to me and I did not take these pictures |
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#2 |
EAAF Staff
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Louisville, KY
Posts: 7,200
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Looks Persian, Qajar period to me. IT is crude and could very will be a repo.
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#3 |
Member
Join Date: May 2010
Posts: 27
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Do a web search for scrap metal prices and you will get its true value.
I have seen some "interesting looking" pieces with a certain amount of illustrative work which were nonetheless torch cut from heavy sheet stock (kora). This doesn't always show up at first glance. A lot of real blades have cut in and silver filled work which seems rather crude but that is not unusual. It is necessary to look past that as the piece may be authentic. I bought a shorter flat bladed saber with a Nepalese grip largely for the grip as I assumed the blade was newly made. A close examination of the spine seemed to show laminae. I checked several times and it still looked that way. Apparently it was a flat laminated blade which is a bit unusual. |
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#4 |
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Join Date: Oct 2007
Posts: 2,818
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From the images it looks to have a piece from a late 19th/early 20th ceremonal axe but only just that at best....the rest, such as the spike if you can call it that and the T shaped hammer and the shaft all look to be modern pieces of "scrap" braized and welded on to create a "complete" axe...I use a lot of these words loosely as she ain't pretty.....
Last edited by freebooter; 31st January 2012 at 06:51 AM. Reason: spelling |
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#5 |
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Join Date: Nov 2006
Location: The Netherlands
Posts: 2,224
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When did we event electric welding techniques ?
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#6 |
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Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Wirral
Posts: 1,204
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I agree with the foregoing comments . This is a poorly cobbled together effort I am afraid . The axe head decoration is terribly crude .. even in late 19th pieces it is fine ... no real weapons maker could have made this ... it would have fallen apart if used in action and been laughed at if worn for a parade.
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#7 |
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Join Date: Jun 2008
Location: The Sharp end
Posts: 2,928
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Hi Stan,
There come in various grades and ages. In this case I would have to say that your instinct was right on the money. This is the bottom end of the cheap scale. It looks like it has a mixture of brazing and welded construction, crude blade with the most basic stamped decoration. the hammer back is just a roughly cut section of angle iron welded on and shaft made from a crimped section of tubular steel. I'd say it's post WW2. You haven't misssed out on this one. |
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#8 |
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Join Date: Jul 2011
Location: Nashville
Posts: 314
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It is as fake as they come, the maker did not even try to make it look real. to me it seems to be built out of modern construction materials.
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#9 | |
Member
Join Date: Dec 2004
Location: Ann Arbor, MI
Posts: 5,503
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![]() Quote:
Both of you are correct: it is a typical Qajar period repro:-) The two are synonymous. Similar axes, bazu-bands, shields and swords were mass-produced in Iran during Qajar and Pahlavi dynasties. All were aimed at European naifs looking for the romantic/heroic past of a destitute country. Before oil, Iran was viciously poor and trinkets of that nature were one of the few means of putting bread on the table. Their quality is abysmal, but we still see them on e-bay, masquerading as real weapons. |
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#10 |
Member
Join Date: Nov 2011
Location: Brooklyn, NY USA
Posts: 227
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Thank you all. I am glad to know my instincts were right.
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