Taran
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Posts: 2,621
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Post by Taran on Aug 20, 2013 18:44:28 GMT
Not much in Afghanistan left to see, alas. What little the Timurids left, the Taliban has pretty much eliminated.
As for blades, Afghanistan hasn't exactly had much quality production of any final product for several hundred years. The old pattern-welded blades they made before the British invaded were poorly folded and the laminations are separating even on the best pieces. The monosteels were stamped out in massive numbers for untrained, poorly equipped "soldiers" and are still produced the same way in the same quality.
Knives tend to be somewhat better, of course. But anything of any real quality that was made between 1300 and 2003 was imported. Usually from India, Pakistan, or Iran. Including such "Afghan" items as Khyber knives (named for the Khyber Pass and made in Pakistan), silk or cashmere scarves, rugs... Even pottery and woodwork only achieved any level of reasonable quality in the last 10 years (and some of the locally produced stuff these days is Really nice).
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Post by randomnobody on Aug 20, 2013 19:02:51 GMT
Interesting. I'm somewhat familiar with the import of much of the steel and general weaponry, but tend to find the furnishings of such to be a distinct "flavor" of their own. As to the available sights, yeah, I'm sure they're...let's call them limited. In my recent obsession with lapis lazuli, though, I have read repeatedly that Afghanistan is regarded as the best source, and wouldn't mind stumbling blindly into a mine one day...by accident...perhaps... That and the markets would be fun to tour, I imagine. Same for any part of the world, I suppose. I need to travel more... I don't know whether my blades are domestic or imported, but the knives themselves are said to be Afghan. I've been looking at others, a few of them wootz, and they all look to be in fine shape as far as steel, and many of the Persian pieces, seemingly most renowned for highest quality, have had open folds and blisters. Pieces credited to "India" seem to have the least attractive patterns in their wootz and generally the gaudiest furniture, so I like them less. The general "Afghan" aesthetic, though, is one I find myself drawn to, blade-wise. Though with all I (don't) know, what I'm seeing may be more "Persian" than "Afghan" at this point. That said, I'll agree that the Balkans at least make neat-looking stuff. Several knives, especially, I've found I like. Anywho, enough of that, back to the thread. :oops: I wonder if I can blend this in by sharing this, which I'm debating inquiring about: jbarrett.7host.com/details.aspx?item=603Looking for that one I also noticed this very interesting kastane: jbarrett.7host.com/details.aspx?item=622The Ceylonese/Sri Lankans have some interesting stuff.
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Post by Jussi Ekholm on Aug 20, 2013 21:37:58 GMT
The sexiest sword type depends on how it suits the wearer. I can't pick my favorite. About the Black Sea yataghan, in old William Fagan catalog (n.61) There are two items 297 and 298 which look quite similar to that. They are described as "mystery solved" and being extremely rare. It is mentioned that their name is not yet translated in English, and they are listed as Georgian Cossack yataghans. Personally I prefer the regular yataghans over them. But to put the thread back on track, I think there is something "sexy" in pata: www.oriental-arms.com/item.php?id=3722
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Post by randomnobody on Aug 20, 2013 22:37:03 GMT
Oh yeah, those semi-famous "gauntlet swords" are pretty neat. Only thing stopping me from getting one is wondering if my hands would get stuck. :oops:
Something about the gauntlet aspect makes them feel very intimate, like it's literally an extension of your hand, as is an often-preached philosophy of swordplay.
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Taran
Member
Posts: 2,621
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Post by Taran on Aug 21, 2013 1:45:55 GMT
Well, yes, Lapis is nice stuff and what they make from it is quite beautiful.
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Post by randomnobody on Aug 21, 2013 2:58:24 GMT
Sorry, that went a bit off-topic. But hearing that the swords I've been so drawn to lately described so negatively made me wonder how wrong I was on other things I'd been liking. Still not really clear on what, exactly, is bad about them, but I'll take your word for it as you likely have more experience than I do there. Back to sexy swords again, I was just now checking out some of the new stuff at Oriental Arms (been avoiding it in am sorry to curve my impulse spending for a while) and cane across these: www.oriental-arms.com/item.php?id=5811www.oriental-arms.com/item.php?id=5809www.oriental-arms.com/item.php?id=5796Not too shabby.
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Taran
Member
Posts: 2,621
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Post by Taran on Aug 21, 2013 14:50:09 GMT
The swords you like are wonderful. Just the ones from that particular place and the nations immediately North of there you want to avoid. Whether modern or antique. The Persian, Turkish, Pakistani, Indian, etc, blades can be absolutely gorgeous, entirely functional pieces of art.
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Post by Nilfgaardian on Aug 21, 2013 15:31:21 GMT
Sexiest sword type for me are different fantasy sword types, most notably leafblades, like Glamdring and Sting. I also like the many types of silver and elven swords from The Witcher 2.
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Post by randomnobody on Aug 21, 2013 16:07:23 GMT
Persian and Turkish, maybe. Not that I can afford either of those... Pakistani I haven't seen yet, not labeled as such, anyway, and most Indian blades are the opposite direction from my personal aesthetics, but I see where you're coming from.
I need to get this wak polished and my cards paid off so I can start buying swords again, this thread isn't helping me at all. :?
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Post by randomnobody on Sept 9, 2013 23:50:31 GMT
This thread's been dead for a while, but I'll just leave this here: oriental-arms.com/item.php?id=5866Africa does some wild and crazy stuff, but this looks like something straight out of a futuristic fantasy film/videogame.
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Post by Vincent Dolan on Sept 10, 2013 2:21:06 GMT
You ain't kiddin', my friend. Any of those would look right at home in a video game like Elder Scrolls or something.
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Post by randomnobody on Sept 10, 2013 3:00:56 GMT
I love African swords, and they're so affordable. The designs are just amazing and wonderful in the craziest, most bizarre ways.
All I've got right now is a small flyssa, which is tame for Africa (probably as it's more northern Africa whereas these swords tend to be more southern, it seems; lots of space and culture between the two) but I really, really want to get one of these. :shock:
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Post by justin520 on Sept 10, 2013 3:43:15 GMT
African swords look like they're straight out of fairy tales. I wonder what martial arts developed to facilitate the use of these strange weapons.
I've taken a big liking to toppei koshirei for a good zubon zashi katana. Nothing like a Japanese sword for western clothes in this day and age.
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Post by Vincent Dolan on Sept 10, 2013 11:08:37 GMT
There was actually another sword that I'm almost positive is African that looked straight out of an anime; I tried to find the Oriental Arms page, but I couldn't. Luckily, I have an image of it saved to my computer. Attachments:
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Post by randomnobody on Sept 10, 2013 14:53:16 GMT
Yep, that's definitely African, and that's Oriental Arms photography. I know that blue background anywhere. I really wish I knew where they came up with these ideas. I'm not sure they make for good weapons or tools, but they make great shows off how one can manipulate steel to an effect.
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Post by Rifleman Lizard on Sept 10, 2013 16:08:49 GMT
If I had to choose an African weapon, it'd have to the Maasai spear. I spent a long trip with the Maasai in Tanzania and other peoples in Kenya. They churn these out (lookalikes at the very least) in their thousands, in slum sweatshops outside the major cities. I can't speak for Oriental Arms as I've had no experience with them. This is just my observations concerning African is-it-a-saw-spade-batmarang-things. They'll do damage very easily, as any sharpened steel would.
The 'sexiest sword type' to me is the 16th century swiss sabre. The geometry is incredibly complex. They're very beautiful, especially fitted with elaborate hilts, baskets of wire and silver.
For short swords however, I think there's a brutal charm to the early model gladius. Short and sweet. I could go on and one, but my brew is getting cold and I'm due an old man nap.
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Post by randomnobody on Sept 10, 2013 16:30:52 GMT
Those spears have a charm all their own, one of them is on my list, too.
I just randomly checked one of my favorite "I can't afford any of this but LOOK AT IT" sites earlier and they're listing two very nice shaska and a Hungarian, I think, saber among other very nice things I can't link on crappy mobile data.
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Post by ineffableone on Sept 11, 2013 19:53:03 GMT
I have to say for sexiest sword type,.... ...I can't pick one. I like the Tang Jian, especially Jin Shi's version. www.jin-shi.com/picture_library/Green%20Ray%20Tang.JPGthe Kissaki Moroha Zukuri or often called a Kogarasu Zukuri My review of my Kissaki Moroha from ST Sword here /thread/18760I am madly in lust with the Busse Gladius, just not in love with the $2000 price tag or lack of availability. imageshack.us/a/img14/6770/v91v.jpgI very much love my VA Malatesta and think it is sexy as hell. There are plenty of other styles I think are sexy, I would even say pretty much any style of sharp and pointy can be sexy if done right. Or can look horrible if done wrong. Not every katana is sexy, and not every jian is, or every Euro. But each of those has sexy swords from different smiths. A lot also has to do with personal taste. Some like all the flashy ornaments, others like simple functionality. What I find sexy is simple functionality, but another might like all the little details and ornaments and find that sexier than the simple piece I find sexy. And nothing wrong with that. Everyone is different and as long as your happy that is what is important. I do want to eventually collect one amazing sexy example of as many different styles as I can. But that will be a slow process as I don't make a lot of money. *edit to add, even though I tend not to go for the heavy ornamented swords. I have to say I find this sword sexy as hell www.goldmountainforge.com/shogun-shikomi-zue
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Post by randomnobody on Sept 11, 2013 20:02:30 GMT
I go both ways on plain vs ornate; depends on the type of sword. I'm just going to leave this here: armsandantiques.com/swordsI'm struck by the similarities of the newly-listed kilij and hussar. The shashka attributed to a Mudunov is very nice, yet the other shashka (the one from Zlatoust, "with Georgian fittings" as opposed to the WW2 model) isn't as shapely, but has some amazing metalwork.
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Taran
Member
Posts: 2,621
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Post by Taran on Sept 19, 2013 15:15:40 GMT
Gorgeous double Jian. Love it.
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