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Post by ihutch1 on May 4, 2020 8:29:46 GMT
Does anyone have recommendations as to a good maker of Indian weapons/shastars? I am looking to acquire a golia with pulwar hilt, katar and peshkabz, among other things. Don't mind the location of the smith.
Thanks for any help.
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Post by randomnobody on May 4, 2020 11:52:19 GMT
Oof, "good," modern-made, Indian weapons? That's a tough market.
Years ago there was one vendor, who now escapes me, that had numerous models at reasonable prices. Sadly, there weren't many reviews, and what there was, was mediocre at best.
Ultimately, Indian arms are where antiques flourish. There's plenty to go around, most are very affordable, and quality tends to be better than the modern stuff, anyway.
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Post by ihutch1 on May 5, 2020 1:14:28 GMT
Oof, "good," modern-made, Indian weapons? That's a tough market. Years ago there was one vendor, who now escapes me, that had numerous models at reasonable prices. Sadly, there weren't many reviews, and what there was, was mediocre at best. Ultimately, Indian arms are where antiques flourish. There's plenty to go around, most are very affordable, and quality tends to be better than the modern stuff, anyway. Thanks, I figured that might be the best route. I sure would hate to damage an antique, though perhaps that's just sentimental.
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Post by Turok on May 16, 2020 10:11:00 GMT
Windlass Steelcrafts used to make a beautiful pesh-kabz. They called it the "Indo-Persian Fighting Knife" and it was made of Damascus steel. It came pretty dang sharp and it has a full tang construction. It was a fine knife but it had a cheap sheath and was rather expensive. I've seen them for sale on ebay every now and then.
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Post by Adventurer'sBlade on May 16, 2020 11:50:15 GMT
There's a $45 Deepeeka katar, but it is very plain looking. I'm surprised Windlass doesn't make more traditional Indian weapons.
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Post by Turok on May 16, 2020 15:05:06 GMT
There's a $45 Deepeeka katar, but it is very plain looking. I'm surprised Windlass doesn't make more traditional Indian weapons. I think there's more of a market in Euro stuff and they can quickly export it to other countries. It's the same reason why Chinese smiths focus a lot more on katana rather than jian or dao.
Most people who don't collect knives would struggle to identify a pesh-kabz, katar or even a kirpan! Sad, especially when you consider the rich history of these weapons.
However a longsword is iconic and automatically triggers King Arthur, Game of Thrones, and Lord of the Rings to most people.
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Post by JonSchwertFechter on May 21, 2020 7:09:36 GMT
Turok: I concur,-Those are all excellent points - esp. from the marketing/Industry side of things- I now the same Particular Windlass Knife you're speaking of I think that model was actually named "Indo_Persian Fighting Knife" as you said and had a smallish Brass Bolster/guard that still would give some protection to the fingers(That rather vestigial form of guard was common to most oriental fighting knives of that general construction) and a nicely down-curved Bone grip- I saw one on Ebay about three months back (Feb.) but missed it- it was part of lot- the seller and I Were pretty cool (as I gave him a ton of Business this past year), and he was gonna pull it for me- but it ended up being a bit too late..;)- I would love to finally get my hands on one if you (or anyone else) know where I can find one... :)
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Post by JonSchwertFechter on May 21, 2020 7:20:27 GMT
as it happens, I too have (for some time now) been looking to see the repro Indian and otherNon-Chinese/Japanese/Filipino- Asian arms/Armor market come to it own- If I dont get some of that action going on - myself with my own RE-vamped custom Business (I had hoped to have starting up again with a renovated shop before the end of this Year- before all the shutdowns,etc.) but i still plan to- I hope others will finally start at least making a small niche in the overall(WIndlass was as others have mentioned)- about the next-to-only one to do this(On and off, with just a few models) over the course of many years- with long periods in between. I have some fine "Zaghnal" and "Tabar" designs as well as some "Sousson-Pata" (amongst a few other types)- for those of you familiar-- that im eager to start taking form in sweet-steel ;)!
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Post by randomnobody on May 21, 2020 8:11:43 GMT
Well, I'm intrigued.
I did finally remember the old vendor I was thinking of. Ancient Arms was the name; based in India, had a few hundred offerings at one point. Kind of iffy reputation, though.
I feel like there's a reasonable, if still quite niche, market for newly-made Indo-Persian weapons, but the most likely makers to take on the task have mediocre market placing (windlass, deepeeka, universal, etc) and aren't really known for the quality or accuracy of their stuff. Another possible hurdle is convincing people to pay for a brand-new, modern-made sword of probably "eh, okay" quality when a fairly good antique could be had for about the same or only a little more. This mostly applies to the plethora of talwar available, but there are rarer swords that could be marketed.
Personally, I'm waiting for a proper, accurate "Khyber knife" to hit shelves at under US $350, for which I've bought a few (and seen many more) antique models. Problem there is the market for these has gotten very competitive, and there's not a lot out there right now.
Biggest problem I can see with quality new stuff is the classic problem with any historic reproduction: scammers artificially aging them and selling them as authentic antiques. Gotta figure out a way to make them accurately represent period originals while also standing far enough apart from them as to be clearly of modern manufacture...
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Post by ihutch1 on Aug 4, 2020 7:53:14 GMT
Just an update. I actually was able to find many Indian smiths and makers of weapons on Facebook and Instagram (oddly). After contacting about 5, I narrowed down my choice to a gentleman who had excellent communication and seems quite friendly. He has made several pieces for me and should be sending them shortly. I may one day revisit some of the others I looked at just to compare examples of their work once I get these pieces in.
Here are some previews:
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Post by randomnobody on Aug 4, 2020 9:17:10 GMT
Ooh, that pulwar is nice and swoopy. Katar isn't my thing, a bit over-decorated, but the pesh kabz is nice. Dhal strikes me as a bit wonky, but maybe it'll look better in better lighting.
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Post by Turok on Aug 5, 2020 9:07:27 GMT
That's a nice looking choora in the second to last picture! Please share a review when you get them.
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Jash
Member
"Igitur qui desiderat pacem, praeparet bellum!"
Posts: 297
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Post by Jash on Aug 5, 2020 19:54:40 GMT
Not bad at all! Glad to see you found a smith who could make the pieces you were after. Looking forward to hearing your thoughts upon arrival On a side note - one could try contacting Windlass Directly. Their offerings vary depending which world region you're in. For example, i remember years ago seeing a Windlass Website in which they were making high quality wedding swords (i think then they had 4-6 different models). Also, if you check MRL or ACC, every once in a while an Indian weapon replica pops up. However, i bet they don't sell too well, as they're usually removed before the year is up. Also, keep in mind Windlass does make a "Museum Quality" line of replicas of Muhammad and his followers' swords. Those were in the $2000 to $5000 price range if i remember correctly. So... Windlass is capable of making high quality Asian blades, and they do, i just don't think they advertise them as much. Or maybe they no longer do, in which case, ignore this entire paragraph lol.
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Post by randomnobody on Aug 14, 2020 9:45:17 GMT
You, uh...got any more updates?
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Post by randomnobody on Aug 29, 2020 2:02:40 GMT
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Post by ihutch1 on Sept 3, 2020 1:13:25 GMT
Yes!
After ages trying to get the courier to send the package (like a month, he was concerned about it passing customs), it was finally sent. Once it actually was shipped, it went via FedEx from India to USA in 2 days. Looks like it will arrive tomorrow!
So expect a review soon-ish.
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Post by randomnobody on Sept 3, 2020 1:26:28 GMT
Yes!
After ages trying to get the courier to send the package (like a month, he was concerned about it passing customs), it was finally sent. Once it actually was shipped, it went via FedEx from India to USA in 2 days. Looks like it will arrive tomorrow!
So expect a review soon-ish.
Awesome. I've been waiting for this.
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Post by ihutch1 on Sept 4, 2020 1:25:39 GMT
Yes!
After ages trying to get the courier to send the package (like a month, he was concerned about it passing customs), it was finally sent. Once it actually was shipped, it went via FedEx from India to USA in 2 days. Looks like it will arrive tomorrow!
So expect a review soon-ish.
Awesome. I've been waiting for this. Review here: sbg-sword-forum.forums.net/thread/61909/taksali-kirpan-shastars
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