19th century tulwar review
Sept 13, 2022 2:07:53 GMT
Post by yelman on Sept 13, 2022 2:07:53 GMT
If there’s any sword I like as much as a good katana, it’s a munitions-grade tulwar, and it’s hard to imagine two swords that differ more in terms of construction and aesthetics. I love tulwars for their simplicity: unadorned iron hilt, steel blade, that’s it and also the fact that in my opinion there’s not a more medieval looking sword out there. For this review I have selected six from my antique collection which I think are more or less representative of the era with the hope of providing a composite view of the typical swords used by soldiers and commoners alike.
These are not museum pieces-there is no koftgari or jeweled inlays on the hilts and bespeaking their ordinariness, apparently no extra effort
was taken to preserve them. As a result, they are in a thoroughly patinaed state, but I don’t mind old swords looking old. Though there is no active rust on the blades, blackened areas are evident, though I am unsure exactly what process causes that. That being said, all the blades are firmly in their hilts with no movement whatsoever, and the blades themselves are quite keenly edged. A few blades are minorly pitted, which is to be expected.
While the hilt design remains pretty constant except for details, the blades are not standardized. All are curved, though not to the extent of a shamshir and some only slightly, like a military sabre.
stats:
1.POB-6 inches
2. POB-5.5 inches
3. POB-5.5 inches
4. POB-5 inches
5. POB-4.5 inches
6. POB-4.5 inches
Hilt sizes vary from a quite comfortable 4 inches to a cramping 3 inches on the swords with knuckle bows, though I am unsure if those two things are connected. Pommel disk size varies from 3 1/2 inches to 2 1/4 inches. All swords are distal tapered from roughly two thirds down the blade to the point, the taper being about one half for the thinner blades and one third for the thicker.
Swords 1 and 5 have a single fuller, while sword 3 has 2 fullers on one side and 3 on the other. The rest of the swords are flat bladed.
Makers mark can be seen on one sword, small circles in a triangular pattern. The rest are unmarked.
Handling.
Swords 2 and 3 ( the straightest ones) are a bit blade heavy but that’s not necessarily a bad thing in a cutting sword as Matt Easton has pointed out in one of his videos. Sword 4 is a bit heavy for its size and feels like a chopper , though a quite agile one.
Swords 5 and 6, with their tight points of balance, are exceptionally fast, though in truth all feel quite good in hand, and I shudder to think what being on the receiving end would be like.
Maintenance involves simply a good slathering of grease to both blade and hilt.