Talwar sword

kwakster

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Recently i bought this old Indian Talwar sword, but it's not exactly my field of expertise.
If possible i would like to know the timeframe & region that the sword was made, and if the blade could possibly be wootz steel.
Thx in advance for any info you're willing to share, :)

















Specs:

Overall length: 35.04 inch (89,0 cm)
Blade length up to pointy handle end: 27.95 inch (71,0 cm)
Blade thickness measured just before pointy handle end: 5.63 mm
Blade thickness measured just before front double edge section: 5.15 mm
Blade thickness at mid double edge section: 3.0 mm
Measured edge angle: +/- 30 degrees inclusive, convex
Handle looks to be plain carbon steel.
Weight: 1135 grams
 
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Currently busy with resharpening the main edge with my worn-in 120 grit diamond file.
It feels like i'm grinding high carbide steel, and i definitely need to use some pressure to make the file cut & remove material, otherwise it just skids over the surface.
The remnants of the old main edge measured a slightly convex ~30 degrees inclusive, and the new main edge will be about the same.
The blade also used to have it's swedge sharpened in the past, so i will probably redo that as well later on.

 
Very nice! Do you think that the Blade is Woots?
A, you think it's Carbonsteel, my bad...you can etch a window and see...
 
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@Hamurra-e: At the moment i do not know what kind of steel the blade is made from, but later on i plan to do some etching to find out if some sort of pattern emerges or not.

@Rudy_57: Thx, that is an interesting website with lots of reading material.
Already bookmarked.

With the sword clamped to the table i use the diamond file with two hands.
Already ordered a 300 grit diamond file from the Bay to refine the bevels a bit later on.
If the new edge comes out good enough i will also clean up the blade surfaces and maybe try to obtain a new and somewhat bigger handle.



 
Finished making a new ~30 degrees inclusive convex edge with the 120 grit diamond file.
Using a light touch and WD40 oil on the file surface produces a comparatively small burr, which will now be refined further with a 300 grit diamond file and again WD40 oil.







 
Hello,

sorry to say that but I had not resharpened the blade since it reduces its value.
Just my thoughts.

Greetings Helge
 
Well, to me the sword will actually be more valuable in functional condition having a sharp edge again.

:cool:
 
I see no problem with sharpening, but I would have looked if I could polish the sides a bid more; now it is more dangerous.
Also I believe it should have a convex grind not such a bevel.
 
At the moment i'm fairly certain that my talwar is an actual fighting sword, not some wallhanger.
The whole blade geometry seems to point in that direction, including a long & wide but shallow fuller on each side of the blade, which is almost impossible to see in the pictures.
The widened tip area is called a yelman or yalman, and it seems that this could either be a false edge or a fully sharpened one.
Based on the relatively heavy blade i think that this sword was meant to be used on horseback.

Regarding the use of the talwar (and other Indian weapons) i have found this website to be very interesting:

http://indianfight.com/
 
Partial etching attempt with a bit of lemon juice, just to see if something would appear.
It seems it did, but so far it doesn't look like any of the wootz patterns i see online.
Click 2 x on the picture, then enlarge further.

 
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The project has been on the backburner for a while, but now it's time for a few refining steps of the new convex edge.
First with the blue side of a DMT Diafold, later followed by the red side.



 
After refining the convex edge with the blue DMT Diafold i'm currently using electrolytic rust removal on the carbon steel hilt.



 
Currently busy refining the convex surfaces of the now centered edge with a DMT blue Diafold (coarse / 325 mesh / 45 micron)
The ancient "edge" had most likely been done freehand on a stone wheel, and was neither convex nor even close to being centered (it waved irregularly from left to right)











 
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