Ethnographic Arms & Armour - View Single Post

Philip · 10th May 2021, 06:45 PM

In my decades of experience polishing and restoring swords, I have encountered a good number of older Indian, Ottoman, and Persian saber blades with replaced tangs. Also a few Chinese examples The manner in which the two are fitted is the same as seen here -- the head of the tang is cleft and overlaps the remaining stub of the old tang. But on all these, the tang was securely forge welded. Maybe once or twice I saw a small rivet besides this, for added security, but not always. On shamshir or talwar blades so repaired, the "lips" of the split tang extend about 5-6 mm onto the forte of the blade and are generally quite neatly filed, to be inconspicuous under the langets of the crossguard. In the case of the Chinese ones, the lips are even with the front of the wood grip and butt against the rear of the disc guard.

In the case of the example posted here, it is obvious that riveting alone is not a secure method since there is already some wobble. OK for a wallhanger but not a combat weapon.

I think that the reason that I've seen a greater number of these replaced tangs on weapons from the Islamic culture-spheres is that blades were often traded and sold between countries, and hilt styles and hence their mounting methods differed. The relatively small "stick" tang that would fit a talwar hilt anchored by adhesive resin would not be appropriate to mounting to a Persian or Turkish hilt, which requires a flat tang anchored by brazing and/or at least two rivets to a shaped flat iron plate to which the gripscales and pommel are attached, with the tang-band soldered round the periphery to create a finished joint between the scales.

10th May 2021, 06:45 PM	#5
Philip Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: California Posts: 1,036	replaced tangs on Oriental swords In my decades of experience polishing and restoring swords, I have encountered a good number of older Indian, Ottoman, and Persian saber blades with replaced tangs. Also a few Chinese examples The manner in which the two are fitted is the same as seen here -- the head of the tang is cleft and overlaps the remaining stub of the old tang. But on all these, the tang was securely forge welded. Maybe once or twice I saw a small rivet besides this, for added security, but not always. On shamshir or talwar blades so repaired, the "lips" of the split tang extend about 5-6 mm onto the forte of the blade and are generally quite neatly filed, to be inconspicuous under the langets of the crossguard. In the case of the Chinese ones, the lips are even with the front of the wood grip and butt against the rear of the disc guard. In the case of the example posted here, it is obvious that riveting alone is not a secure method since there is already some wobble. OK for a wallhanger but not a combat weapon. I think that the reason that I've seen a greater number of these replaced tangs on weapons from the Islamic culture-spheres is that blades were often traded and sold between countries, and hilt styles and hence their mounting methods differed. The relatively small "stick" tang that would fit a talwar hilt anchored by adhesive resin would not be appropriate to mounting to a Persian or Turkish hilt, which requires a flat tang anchored by brazing and/or at least two rivets to a shaped flat iron plate to which the gripscales and pommel are attached, with the tang-band soldered round the periphery to create a finished joint between the scales.