The 4 letter "B"-word

[Stan S.]

Originally Posted by Ibrahiim al Balooshi

Salaams Stan. Great pity. You were, however,asking for references and study so ... I typed into Forum Search ....Bhuj ... and Jens Nordlunde has a brilliant thread in there entitled Differences in Indian weapons. It might help with chosing quality weapons therefor possibly save the problem of returning items etc.
Regards Ibrahiim al Balooshi.

Dear sir, I am familiar with the thread you are referring to. And while I agree with your remark on the weapons quality, a collector must also take into account his personal budgetary constraints. Sadly, I am unable to afford many of the gold and jewel encrusted museum pieces that are ocasionally offered for sale, and must resort to obtaining simpler versions designed for fighting rather than display/parade/gift purposes. In doing so, I came across quite a few treasures. Still, I find that the quality of the weapon and its condition are not always one and the same.

The item in question turned out to have damaged rivets both holding the elephant head in place and the one securing the blade. Neither of which was mentioned in the description. Plus, the portion of the haft that fits inside the head appears to have been bent. This could be a sign of neglect while in the hands of the previous owner or genuine damage from the item being used in its day. Such damage is possible even with a weapon of highest quality, such as the downside of buying on-line I was actually quite pleased with the quality of this simple bhuj but chose not to be responsible for repairing the damage, thus it is going back to the seller.