Yataghan for comments and advice

russel · 14th April 2013, 11:46 PM

Close up of the blade decoration and stamp.

kai · 15th April 2013, 09:41 AM

Hello Russel,

Seems you found a sleeper despite condition issues! I hope others will chime in shortly.

Take your time with any restoration/repairs - keeping it well oiled won't hurt for the time being. A professional will have no problems straightening the blade; I'd suggest to refrain from doing it yourself (without the necessary exertise) though.

The koftgari work seems to be quite roughly done; the fullers look interesting though. Etching the blade would certainly be interesting but you need to be extra careful with the koftgari (also with any cleaning attempts)! I'd suggest you practise with some other blades first...

Regards,
Kai

russel · 15th April 2013, 11:45 PM

Thanks Kai,

I certainly don't intend attempting any restoration soon. As it happens, I picked up a couple of other less important swords along with this one (I will post images of them for comment soon) which will be better suited for an initial effort.

As I live in Australia, I suspect professional sword straighteners are rather thin on the ground. Do any Australian members know of anyone who could help?

Thanks again,
Russel

Tatyana Dianova · 16th April 2013, 07:32 AM

Hi Russel,
Nice catch! From my experience, the fittings and blade decoration are typical Balkan, middle 19th century.
The condition is pretty good and the repairs are quite simple. Moving ears is a common yataghan problem, if it bothers you, you can put a drop of adhesive to fix them. The same with bolster: use two components adhesive to fix it back. The red stones are red coral. There are two round stones missing on the bolster on the blade, there should be red or green glass cabochons.
To clean the blade I would use very fine (1000) steel wool with oil, except gold decorated area. There you can use some rust remover like Flitz (you can use it also on the whole blade, if you do not want to use a steel wool). Afterwards use a Renaissance Wax for conservation and display. I would avoid etching on the blade – I do not think there is a pattern to show.
To straighten the blade you can make a simple device (two wood planks) the Japanese use to straighten their blades, but you should find the details for yourself – I have no personal experience doing it.

Zifir · 16th April 2013, 07:43 PM

Hi,
here is the translation

Best,

Tatyana Dianova · 16th April 2013, 08:19 PM

Hi Russel,
I have a similar yataghan, it has a date on it (I have translated it as 1265=1848). You can see how a missing glass stone on the bolster should look like.

14th April 2013, 11:46 PM	#1
russel Member Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: Tasmania, Australia Posts: 236	A couple of more images Close up of the blade decoration and stamp. Attached Images

16th April 2013, 07:43 PM	#5
Zifir Member Join Date: Mar 2006 Location: Istanbul Posts: 228	Hi, here is the translation Best, Attached Images

16th April 2013, 08:19 PM	#6
Tatyana Dianova Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 736	Hi Russel, I have a similar yataghan, it has a date on it (I have translated it as 1265=1848). You can see how a missing glass stone on the bolster should look like. Attached Images

15th April 2013, 09:41 AM	#2
kai Member Join Date: Apr 2005 Posts: 3,255	Hello Russel, Seems you found a sleeper despite condition issues! I hope others will chime in shortly. Take your time with any restoration/repairs - keeping it well oiled won't hurt for the time being. A professional will have no problems straightening the blade; I'd suggest to refrain from doing it yourself (without the necessary exertise) though. The koftgari work seems to be quite roughly done; the fullers look interesting though. Etching the blade would certainly be interesting but you need to be extra careful with the koftgari (also with any cleaning attempts)! I'd suggest you practise with some other blades first... Regards, Kai

15th April 2013, 11:45 PM	#3
russel Member Join Date: Jul 2012 Location: Tasmania, Australia Posts: 236	Thanks Kai, I certainly don't intend attempting any restoration soon. As it happens, I picked up a couple of other less important swords along with this one (I will post images of them for comment soon) which will be better suited for an initial effort. As I live in Australia, I suspect professional sword straighteners are rather thin on the ground. Do any Australian members know of anyone who could help? Thanks again, Russel

16th April 2013, 07:32 AM	#4
Tatyana Dianova Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 736	Hi Russel, Nice catch! From my experience, the fittings and blade decoration are typical Balkan, middle 19th century. The condition is pretty good and the repairs are quite simple. Moving ears is a common yataghan problem, if it bothers you, you can put a drop of adhesive to fix them. The same with bolster: use two components adhesive to fix it back. The red stones are red coral. There are two round stones missing on the bolster on the blade, there should be red or green glass cabochons. To clean the blade I would use very fine (1000) steel wool with oil, except gold decorated area. There you can use some rust remover like Flitz (you can use it also on the whole blade, if you do not want to use a steel wool). Afterwards use a Renaissance Wax for conservation and display. I would avoid etching on the blade – I do not think there is a pattern to show. To straighten the blade you can make a simple device (two wood planks) the Japanese use to straighten their blades, but you should find the details for yourself – I have no personal experience doing it.