Indian pattern-welded bagh-nakh
ring-to-ring width: 4 3/8"
Indian tiger claw bagh-nakh, 1800's or 1900's. Very unusual example with
pattern welded steel. I've sent copies of the pictures off to my damascus
expert buddy, we'll see if he declares this true damascus patterning or
some other form of pattern welding. (Here's a great trick he taught me for
bringing out the etching on pieces that are possibly damascus - let it soak
in cola for about half an hour. That etches away just a tiny bit of the
metal's skin and age-accumulated gunk, exposing the patterning. Makes me
want to stop drinking soda, that's for sure, but I can't imagine eating
pizza without drinking cola.)
Here's your fighting lesson for today - the use of bagh-nakh. The weapon is
held projecting from the palm of the hand with the thumb and pinky through
the rings, as in the second to last picture.
The strike is an open slap, ripping and tearing unarmored (and
mostly unclothed) skin. Someone in this bagh-nahk's history decided that the
true method must be projecting from the back of the fist for a Wolverine
style slash and bent the weapon accordingly, but they were wrong. This one
needs to be straightened, but because of the extreme rarity and since it's presented here at TherionArms as a
comission piece for sale for a friend, I'm loathe to mess with the
configuration, no matter how inaccurate.
claw length: 2 1/8"
weight: 4.5 oz
8/22/01