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Some Shastar Websites


Kaljug

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Fateh!

Antiques and replicas from various traditions:

http://www.vikingsword.com/ethsword/

http://akaalarms.com/

http://www.nihangsingh.com/

http://www.oriental-arms.com/

Military and survivalist equipment:

http://www.sofmilitary.co.uk/

http://bladerunner.tv/

http://www.kmnw.co.uk/

http://www.survivalaids.com/

Knives, swords, armour:

http://assistedknives.com/

http://www.realarmorofgod.com/

http://www.sword-buyers-guide.com/authentic-japanese-swords.html

http://www.ancientarms.biz/servlet/StoreFront

http://www.rgwhandforgedkatanas.co.uk/

http://www.armor.com/index.html

http://www.trueswords.com/swords-c-4.html

http://www.theknightshop.co.uk/catalog/index.php?osCsid=9b605cfe457079d389107e0f93338a38

http://www.reliks.com/

http://www.weaponsgalore.com/contactus/display.html

http://www.swords24.eu/list/2/114/Dynasty_Forge_Swords.html

http://www.nihonzashi.com/shinken.aspx

http://www.oriental-weaponry.co.uk/

http://www.medieval-weaponry.co.uk/acatalog/hanwei-swords.html

http://www.specialistswords.com/directory.asp

http://www.lutel.eu/

http://www.knifebargains.co.uk/index.html

http://www.onestopknifeshop.com/

Cool toys:

http://www.waspknife.com

Designer blades for the discerning collector:

http://sogknives.com/store/S10P.html

http://www.strassburgerweb.com/bowie/

http://www.randallknives.com/

Anything you'd like to add to the list?

Regards,

K.

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http://www.bkcg.co.uk/products/manu/coldsteel/index_all.html

This is a nice set. Out of the newly produced stuff, Cold Steel weapons are fairly decent quality and practical, some of the demo videos are very good.

Some good cheap and decent quality, useable alternatives for anyone learning any sort of traditional weapons art i.e. the Barong for Kali Illustrimo students.

The Corsican Stiletto makes a great alternative to a Chhoor/Choora.

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http://www.bkcg.co.uk/products/manu/coldsteel/index_all.html

This is a nice set. Out of the newly produced stuff, Cold Steel weapons are fairly decent quality and practical, some of the demo videos are very good.

Some good cheap and decent quality, useable alternatives for anyone learning any sort of traditional weapons art i.e. the Barong for Kali Illustrimo students.

The Corsican Stiletto makes a great alternative to a Chhoor/Choora.

Schweet! :D

The Spike will also serve as a decent Chhoor at slightly more affordable prices. They even make one now in a scimitar shape which, though only around 6 inches long, is a helluva lot more dangerous than these cheap 18" taksali kirpans I see some Singhs wearing.

K.

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Added another generic knife/survivalist shop:

http://www.onestopknifeshop.com/

And some beautiful handmade blades for those who want to slice and dice with style:

http://sogknives.com/store/S10P.html

http://www.strassburgerweb.com/bowie/

http://www.randallknives.com/

K.

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anyone have any ideas where one could learn?

Japan, once you know how to make good steel, the possibilities are endless. Sadly, the technique for making true Damascus steel, as used in Guru Sahib's shastar has been lost, but the Japanese one is very good. Not sure if they would teach a non-Japanese though?

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The knowledge of the old metals is lost, but you can still recreate old styles using new metals and a mixture of old and new techniques. Any weapons producer has a good level of knowlege, simply take a book of designs you would like to learn with measurements/weight distribution details etc and let them guide you.

As an example, Cold Steel factory is very cool, they literally are able to make everything and anything there.

Other than that, Indonesia, Malaysia, Philipines still have old school Lohaar who are able to make weapons to a good standard, a few still exist in India too as you mentioned - Baldev Singh, but I'm not convinced by the quality of his weapons - from 1st hand experience, I certainly know sevice through his UK contact is a bit of sham.

Another good idea would be to get in touch with Budda Dal and ask them who the Nihangs/Singhs were who used to work in the Patiala Budda Dal factory (which is now non-operational as far as I know) - there was certainly still some vidya there.

There are a few Singhs in the UK who are learning weapon making techniques - and have thus far had excellent results - specifically in producing menacing karai!

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One of my favourite shastar is the Nepali Kukri. Its simply pound for pound - the best weapon for pure destruction as well as excellent manipulation of your opponent (and his weapon).

If you are lucky, you may find an Indian/Iranian version with a tulvar handle (but these are very rare).

This is one of the best Kukri websites - which has a lot of innovative variations to the original models...

Enjoy.

http://www.khukuriblades.com/

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One of my favourite shastar is the Nepali Kukri. Its simply pound for pound - the best weapon for pure destruction as well as excellent manipulation of your opponent (and his weapon).

If you are lucky, you may find an Indian/Iranian version with a tulvar handle (but these are very rare).

This is one of the best Kukri websites - which has a lot of innovative variations to the original models...

Enjoy.

http://www.khukuriblades.com/

Fateh!

The best Kukris I've seen come from this place:

http://www.himalayan-imports.com/

They still practice their puratan maryada of using the Kukri to chatka a black goat to Kali before they put them up for sale.

You can get a Buddhist version of the blessing as well (using an egg as sacrifice) if you don't like the original version.

K.

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Fateh!

The Japanese still maintain an almost religious reverence for their shastar (the smiths are usually also Shinto or Buddhist priests).

Even Japanese Sword Polishing is an art form in its own right and takes up to 10 years of apprenticeship to master.

http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=-B7ACeHvSSM

For anyone who wants to learn to make shastar, the best bet is to apprentice oneself to a blacksmith who specialies in weapons. I know a few in the States and in the UK who may take on students, but they are not as knowledgeable about Indo-Persian weapons as smiths in India might be.

Best case scenario would be to travel to India and find a smith who practices shastar vidiya also, that way you know the weapon is meant to be functional and not just a very good replica of a museum piece.

Shaheediyan, do these Singhs sell any of the karray they make? Are their pics of them on the web any place?

K.

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Maybe I'm fussy or maybe it's my because of my caste, lol, but without the right steel, even the best looking, most beautifully made weapon is not the best it could be.

That is why I'm sceptical about the blacksmiths in India and UK etc. I know some who just melt old truck springs and other scrap then make shastar out of those. That's why puratan shastar are valued - the technique of making true Damascus has been lost for a very long time.

Modern steels are very good, but negate the role of the traditional smelter, which was an important one, as the video I posted above shows. Bear in mind that the best modern steels for making shastar are not freely available and when it is available, it's very expensive - making swords etc is not a priority these days for steel makers.

There was a test on discovery, where they pitted a state of the art modern blade against a traditional one. Both had their strengths but the traditional one was more suited to actual combat.

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haha as for truck springs, i remember when we got some new shastar for our gatka akhara, it was big deal cuz they were apparentky "kamani loha". i later asked my dad what kamaani loha was hahaha. truck springs/shock absorber things.

the shastar were nicely made and whatnot still, i wont verify their quality or anything as my shastar gian is nothing compared to most of the frequent posters on this site.

but yeah its true, even a lot of the normal sri sahibs and karhe are made from scrap metal and whatnot. i find it disgustingly disturbing how we as a nation simply refuse to keep our traditions alive, be it in the architectural genius of our gurus from fortresses to bazaars being, or countless works of art, being destryoed by "kaar seva" babay, or the refusal to maintain and keep in high respect within the mainstream panth, traditions such as santhiyaa shastar vidiyaa gurmat sangeet/raag vidiyaa and lohaari.

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could someone spell out khukri in punjabi for me? i've seen it written a gajillion different ways in english lol, so i feel kinda retarded about the pronunciation

ਖੁਕੁਰੀ based on the devanagari spelling on the himalayan imports website.

K.

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Maybe I'm fussy or maybe it's my because of my caste, lol, but without the right steel, even the best looking, most beautifully made weapon is not the best it could be.

That is why I'm sceptical about the blacksmiths in India and UK etc. I know some who just melt old truck springs and other scrap then make shastar out of those. That's why puratan shastar are valued - the technique of making true Damascus has been lost for a very long time.

Modern steels are very good, but negate the role of the traditional smelter, which was an important one, as the video I posted above shows. Bear in mind that the best modern steels for making shastar are not freely available and when it is available, it's very expensive - making swords etc is not a priority these days for steel makers.

There was a test on discovery, where they pitted a state of the art modern blade against a traditional one. Both had their strengths but the traditional one was more suited to actual combat.

Fateh!

LOL, what caste used to make shastar?

I agree, there's nothing better than an actual puratan shastar that was made for and tested in battle, but we do have a great deal of information on metallurgy now that was simply not available in ancient times.

True damascus steel (wootz steel) cannot be made any more because the ores that were used in manufacture were depleted long ago (they contained tungsten and vanadium) but the method of creation was rediscovered by Pendray/Verhoeven and has been applied to make steel that has most of the qualities of wootz steel (microcarbides etc).

For modern steels we have 9260 steel that is used to make amazingly resilient blades, and we have Howard Clark's L6 Bainite for those who can afford to splurge on the best steel for shastar that is available in our times unless one goes to Japan and acquires real tamahagane.

Howard Clark and Alfred Pendray are both examples of great contemporary bladesmiths who are also qualified metallurgists.

K.

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http://yhst-7333098713883.stores.yahoo.net/15inchsirupati.html

this one's hot too

Fateh!

They are both the same blade, veera, though they have different handles and one is 20" and the other is 15". They are functional and will last forever.

Here are a couple of reviews:

http://zknives.com/knives/fixed/himp/himp20siru.shtml

http://www.cutleryscience.com/reviews/sirupatis.html

I always read the reviews on zknives.com before I buy any knife. It is a good resource.

K.

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