In the West, the most widely known Indian sword is undoubtedly the tulwar: the iconic and deadly weapon used throughout the Subcontinent since the Middle Ages. But this name, tulwar, is often applied to blades that, for centuries, have also gone by other names. With the hope of clearing up confusion, I have written this article and made illustrations of each of the most common blade-shapes found on the swords of the Subcontinent. It is not an exhaustive list but I plan to add to it in future and, as with all of my articles, if you perceive an error then please do leave a comment below. I expect that this will be a controversial topic. You will note that the famous firangi does not appear in this list and that is because the term means foreign or Frankish and therefore can be applied to any sword with an imported blade.

Finally, none of the following swords are defined by their hilt types but I have included hilts within the images simply for the sake of completion. If you share this article please link to it or my Instagram account: @antique_steel.



