Language: English
Origin: In common use among collectors

Description

"Hairpin forging" or "hairpin laminations" are terms used by collectors to describe a peculiar way of forging that was commonly used in the Himalayan region. The name derives from the sharp bend the laminations take at the apex of the blade.

C.S. Smith referred to it as;

"side-by-side welding of a nested series of hairpin rods"¹

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In Tibetan, it is called thur.²

See main article: Thur.

Well-executed hairpin forging on a fine Tibetan sword.
Sold by Mandarin Mansion in 2018.

Notes
1. Cyril Stanley Smith; A History Of Metallography: The Development Of Ideas On The Structure Of Metals Before 1890. 1960.
2. Donald J. Larocca; Warriors of the Himalayas: Rediscovering the Arms and Armor of Tibet.