Sword of the Khalsa
The Sword of the Khalsa is a magnificently built weapon.
The blade of this unique Siri
Sahib is made of Damascus steel. The hilt or handgrip is decorated with white gold and
diamonds.
It has
a portrait of the 10th Guru, Guru Gobind Singh forged in yellow
gold and the embellished handle of solid jade and white gold is in the shape of Guru
Gobind Singhs hawk. The stainless steel scabbard, the sheath that covers the blade,
has the entire text of the
10th Master's Jaap Sahib laser-etched in microtype. The
Jaap Sahib contains over 3,550 words. Also on the scabbard, spaced evenly apart, are
miniature vignettes from the Master's life carved in yellow gold. There are
six vignettes, three on the back and three on the front. Each
vignette is set off with white gold, and precious stones (diamonds and amethysts).
Weapons Master Jot Singh Khalsa (Millis, MA) designed,
managed, and built the entire sword. Besides forging the blade and metal work, he also
supervised the engraving and finishing work. Jot Singhs wife, Harbhajan Kaur,
collected the many donations that funded the expense of the sword. These donations came
from individuals and sangats throughout the entire western hemisphere. The expense of the
materials alone is estimated to be $110,000. This truly unique sword took over a year to
make. Many other artisans contributed their talents to the creation of the sword. The
sword's box was hand crafted by Master Carpenter Muktiar Singh
(Espanola, NM). The 310 year-old piece of wood used to build the box comes from a Flame
Birch tree that was growing at the time of the original Baisakhi in 1699. The box is
decorated with
brass plaques that are engraved with the names of
the donors who contributed to make the creation of the sword possible.
Siri Singh Sahib
comments on the Sword of the Khalsa at Anandpur Sahib.
Jot Singh
talking about his role in creating the Sword of the Khalsa.
Copyright � 1999
Gurumustuk Singh Khalsa