Are they legendary stars?
 

:D

It's funny~~~~'cause I know its guard and handle had been displaced and, then, after I wash it with oxalic acid, something happens. This dull thing slowly becomes a little bit shining. It looks like reflecting sunshine from the dark beach at evenfall. But I am not sure if they are those legendary stars in Wootz, for I have no idea about its raw material. :D

http://photo1.yupoo.com/20070319/010...0_xlabvogn.jpg

http://photo1.yupoo.com/20070319/010...1_adpsssue.jpg

http://photo1.yupoo.com/20070319/010...2_wmqmcppu.jpg

:shrug:

http://photo1.yupoo.com/20070319/010...5_hrwhzzjn.jpg

http://photo1.yupoo.com/20070319/010...0_vucxrkzg.jpg

http://photo1.yupoo.com/20070319/010...6_xtdglchw.jpg


Just have a fun, my friends. :p

Pics come. :p

I suspect that's not wootz. Looks Thai (or perhaps Burmese) to me.

I have to agree with you Andrew it looks Thai to me, this blade shape is still common in Thai made knives though I do not remember any with that style of guard

Yeah, we've had a number of threads about knives like this. The engraving on the blade is what made me think perhaps Burma.

Heavily pitting Thai knife (E-Nep). Modernized, could be post-WWII era.

Sawatdee-krop, Puff. :)

This effect of little white dots that appear to be just below the surface of the material is sometimes found in some lower quality Javanese keris.

According Prof. Jerzy Piaskowski the renowned Polish historical metallurgist, this effect is caused by cold forging.

Blade smiths will often pack a blade, especially the cutting edge, within the heat range that applies to cold forging.

You wouldn't happen to have a more technical explanation of the how's and why's of it all from him that you could quote, link to, or some such?

Begining in about 1986 I worked in cooperation with Prof. Piaskowski in the examination of archaic Javanese blades. He produced several papers on these examinations but he was only able to get two published, the problem was that his major paper was extremely large and detailed, and as such, too big for the journals that publish on these type of subjects to handle..

I do have copies of all the papers he produced, but I am uncertain where mention of these amorphous flecks occurs. I am not going to look for it because it would take too long for me to find it, and if it is not in a published paper, I would not provide any quotes from it.

I have not heard from Prof Piaskowski for 12 months or more, and if he is still with us, he is of very advanced age, so I am not going to pursue him for permission to quote his work.

To my knowledge, none of his work is available online.