Wow, interesting piece! It looks as if the pattern weld is starting to come apart. Could this be the result of unskilled hands, i.e. the re-forging done by a smith who was perhaps unfamiliar with the principles of patterned steel? The handle and ferrule looks similar to that of a barong.
Whatever it is, it's coooool!
Michael, sorry for the semi-OT, but is there a convenient Scandinavian source for FeCl, or do you just buy it online? I'd like to try out a more aggressive etch.
All the best, - Thor