Thanks Iain & Marc for the clarifications. In my ignorance I would have thought the heat treated blade would be considerably harder than one freshly forged and considerably resist a hammer blow on a stamp die. I guess commercial dies as one piece with complex designs were applied either cold or hot per their depth often with a hydraulic press. Makers marks like those used by Kassaka smiths were made with a series of small simple dies also cold applied. No doubt smiths only wanted to "sign" their work after it was complete and proven of quality.
Thanks again,
Ed
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