Those are good speculations, but somehow the x's look intentional. Look at the first picture showing the whole blade. You can see the x's as shadows running the entire length. With the sword in hand I can see that some have been polished out over time, and that the legs of each x end in a blunt rounded way that makes me think they were brushed on. In the pictures I provided it looks like the x’s run to the edge, which would be consistent with something tied around the blade, but it doesn’t look that way so much when examined in person.
I will look some more with your suggestions in mind when I get home.
Thanks,
Josh
|