Gene,
Based on everything I've seen of "sham", it' wootz. As you probably well know, the name "sham" in this case is a Near Eastern term, it doesn't mean "false" or "faux" as we would use it in English.
Even if your blade is not wootz, it shouldn't be a cause of disappointment! There's nothing wrong with pattern welding, layering, lamination, and all that; as we all know a number of cultures East and West did some remarkable things with it and the craft is pursued at a high level even today. Wootz is indeed a marvellous thing (when it's done right, and frankly said there's more indifferent to bad stuff out there than there is the really excellent), but we should not elevate it to the status of a sacred cow. Even in this, the Year of the Ox!
