[stephen wood]

Thanks...did that sword come from Artzi (Oriental Arms)? There was one on his site before which looked quite old. When I saw him at the London Arms Fair he mentioned seeing one with those marks there (it was in my bag by then ).

In the Pallme text Peter Knell is presumably Peter Kull. He gives very precise dimensions which suggest that blade length was standard by that time. The nearest I could find to the Death's Head mark is below...

Would the inlay have been done as part of the forging process or later?