A pattern welded punal

[Ferguson]

I received this from a very kind forum member who understands my passion for these little knives. Thank you sir! When it arrived, the blade was bright, but showed an odd pattern along the edge. It looked like the hamon on a Japanese katana. I thought that the maker or a previous owner might have etched a cosmetic hamon on the blade, so I polished it by hand and applied some dilute ferric chloride.

OH.... MY.... GOODNESS!


Those of you who have etched a piece only to find something beautiful that you didn't expect can understand my excitement. I had no idea that I would find such a beautifully manipulated pattern. I love the random patterns that one usually sees in Philippine blades, but this has just floored me. The beauty of this blade has way exceeded my ability to photograph it properly, but here are some pictures of this little punal.

Thanks for letting me share this with you. Please excuse my enthusiasm!

Steve