Wootz blade

[ariel]

Conduit,
Please take these comments in a constructive way: nobody is mocking you. Beginners’ mistakes were committed even by the most experienced Forumites. Mistakes are an integral part of any educational process.

Luckily, these modern Indian creations are not expensive and your monetary loss was a fair price for educational experience.

Just remember the rule: buy good books and read them first.

As for Damascus blades, I would recommend one by Manfred Sachse “Damascus Steel”

If you have determined the kind of bladed weapons you would like to collect, feel free to let us know and people here will be glad to direct you to good and reliable sources of knowledge. In a little while you may wish to deepen your expertise and will expand your library. After that, you might notice that for every new weapon you would be buying at least two new books, and then suddenly you yourself will become an expert:-)