A 17th century sword with a lionheaded pommel for comment .

[Andreas]

Originally Posted by fernando

If i may, it surely involves experience, that is, being acquainted with such inscriptions that were deciphered before. Smiths being often iliterate and putting down the lettering with their personal 'stylized' mode, i see it more as a question of interpreting than actually reading.

Well said, Fernando. As someone who often has to transcribe old manuscripts as part of his job, I couldn't agree more.
Andreas