"cleaned" blade

mross · 28th June 2006, 10:23 PM

Could you post some close ups of the blade? Also where are the "filemarks"? A
close up of them would also be of value.

Mark · 28th June 2006, 11:28 PM

File marks on the blade would not be unusual. It was not the practice to always bring a blade to a high polish, and often rough file or grinding marks are seen. You could leave them, or polish them out. Neither would be "unauthentic," but polishing them out would be changing the original state of the blade,

I would be interested in some close-ups to. It does not look like the sort of blade that would have gold koftgari, though. It is most often silver, sometimes with some copper details. Have you tried cleaning it with a solvent like paint thinner? It might be a yellow discoloration of a varnish or other coating on the blade. Then again, it might be gold.

DhaDha · 29th June 2006, 05:09 AM

Apologies. I'll post some better shots soon. There's some copper koftgari on the spine which I'll show for colour reference as well.

DhaDha · 30th June 2006, 06:07 PM

Here are some more pics. Unfortunately, with the same camera. Hopefully both the koftgari and "cleaned" blade are more visible. I assumed there was copper, silver and gold. I don't have any paint thinner on hand to try and see if there's a "golden" stain or varnish though.

katana · 30th June 2006, 08:08 PM

IMHO If the file marks are caused by the sharpening of the blade by the original ethnic owner, I believe it is part of its authentic history ......and perhaps should be left. However, if you believe that the file marks are much more recent ....then polish them out..... my 2 cents worth.....

Mark · 1st July 2006, 03:14 AM

Interesting. The photo of the side panel shows the figures a silver, and the background foliage yellowish - maybe it is gold. It would be a first for me if it were. I suppose brass is a possibility, but it doesn't look quite the right color for that, either. I am interested to hear the results of your cleaning.

I think the grind marks along the edge are due to "authentic" re-sharpening. they look to me to have been done with a whetstone & not with a file or grinding wheel. As I said, you could leave them or polish them down a bit, depending on whether or not you want it to be completely as found (or last used).

Its a very nice piece.

Ian · 2nd July 2006, 05:19 AM

Quote:

Originally Posted by Mark Bowditch

Interesting. The photo of the side panel shows the figures a silver, and the background foliage yellowish - maybe it is gold. It would be a first for me if it were. I suppose brass is a possibility, but it doesn't look quite the right color for that, either. I am interested to hear the results of your cleaning.

I think the grind marks along the edge are due to "authentic" re-sharpening. they look to me to have been done with a whetstone & not with a file or grinding wheel. As I said, you could leave them or polish them down a bit, depending on whether or not you want it to be completely as found (or last used).

Its a very nice piece.

I think the yellow material is almost certainly brass. Brass decoration is quite common on these swords. Gold would be very unusual and I don't see other signs of lavish decoration to complement such an expensive ornamentation.

The grind marks are likely to be from a stone, as Mark has said. These marks can be found on very well made dha, and do not detract from the piece in any way IMO. They are genuine signs of use within the culture and I am inclined to leave them unchanged.

ian.

30th June 2006, 06:07 PM	#4
DhaDha Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 176	Here are some more pics. Unfortunately, with the same camera. Hopefully both the koftgari and "cleaned" blade are more visible. I assumed there was copper, silver and gold. I don't have any paint thinner on hand to try and see if there's a "golden" stain or varnish though. Attached Images

28th June 2006, 10:23 PM	#1
mross Member Join Date: Jan 2005 Posts: 478	Could you post some close ups of the blade? Also where are the "filemarks"? A close up of them would also be of value.

28th June 2006, 11:28 PM	#2
Mark Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 987	File marks on the blade would not be unusual. It was not the practice to always bring a blade to a high polish, and often rough file or grinding marks are seen. You could leave them, or polish them out. Neither would be "unauthentic," but polishing them out would be changing the original state of the blade, I would be interested in some close-ups to. It does not look like the sort of blade that would have gold koftgari, though. It is most often silver, sometimes with some copper details. Have you tried cleaning it with a solvent like paint thinner? It might be a yellow discoloration of a varnish or other coating on the blade. Then again, it might be gold.

29th June 2006, 05:09 AM	#3
DhaDha Member Join Date: Jun 2006 Posts: 176	Apologies. I'll post some better shots soon. There's some copper koftgari on the spine which I'll show for colour reference as well.

30th June 2006, 08:08 PM	#5
katana Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Location: Kent Posts: 2,658	IMHO If the file marks are caused by the sharpening of the blade by the original ethnic owner, I believe it is part of its authentic history ......and perhaps should be left. However, if you believe that the file marks are much more recent ....then polish them out..... my 2 cents worth.....

1st July 2006, 03:14 AM	#6
Mark Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Posts: 987	Interesting. The photo of the side panel shows the figures a silver, and the background foliage yellowish - maybe it is gold. It would be a first for me if it were. I suppose brass is a possibility, but it doesn't look quite the right color for that, either. I am interested to hear the results of your cleaning. I think the grind marks along the edge are due to "authentic" re-sharpening. they look to me to have been done with a whetstone & not with a file or grinding wheel. As I said, you could leave them or polish them down a bit, depending on whether or not you want it to be completely as found (or last used). Its a very nice piece.