Hi Andrew. You are probably right, that non-wootz blades was cheaper to make, but like you also write, that with the work put into making the katar, it does not make any sense to save a bit on the blade.
I cannot remember, ever to have seen one of these south Indian blades, with a lot of fullers having a wootz pattern.
RSword, what you describe is the katars with fever fullers, if any at all, often seen more to the north, where the middle of the blade is etched but the edges polished.
The type you describe is like the ones on the picture
.
Gene, I think the failing wootz pattern is due to the many fullers. You probably will not be able to see the wootz pattern very well, if at all if it is grey, with all the fullers, maybe it would even make the blade look strange.
I don’t know why it is so, but it is worth looking into, to se if there is a ‘pattern’.
As you can see, the side guards are decorated in steel ‘pearls’ and fish, which had a special symbolic meaning to them, the funny think is, that the fish have eyes on both the inner and outer side. Between the two cross guards you can see seven small wheels, and in each of the cross guards a steel ball is rolling. When you get ‘Hindu Arms and Ritual’ by Robert Elgood, have a look on page 161 and read about the fish on page 134-5.