Military Dao, casted steel?

[Roland_M]

Hey Guys,

a few days ago I won this Dao for a very reasonable price. The blade itself was in pretty good condition with abolutely no forging pattern at all, only some deep nicks from earnest fighting. No pattern, no forging flaws. But it seems too old for a modern mono-steel blade. It was neccesary to polish the blade up to a grit of 2000, to see the first effects in the steel (picture 2 with silver steel).

After etching and cleaning, I was extremely surprised about the result. The surface looks almost like a clear sky at midnight, full of tiny stars. This is no pitting from corrosion, it has something to do with the steel.
I guess, this blade was made from chinese casted steel, similar like wootz but laminated and with a very narrow hamon.
The blade is heavy (71 cm without tang, 8 mm thick and 930 Grams blade only), very strong and tough together. This steel would be my personal choice for a heavy sword, it is absolutely reliable.

Right now only one side is finished, if someone is interested, I can show more pictures after I finished the work.


Any thoughts? This steel is completely new for me, so every opinion is helpful.


Roland