wootz blade welded back together

Philip · 21st December 2006, 01:47 AM

Greg
You're spot on in your comments about what would ensure a sound weld on a piece such as this.

I'm also amazed at the ability of the smith who did this weld joint, he certainly knew how to control his temperature. There are enough wootz blades out there whose blades are intact and in one single piece from forte to tip, which nonetheless show melding of the carbide networks (resulting in patches of gray) in areas due to overheating.

I polished the blade that's shown in this post. The joint is lapped a little ways. When it was sent to me by its owner for repair, I could see a patch of cross-hatching and remains of a clumsily-executed gold onlay inscription panel (reading "Iran" on a sword of typically north Indian workmanship). Though not apparent at the time, this decoration was put right over the weld joint. (an odd place for an inscription cartouche, on Indian and Persian blades they are almost always at the forte, about 4-6 in. ahead of guard) The sword's owner, realizing that the gold work was not original to the blade (it didn't match the rest of the decor in terms of quality and age), requested that it be polished over, and that's when the weld joint was discovered.

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21st December 2006, 01:47 AM	#12
Philip Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: California Posts: 1,036	Greg You're spot on in your comments about what would ensure a sound weld on a piece such as this. I'm also amazed at the ability of the smith who did this weld joint, he certainly knew how to control his temperature. There are enough wootz blades out there whose blades are intact and in one single piece from forte to tip, which nonetheless show melding of the carbide networks (resulting in patches of gray) in areas due to overheating. I polished the blade that's shown in this post. The joint is lapped a little ways. When it was sent to me by its owner for repair, I could see a patch of cross-hatching and remains of a clumsily-executed gold onlay inscription panel (reading "Iran" on a sword of typically north Indian workmanship). Though not apparent at the time, this decoration was put right over the weld joint. (an odd place for an inscription cartouche, on Indian and Persian blades they are almost always at the forte, about 4-6 in. ahead of guard) The sword's owner, realizing that the gold work was not original to the blade (it didn't match the rest of the decor in terms of quality and age), requested that it be polished over, and that's when the weld joint was discovered.