Real wootz or etched iron?

ALEX · 15th December 2009, 03:35 PM

Good info, Jeff. Thanks
That rung, I think, is naturally occurred, and not deliberately cut. It lacks more defined core one would expect on a ladder rung, IMHO.
In terms of welding wootz ingots together - some form of folding must have been involved. The fold lines on many shamshir blades appear on top ridge, and not elsewhere, which is why I think it was done deliberately. But perhaps we should call it "weld" line instead of "fold" line:-)
In the interesting example above, where the line appears on the side of jambiya blade - the blade lacks the top ridge by design, and the smith attempted to keep it close to the cutting edge, to mask it, but missed it by a bit.
BTW, I am not claiming my "theory" is correct, these are only my thoughts based on observations of making wootz blades by a "traditional" smith.

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15th December 2009, 03:35 PM	#12
ALEX Member Join Date: Jan 2006 Posts: 936	Good info, Jeff. Thanks That rung, I think, is naturally occurred, and not deliberately cut. It lacks more defined core one would expect on a ladder rung, IMHO. In terms of welding wootz ingots together - some form of folding must have been involved. The fold lines on many shamshir blades appear on top ridge, and not elsewhere, which is why I think it was done deliberately. But perhaps we should call it "weld" line instead of "fold" line:-) In the interesting example above, where the line appears on the side of jambiya blade - the blade lacks the top ridge by design, and the smith attempted to keep it close to the cutting edge, to mask it, but missed it by a bit. BTW, I am not claiming my "theory" is correct, these are only my thoughts based on observations of making wootz blades by a "traditional" smith.