eBay MORO KRIS WOOTZ??

Battara · 19th December 2004, 08:47 PM

On the other hand, I suspect that once in a while a wootz piece could have been traded and used on a blade. Take this example of a gunong I have:

Battara · 19th December 2004, 08:55 PM

Now here is the close up of the blade (looks like wootz, doesn't it):

Mick · 20th December 2004, 02:02 AM

Sorry Battara

That's a folded blade, not wootz.

Andrew · 20th December 2004, 03:50 AM

I agree with Mick, Jose. That looks forge-folded. Is it polished like a Japanese blade, or etched like a keris?

Wow. What an interesting blade.

Federico · 20th December 2004, 02:46 PM

Are the white specs just dust in the scan, or is that actually in the steel?

Ferguson · 20th December 2004, 08:40 PM

A poor picture of a Tulwar with a wootz blade.
Steve

ariel · 20th December 2004, 10:02 PM

Yup: THIS is wootz.
There is a big difference between crystalline damascus (wootz) the beauty of which depends on a narrow range of impurities (wolfram, most likely) and heating/cooling temperatures and mechanical damascus that is constructed by combining different steels into a single blade and then polishing/etching the surface.
Wootz is a native Indian product. As such it was used by Indo-Persian bladesmiths as well as by the Persia proper masters who obtained raw materials from India.

Wootz ingots were rarely bought by the Caucasian and Ottoman bladesmiths and this is the reason why wootz is practically confined to India/Persia. I have never seen real wootz outside of that area.
Which kind of Damascus was superior? Mechanically it made very little difference for the average warrior; esthetically it depended on the personal taste; urban legends attributed incredible properties to either variety (such as " sliced through a nail" which is exactly what the Ginsu people are telling us about their kitchen knives) but the proof is lacking in most of the cases.
Ultimately, it is the swordsman that makes the difference, not the sword.

Battara · 20th December 2004, 10:42 PM

Hesitant to call my blade wootz, yet hesitant to call this pattern welded only. The white flecks are the scanner glass surface. It is not etched like the Javanese, yet not polished like the Japanese. In any case, it is the most heavily laminiated steel I have seen on a PI/Moro piece.

RSWORD · 21st December 2004, 02:59 AM

Jose

Having the privilege of handling that lovely gunong of yours, I can tell you it is not wootz. Rather, I believe it is a type of pattern welding, possibly 3 plate, not unlike Chinese sanmai.

19th December 2004, 08:47 PM	#1
Battara EAAF Staff Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Louisville, KY Posts: 7,272	On the other hand, I suspect that once in a while a wootz piece could have been traded and used on a blade. Take this example of a gunong I have: Attached Images

19th December 2004, 08:55 PM	#2
Battara EAAF Staff Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Louisville, KY Posts: 7,272	Now here is the close up of the blade (looks like wootz, doesn't it): Attached Images

20th December 2004, 02:02 AM	#3
Mick Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Orlando Posts: 104	Sorry Battara That's a folded blade, not wootz.

20th December 2004, 03:50 AM	#4
Andrew Member Join Date: Nov 2004 Location: USA Posts: 1,725	I agree with Mick, Jose. That looks forge-folded. Is it polished like a Japanese blade, or etched like a keris? Wow. What an interesting blade.

20th December 2004, 02:46 PM	#5
Federico Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Minneapolis, MN, USA Posts: 312	Are the white specs just dust in the scan, or is that actually in the steel?

20th December 2004, 08:40 PM	#6
Ferguson Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Kernersville, NC, USA Posts: 793	A poor picture of a Tulwar with a wootz blade. Steve

20th December 2004, 10:02 PM	#7
ariel Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Ann Arbor, MI Posts: 5,503	Yup: THIS is wootz. There is a big difference between crystalline damascus (wootz) the beauty of which depends on a narrow range of impurities (wolfram, most likely) and heating/cooling temperatures and mechanical damascus that is constructed by combining different steels into a single blade and then polishing/etching the surface. Wootz is a native Indian product. As such it was used by Indo-Persian bladesmiths as well as by the Persia proper masters who obtained raw materials from India. Wootz ingots were rarely bought by the Caucasian and Ottoman bladesmiths and this is the reason why wootz is practically confined to India/Persia. I have never seen real wootz outside of that area. Which kind of Damascus was superior? Mechanically it made very little difference for the average warrior; esthetically it depended on the personal taste; urban legends attributed incredible properties to either variety (such as " sliced through a nail" which is exactly what the Ginsu people are telling us about their kitchen knives) but the proof is lacking in most of the cases. Ultimately, it is the swordsman that makes the difference, not the sword.

20th December 2004, 10:42 PM	#8
Battara EAAF Staff Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Louisville, KY Posts: 7,272	Hesitant to call my blade wootz, yet hesitant to call this pattern welded only. The white flecks are the scanner glass surface. It is not etched like the Javanese, yet not polished like the Japanese. In any case, it is the most heavily laminiated steel I have seen on a PI/Moro piece.

21st December 2004, 02:59 AM	#9
RSWORD Member Join Date: Dec 2004 Location: Greensboro, NC Posts: 1,086	Jose Having the privilege of handling that lovely gunong of yours, I can tell you it is not wootz. Rather, I believe it is a type of pattern welding, possibly 3 plate, not unlike Chinese sanmai.