A Pattern Welded Katar

[Rick]

Just wait ................... it gets worse .

[Gt Obach]

@ Lew

occasionally a crucible steel charge can be an incomplete melt... some of the low carbon wrought iron has not gone into solution in time... it is difficult to tell as when you look at the crucible, most of the melt is liquid -- with a piece of wrought iron floating within.... now the crucible is yanked out..... cooled.. and then ingot is cracked out of the crucible and forged out into a blade
-- now to the smith's surprise, when the blade is etched....a non-patterning area is revealed in the wootz... this can be some of the initial ingredients not fully melted
- it does become a steel however.... as carbon will migrate as the blade is forged

also... to broken tips... alot of blades can have the tips broken during combat use..

not suggesting this is what happened with this blade... but its likely a crucible melt error

also... forgewelded wootz can be done without loss of pattern... I have seen it

[Blacksmith]

I agreed with Lew. On some thread a while ago I mentioned a tulwar which I saw in India, the blade was wootz on other side and pattern welded damascus on other.It was for sale but the price was quite something so I had to pass it.
Still regretting...
-Timo-

[Blacksmith]

Sorry, agreed with Obach.

[Richard Furrer]

Originally Posted by Blacksmith

I agreed with Lew. On some thread a while ago I mentioned a tulwar which I saw in India, the blade was wootz on other side and pattern welded damascus on other.It was for sale but the price was quite something so I had to pass it.
Still regretting...
-Timo-

That blade is called a "Kamara"..I saw one in North India belonging to a landed family. It hardness tested different from one side to the other...first indication that it was one of those as the carbon levels were different from one material to the next and a "as quench hardness" is related to carbon levels only. I had heard of them, but that was proof.

I have yet to make one, but it is on the list.

And just to reinforce the point, it is possible to forge-weld crucible steels to non-crucible steels and still maintain the pattern. Anyone interested can email me and I'll provide some images.

I have seen a few katar which are not wootz. the habit of late in India seems to be polishing the items..which makes it difficult to tell what the steel is.

Ric