Is this saif from Yemen or Hyderabad India for the Yemeni market?

mariusgmioc · 16th December 2020, 06:39 AM

Hello,

This is a very good example and it is in excellent condition. Congratulations for this quality piece!

From the photos you posted I am not sure the blade is pattern welded. Most blades of this kind of saifs are not pattern welded.
The apparent pattern may be because of lamination, heat treatment but in this case more likely because of former contact with oxidizing agents. However, it is difficult to say from the photos.

The blade is already well cleaned but with rather coarse scratches. So I think the blade may benefit from some finer polishing 1000-2000 grit. I wouldn't attempt to completely remove the scratches but only to give it a finer and more uniform appearance. By doing this, the structure of the blade may become more apparent.

PS: I consider pattern welded, a laminated structure composed of two different steels that etch in different tones so as to display a specific pattern.
So if a blade is made of multiple layers of the same steel (like the Japanese blades for example, or like many Indian blades) it is laminated, but not pattern welded.

16th December 2020, 06:39 AM	#6
mariusgmioc Member Join Date: Sep 2014 Location: Austria Posts: 1,903	Hello, This is a very good example and it is in excellent condition. Congratulations for this quality piece! From the photos you posted I am not sure the blade is pattern welded. Most blades of this kind of saifs are not pattern welded. The apparent pattern may be because of lamination, heat treatment but in this case more likely because of former contact with oxidizing agents. However, it is difficult to say from the photos. The blade is already well cleaned but with rather coarse scratches. So I think the blade may benefit from some finer polishing 1000-2000 grit. I wouldn't attempt to completely remove the scratches but only to give it a finer and more uniform appearance. By doing this, the structure of the blade may become more apparent. PS: I consider pattern welded, a laminated structure composed of two different steels that etch in different tones so as to display a specific pattern. So if a blade is made of multiple layers of the same steel (like the Japanese blades for example, or like many Indian blades) it is laminated, but not pattern welded. Last edited by mariusgmioc; 16th December 2020 at 08:40 AM.