Share a picture of your favorite wootz blade

[RSWORD]

On the keris forum they had a fun posting where everyone shared a picture of their favorite keris. I thought it was a neat post and a great way to see an assortment of interesting and fantastic pieces. So why let them have all the fun! :D I am starting a "Post a picture of your favorite wootz blade" thread. C'mon you wootz guys! Time to shine. Here's mine.

[Nathaniel]

Rick, is that the one you picked up at Baltimore? Sweet Wootz!

[Nathaniel]

Also, Rick, cool idea with the fav wootz.

[ALEX]

Rick, the wootz on the blade you showed is absolutely stunning!
One of my favourite wootz blades is in the Figiel's book, page 80. Yours is the next:-) There is a reason why it is called "watered", and I always admired blades which resemble that water surface effect. Having features like ladders, etc is always a plus. Here are some of these mentioned patterns. sorry I do not show the complete items, as not to detract from the "real" beauty:-)

[CharlesS]

Alex,

I don't think I have ever seen a 'ladder pattern' any better 'controlled' in forging than that!

Very NOice!!

[RSWORD]

Alex,

Thank you for sharing. Those are all georgeous examples and I really like the bottom one you posted. All truly mouth watering! Still looking for more examples. C'mon Chuck. Alex G. Jeff D. Jens. Would love to see several pages of wootz pictures! Here are a few more shots of a khyber sword blade. Nice dark wootz!

[RSWORD]

Rick, is that the one you picked up at Baltimore? Sweet Wootz!

Hi Nathaniel,

No, this isn't the one I picked up in Timonium. If I had only been so lucky for the wootz to have been this nice!

[Ferguson]

I only have two wootz pieces now. The first is a karud from Bukharra, the second is a katar. Both from Timonium last year. Both have fairly low contrast patterns. I understand that nitric acid is better for etching wootz than FeCl, but I don't have any.
Steve

http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v163/sferguson53/Public/karud-wootz-2.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v163/sferguson53/Public/karud-overall.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v163/sferguson53/Public/katar-3-09-overall.jpg
http://img.photobucket.com/albums/v163/sferguson53/Public/katar-3-09-wootz.jpg

[Royston]

Small Walrus Ivory hilted Khyber

Roy

[RSWORD]

Roy and Steve,

Nice additions to the gallery! Thanks for posting!

[Nathaniel]

Bump :)

[Aleksey G.]

wooossssttttzzzz!!!

[Lew]

Here is one of mine a Persian khanjar. :) Also a choora with an Indian wootz blade sorry it's a low contrast wootz :o

[RSWORD]

Aleksey and Lew,

Thanks for adding to the thread. Very nice examples of wootz!

[Jens Nordlunde]

Hi Rick,

You called my name when I was abroad – but here I am, back again.

It’s an interesting thread you have started, and here are a few of my watered blades.

[RSWORD]

Jens,

Thanks for sharing some beautiful examples of wootz!

[Battara]

Here is my meager need-to-be-polished piece:

[ALEX]

Very nice ladder pattern on a shamshir blade - one of my latest favorites.

[Battara]

Nice wootz!

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

On the keris forum they had a fun posting where everyone shared a picture of their favorite keris. I thought it was a neat post and a great way to see an assortment of interesting and fantastic pieces. So why let them have all the fun! :D I am starting a "Post a picture of your favorite wootz blade" thread. C'mon you wootz guys! Time to shine. Here's mine.

Salaams,
I have a couple of Omani Old Kattara blades that I think are watered steel but are either rusted and or pitted so I cant see clearly a pattern. What is the cleaning and polishing sequence needed to restore the blades please? I have had some success with lemon salt in removing rust but what are the next stages? :shrug:
Ibrahiim al Balaooshi.

[Dom]

Good day Gentlemen
I only have three wootz pieces
- an Ottoman Kard
- a Kurdish Jambiya
- a Bukhara Pich-Qàbz

all the best

à +

Dom

[RSWORD]

I'm happy to see the thread is still alive! It is wonderful to see all of the great examples of wootz!

Alex, thanks for sharing that georgeous ladder pattern shammie!

[Gavin Nugent]

Agreed Rick, it is nice to see the thread continued and the variation in skill levels and execution of controlled patterning within the wootz.

Attached is one of mine, I wont have it in hand for a few weeks but worth sharing I thought...several others here when I find a moment.

Gav

[Gavin Nugent]

Better now that it is in hand :D

[Jens Nordlunde]

Here is a pata with a wootz gauntlet.

[Gavin Nugent]

Here is a pata with a wootz gauntlet.

Now that's a nice treat Jens. Whilst so many blades in so many styles of sword are found with Wootz, the Pata Gauntles, other hilts, shields and armour are seldom seen in wootz, thanks for sharing.

[AJ1356]

My fave pattern belongs to this sword listed a while back on Oriental Arms under an Asadullah sowrd, even though it is not an Asadullah sword but one of Mo'alem Mesri, the pattern is just beautiful. I hope one day I am rich or lucky enough to have a blade like this :)

[Burchitai]

On the Russian site guns.ru
big collection of wootz patterns are shared
http://talks.guns.ru/forummessage/79/763891-7.html

[tom hyle]

interesting how many of these photos are close ups of the material that don't really show the overall blade; striking what a range of different foci there are within the confines of blade collecting!

[Jens Nordlunde]

Well Tom,
The thread was 'Share a picture of your favorite wootz blade'. I was the one who didn't, all the others did, but they only showed part of the blades, as it was not asked for to show the whole blade, only the wootz.
Jens

[RSWORD]

Great additions to the thread guys. Jens, I love the Pata. Does the wootz appear to be a "veneer" applied over the top of a core steel guantlet? In discussions with Philip who polishes a lot of wootz, he has found that objects like armor, shields, flasks tend to have a veneer of wootz versus the entire object being forged of wootz. From your picture, I can see a couple of spots where maybe that veneer has worn away revealing the core steel. I imagine this is a great forging accomplishment and a testiment to the smiths skill.

[Jens Nordlunde]

I have had another look at the gauntlet, and it is made of 'solid' wootz.

[Ibrahiim al Balooshi]

I'm happy to see the thread is still alive! It is wonderful to see all of the great examples of wootz!

Alex, thanks for sharing that georgeous ladder pattern shammie!

Salaams,
I dont have much in the way of watered steel blades but I am very interested in knowing the workshop technique for bringing up cleaning and restoring old wootz blades. What is the method for doing this and what does the term "bringing into polish" entail? I have two ancient Omani Blades which could be wootz and I would like to give one a try with whatever technique is suggested. Any ideas? :shrug:

Regards Ibrahiim al Balooshi.

My workshops use hand tools only and are experienced in the old fashioned skills of hilt and blade work up to Koftgari etc ~ Wootz we don't know much about. We learn fast however ! :shrug: