My paranoia is in full swing: only the very tip of the pommel's projection shows minimal losses to the koftgari. The rest is pristine, including the color-matched padding. The blade was extensively cleaned( good job!) even within the curlicues of the retaining plate. Again, nary a scratch on the koftgari. And the rivet is kind of crude....A suspicious person could imagine that the old blade was cleaned first and then "married" to the newly-decorated handle or that the koftgari was done on a previously plain handle.
OK, perhaps it is 18th century! Must have been stored in a temperature and humidity-controlled environment: a usual practice of the Indian arsenals
