Hi Greg,
Thanks for your mail. I don't know why the blades were brittle, and the man who wrote it has been dead for about a thousand years, so we can't ask him, but maybe they did not temper the blades enough. One thing is that the Indians and the Persians knew what to do, but maybe they did not know it in Novgerod - although I doubt that they have missed that part.
You really lost me a few times, but Google helped me to understand your mail better - I am still confused, but on a higher level
.
In the book Persian Steel there are quotations going back to 8th and 10th century, telling about tempering blades several times, now I better understand why. They also give several recepies on how to make the pattern show.
Do you know the book?
Jens