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Originally Posted by mariusgmioc
I believe that these high quality wootz blades were re-mounted in the late 19th century.
Does anyone have precise information when wootz stopped being produced in India?!
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Marius, I was specifically looking for information about this.
It is important to separate two issues.
1) there was a mass production of damask steel in India. It stopped in the middle of the 19th century
2) in separate principalities of India for maharajas and their entourage, arms and armor of wootz steel undoubtedly continued to be made until the end of the 19th century. It was impossible for such a short time to lose the skill of working with wootz steel. Perhaps, they stopped making wootz steel itself (as a material). But in the arsenals there were enough blanks (wootz ingots) from which it was possible to forge blades.