[Oliver Pinchot]

It certainly wants to be an Islamic inscription, but there are some anomalies.
First off, it is etched rather than chiseled. Too, the characters look to have been copied from another blade, probably by someone who could not read them. The biggest problem, however, is that it is heavily worn. If someone can enhance the contrast, we might be able to determine a little more.

In On Damascus Steel, Leo Figiel pictures a number of blades which are not of Persian form, but are nonetheless inscribed. The Safavids impacted many neighboring cultures, particularly the Mughals. Thus, many Persian terms and characteristics relating to arms, inscribed cartouches prominent among them, occurred on weapons considered characteristically "Indian."