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Originally Posted by harrywagner
They have wood cores, with a small bit of felt on top. It would be great if you can help us with this. Thanks.
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The reason I asked the question was to see the patina on the wood core, if there was a core, to help determine age. The wood looks fairly new. Take a smell of it. Does it smell like freshly cut wood or does it smell real musky? A blade that has been around since the 1930's that has been oiled regularly will deposit some of that oil in the wood along with dust, dirt, grime, etc. after a very long time it creates that musky smell. Old things have that smell. New things tend to have a newer smell. Disregarding the oral provenance from the auction and strictly looking at the knife in question my guess would be that it is 30-40 years old. The silver koftgari seems to be decent work and it is not as flamboyant as very recent more mass produced Indian work. If you enjoy and appreciate them don't worry too much if they are 1930's or 1970's. In another 30-40 years they will be antiques for the next generation. Imagine soldiers in the Philippines in the 1940's buying a sword from circa 1900-1910. It would have been 30-40 years old at that time. Now, collectors enjoy and cherish many pieces from that time period. Collect what you like. Take care of them and someone in the future will determine their collectibility at that time.