[QUOTE=Roland_M]
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Originally Posted by ashoka
At the risk of appearing totally clueless... I see nothing in these katars that suggests they are new fakes to me. QUOTE]
Four different blades with exactly the same state of corrosion after 200-300 years? Never!
Forging job is poor, the decoration is extremely poor, the steel quality seems to be below average. I can see no pattern welded steel and also no wootz, just trash.
Chinese and Africans are highly skilled in artificially aging of metal or wood and it is not so hard as you may think.
Kind Regards Roland
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There are thousands of heavily rusted Indian weapons with the same patination from armouries and the Indian climate, it is totally typical. And hundreds of these weapons similarly ruined by the mechanical cleaning of the Indian dealers as seen here, again typical. They end up looking awful. Many of the super-plain katars that used to sell in bulk on ebay had gone through this process, probably they still sell on there. As to quality of chiselling that's a matter of taste. Most of the decoration has almost been worn off in areas due to the modern cleaning and but mainly old wear. Wootz or pattern welding would not be visible from those photos and condition, unlikely for this grade weapon/blade type anyway. I,m somewhat surprised by the extremes of opinion here, one mans trash is another mans um.. well I wouldn't call this treasure exactly.