For what it’s worth, I’ll offer my opinion. First, what an impressive piece with such detail and character. I am jealous for sure and would love to have it in my collection.
In my somewhat uneducated opinion, I think the guard and blade have not spent their entire lives together. I know there can be differences in metals with blades often being made separate but there is just too much variation in wear and patina between the blade and the hilt. There is a good bit of deep pitting in the blade that just doesn’t show at all in the hilt. What a great piece though!
|