Hi Jim,
sorry I missed your post ...we posted at similar times ...which probably explains why. Nice to hear from you
The overall impression of this knife is it has some age (especially the blade) The blade spine is indeed decorated with cross hatching and dots. I have also found that the decorated metal 'sandwiched' between the handle slabs is silver or silver alloy (when rubbed with cloth I get a black residue)
The lead/pewter is in fact the same 'silver' as the handle, It appeared to be seperate pieces but is part of the handle, the 'thumb wear through' (shown in one of the photos, the 6th one from the top) gave this impression....my mistake
My excuse for this mistake is that I was up most of the night watching the 'shooting stars' as earth passes through the path of a comet.
http://www.bbc.co.uk/wiltshire/weather/perseids.shtml
So I've been half asleep with a neck ache for most of the day....not complaining ..it was worth it
Kind Regards David