Marius, thanks for the feedback. It looked to me like that was a possibility, but it is hard sometimes to make an objective judgement on a subjective subject especially when you own the item in question. As wootz kindjals are rare I assumed it was wishful thinking on my part.
Odd vice mistake. I guess a lot of people don't use wood or copper jaws to save the item they are working on. the original restoration was very sloppy.
Is the differential tempering a contraindication to wootz?
Conduit, are you planning to clean your qama to see what is underneath? I would linseed the handles. It would make them happy