Thanks very much for all the explanations! I read them carefully and learned many new informations.
According to the wonderful and very valuable Dissertation of Anna Feuerbach "Crucible Steel in Central Asia" one can see the quality of a wootz blade by its shine.
"The shine is the lustre, or perhaps glittering appearance of the sword. The sheen can be absent (Piakowski, 1976, 239) or range in color from reddish to a golden color, which is the highest Quality (Bogachev, 1952, 40)." (Tatton, 1880, 60)
This Katar is from the golden type, clearly visible already during the polishing, if the abrasive cloth has a grit of at least 8000, better 12000. The effect was strong enough, to hide the whole pattern.
Roland
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