FYI, alloy steels were the direct result of "wootz" replication. Thank Michael Faraday for that. Apparently he (and of course others around the same time) was working on finding out why "wootz" was apparently "better". He was playing with elements and came up with alloy steel. With the "invention" of alloy steel, research into wootz was no longer necessary.
An idea...we usually think that only Islam was practices in the Near East, Central Asia, India, but these areas also have a high number of other religions (and still do!). Perhaps the patterned blades were a symbol of Islam, whereas the other blades did not. Some of these cultures also had a "ban" on non-muslims having weapons (I do not remember the reference off hand). Perhaps the lifting of the ban has somthing to do with the increase imports? I do not know but I think it is worth looking into.
