[kisak]

Looks like there might be good reason to get to work cleaning up the blade of the small one then. I also cleaned up the Bhutanese sword a bit and did a trial etch with vinegar on part of it, both to see what might be there, and to see what the vinegar might do to it. Looks like three separate regions in the end, became a bit more subtle in the photographs though. In the more heavily-etched parts (to the left), it begins with one region by the edge going from pale yellow, via reddish hues, to purple almost reddish one towards the edge, then a blueish band, and finally a more yellow part until the spine, covering almost half the width of the blade (edge is upwards in the photos). All in all it looks almost heat blued, and while hat helps make it visible in the pics, I guess I'll be aiming for something a bit less colourful in the end (just a lighter etching, or should I go look for some iron chloride?) The spine section also shows a multitude of fine lines or "cracks" in the lengthwise direction of the blade, making me think of folded steel.