Is this Wootz?

[mariusgmioc]

I honestly cannot see any kind of pattern. Try polishing the blade, then etch it and if it is wootz the pattern will be clearly visible.

[Battara]

I agree. At the very least do what in the nihonto community is called a "window" or a section. That way you will not waste your whole time on the blade if no wootz is present.

[NavdeepBal]

Originally Posted by Battara

I agree. At the very least do what in the nihonto community is called a "window" or a section. That way you will not waste your whole time on the blade if no wootz is present.

Yea thats what I’m gonna do. Ill post the pics here. Its really frustrating because I can see it person but in pics the pattern doesnt show up. Im gonna etch a part of the blade soon. So hopefully pattern emerges.

[NavdeepBal]

Not my piece but the patterns on this blade match mine exactly, just lighter. The owner claims its wootz. Is it really?

[mariusgmioc]

Taking good photos of the wootz patterns is quite difficult. Good luck!

[RSWORD]

I can see the pattern in your original pictures but they are not clear enough to determine if wootz or pattern weld. India. Crystalline Damascus can have a very tight grain structure and not jump out at you. Additional etching is not going to improve the grain. Your best bet is to take the pictures in good sunlight and angle the blade to try and capture the pattern. From what I can see it looks like Indian crystalline wootz steel.

[mariusgmioc]

Originally Posted by RSWORD

Additional etching is not going to improve the grain.

From my experience, good etching can, in most cases, dramatically improve the contrast and enhance the pattern.

[RSWORD]

Originally Posted by mariusgmioc

From my experience, good etching can, in most cases, dramatically improve the contrast and enhance the pattern.

Of course that is true for a blade that is not in polish and etch compar dnto a blade that is as just polished and etched. All that is doing is showing the potental of the pattern that is already intrinsic to the blade. It is not improving the pattern, contrast or vividness from when it was originally made. A sword that has a burned out wootz pattern will always yield a burned out pattern no matter the quality of frequency of etch. In the example shown the blade is fairly clean without putting. The etch brought what microcrystalline pattern is there versus what was showing prior to the etch but the actual pattern is not going to get any better with subsequent etched. He might get some improvement in the consistency of the pattern maybe from an inconsistent or uneven etch the first time around but based on what I am seeing he will not get substantially better results.