Unknown Short Sword

[Interested Party]

[QUOTE=RobT;275700]As far as age goes, I am more inclined to say that the condition of all the components of the piece, rather than it having been made from a file indicates 20th century manufacture. Even if the file were not Nepali made, the British have been a presence in Nepal for a long time and it could have been one of theirs. /QUOTE]


Is it a file? At first glance I thought so but when I looked closer, I am not sure the marks aren't decorative. They have an appearance somewhere between a basketweave and a meander. If it is a file, it seems a distinctive cut pattern that could help identify a location of manufacture.

I would love to see a picture of the spine to see if the cuts are on the spine as well that would indicate it was an old file without a blind edge. Also, I would like to see distal taper. Since the ricasso doesn't have the pattern, it would have had to have been a very thick file (not a rasp, those have notches cut with the spikey chips raised) and a distal taper at the end of the ricasso for the smith to grind out the lines.

To be my own devil's advocate I do see six lines from the "file" on the saber grind, but to its right is almost a folded steel pattern. The difficulties of analysis from a single picture.

[kronckew]

Originally Posted by Interested Party

Is it a file? ...

The pattern looks very much like a large hi carbon steel farriers rasp. They are used by farriers to file horse hooves, and I'd guess other hoofed animals, as well as used in wood work. They are frequently used in knife making, and the distinctive open cross-cut pattern may be partially left as a decorative sign of it's past.


Top: the rasp
Bottom: a knife made from a rasp, with deeper pattern showing