[Gene W]

Hi Richard,

Having done some digging I've found an example of what I'd hoped to, in an old thread over at SFI!
So, here is an example of an unusually old, dated pattern welded Kilij blade hilted as a Tulwar:
http://forums.swordforum.com/showthread.php?t=81141
It does show a date of 1037, So that is 1627!
My opinion is that it was simply an imported blade. The Indians imported a lot of blades, often Persian wootz, but this wouldn't be very unusual as there was a lot of trade between the two 'empires'.
Also interesting is that the added steel of the cutting edge is very small.
I genuinely believe as I originally said, that there are probobly many even older examples, where the blades surface is either polished or oxidised and the low contrast pattern is hidden.

As for Kindjals, they don't have the length of history of Kilij or Yataghans, but if you are researching them, my Kindjal is a good indicator that although rarely, the finest pattern welded blades were being made until at least 1904.

Hope this is of some help in your research.
Best
Gene

[Bernard Delor]

[Gene W]