Looking for a small wootz blade

[kevtan]

Hi! The subject sez it all. Am looking for a small wootz blade for testing. Seems alot of myth n fables are attached to the famed Damascus blades. Any idea where they can be bought for less than an arm and a leg!!???

Thanks for the help.

 

[senoBDEC]

You mean actual wootz? Or modern wootz? And no, wootz isn't spectacular as far as I've read - not with modern "pure" steels in comparison - even well done typically there's no performance difference. There's some interesting threads on the topic over at swordfoum...

Good luck, last I saw, a real wootz bar went for about 400 on eBay.

 

[kevtan]

Thanks for the reply senodbec. Yes I dont think I can afford to get an old world wootz or bulat. I am hoping to get some from the modern makers. And yes I have looked throught ebay, dont think i wanna go there......

 

[AchimW]

I guess it doesn't matter too much wherever you go and ask. Wootz is an awful lot of work to make and it's expensive. It also doesn't matter too much if it's an old blade or a new one, except if you're lucky enough to find an old one in the hands of a fool who doesn't know what he's dealing with.

Looking at the prices of the few people who actually make wootz the traditional way, expect to pay from 500 $ per pound upwards for raw bars, a lot more for finished blades.

Achim