11-01-2019, 11:37 AM
A little follow on to this story Ken and others: I'm headed to India and the Hyderabad region in a couple of months so thought that I would take advantage of seeing how "wootz" is formed into knife blades by skilled craftsman. To that end, I've been conversing on a "sort of" knife forum there and, I fear, am about to discover that it isn't done there any longer. Here is a sample of the replies I've received:
"Hello Mike, I have dabbled with knife making for the past 10 years or so and consider my self a hobby knifesmith. I am not too sure you will find professional knife makers in India as in the united states due to restrictions and various other causes. The village blacksmith would be you best bet but their expertise and knowledge base is usually limited to traditional agricultural tools and implements. Would love to catch up with you though if you could visit my state. "
Additionally: there seem to be a number of confusing restrictions on just what kind of knives that can be carries and transported legally. Another response:
"Any blade of length more than 6 inches of length is not permitted in India. As per law you can't carry them with you any where. But there are some points in the law which differs the first rule. Like the Kitchen Knifes and the Choppers of different purpose are usually more than 6 inches of Length and they are permitted. Blades used for Crop Cutting and other similar purpose is also permitted under agricultural tools."
Very nice people but I'm afraid the I'm making little progress in witnessing a chunk of wootz steel being transformed into a beautiful blade.
"Hello Mike, I have dabbled with knife making for the past 10 years or so and consider my self a hobby knifesmith. I am not too sure you will find professional knife makers in India as in the united states due to restrictions and various other causes. The village blacksmith would be you best bet but their expertise and knowledge base is usually limited to traditional agricultural tools and implements. Would love to catch up with you though if you could visit my state. "
Additionally: there seem to be a number of confusing restrictions on just what kind of knives that can be carries and transported legally. Another response:
"Any blade of length more than 6 inches of length is not permitted in India. As per law you can't carry them with you any where. But there are some points in the law which differs the first rule. Like the Kitchen Knifes and the Choppers of different purpose are usually more than 6 inches of Length and they are permitted. Blades used for Crop Cutting and other similar purpose is also permitted under agricultural tools."
Very nice people but I'm afraid the I'm making little progress in witnessing a chunk of wootz steel being transformed into a beautiful blade.