Quote Originally Posted by Kees View Post
ClassicShaving claim this razor is made of genuine wootz: http://www.classicshaving.com/catalo...551/977928.htm
That's the photo I've been referring to. That is not wootz but pattern welded steel or laminated steel.

Here's one of the seminal references:

http://www.tms.org/pubs/journals/JOM...even-9809.html

The pictures in the above article should give some good contrasting views of what wootz should look like.

Dennis has a very good picture of a wootz blade: http://www.brisa.fi/wootz3.html

Now, carefully examine the area of the razor, just above the polished edge, in the oval escutcheon photo. Those are laminations. Laminations do not appear in wootz blades, as a feature of the steel itself. There might be laminations because some wootz smith was welding several buttons together to make a larger blade, but it would hardly be necessary for a razor.

Wootz dendritic crystals are also more interrupted in appearance. You can't generally find the end of one line and follow it very far. But a laminated blade contains lines that are fairly easy to follow even if very small.

I stick by my contention, not wootz in the classic shaving photo.