The blade came out of the scales for cleaning and some glamor shots:
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Unfortunately the rest of the etch is still nearly invisible. I am pretty certain it has letters near the center of the blade, though smaller letters than Martin's "Fine India Steel" image. It's really a massive blade: 1/4" at the spine and right about at the 15/16" mark even after the hone wear. Any ideas on when it was made? I'm thinking 1860 - 1870...
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