Thank you for the pictures. They are much more clear then the first pictures. The uniform pitting is a sign of artificial aging. Natural pitting is varied with clear steel, deep pitting and wide pitting. The false edge should be sharp right away and not gradually.
The examples in your books are tricky. They are museum examples, shot from a distance and one dimensional. The blackened hilt makes observation even more difficult.
But even then, you should still see the difference with the bars. They do not have the same diameter along their length.
I stand with with my previous assessment.The blades mark might be genuine from a contemporary smith.
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