The black lines on the blade in photo 3 are easier to see in the photo than in person, but the upper one looks like a crack or surface forging flaw, and the lower one definitely looks like a crack, particularly because it has a similar line directly on the other side of the blade. I can just barely feel their presence rubbing the point of a toothpick across them.
I can't tell what the black material holding the blade in place is. Is black an unlikely color for an authentic piece?
The blade doesn't seem much more pristine than a real antique (authenticated by Bonham's) kard I have. But, on the khanjar's blade there's no rust/etc at the base of the blade where it meets the hilt (ie in the hard-to-clean places), that does point more towards newness, I guess, particularly with the hilt having pitting.
I didn't get the knife in Rajastan, no. It was in the US.
And I'm slightly confounded that now there are opposite opinions on what's old and what isn't. Maybe both are new? Or old?
And the hilt design; it seems plausible as an old piece?
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