I just noticed this thread and thought to weigh in. I am a knife and sword dealer. A large part of our inventory consists of Indian and Pakistani made blades. I carry them not because I really want to but because they are making blades in historic patterns that nobody else mass produces. Some of the blades are great, others not so hot but we price and sell them for what they are. Our experience with Indian-made blades has been pretty good. With some exceptions they make a decent product as far as the steel goes. Much of what we carry is made of mild steel so it will not take or hold and edge. This is especially true with many of the swords but they look great and we advise our buyers NOT to use them as actual weapons. Wood to metal fit and leather quality has been problematic from time to time but lately we have noticed considerable improvement in one or two lines which we carry. Companies like Cold Steel sell some Indian-made blades which are second to none in their price range. The Scottish basket hilt, which we carry, comes to mind.
The Pakis tend to use a lot of stainless, even in their sword blades. I have gotten some Paki blades which claimed to be stainless but rusted! Generally I would prefer not to sell Paki blades but they also make some that are not mass produced elsewhere so what are we to do if the customer wants one? Rhetorical question - of course we provide the product.
While I hate to mention particular brand names, I would say among the Indian producers that Cold Steel and Windlass Steelcrafts produce the best product with many un-named forges all over India producing items of lower quality - and lower price. Atlanta Cutlery, a subsidiary of Windlass, makes some very nice blades which will hold an edge and give long service if cared for. Deepeeka, which makes some great historical swords and other weapons which simply cannot be found elsewhere, varies in quality but I would have to say that most of what they provide is best for display, not for use. Recently, however, they have attempted to upgrade their quality by offering some very nice things. The frustrating part of this is they always seem to be in short supply.
The simple answer to what to buy is - what am I going to do with the blade? If it is just for display and because it looks great or fills a niche in your collection of historical cutlery, then go for the sword or dagger which covers all bases there. If you want to actually put the blade to use then you have to be more careful. That is it in a nutshell. Do your homework first.
