Fred, did you ever worked with rotary cutter like Dremmel etc.? I did, many times (not on blades, of course ) and I can tell you these letters don't look to me to be done with any rotary cutter and the mysterious "halfmoon" might be caused by template's fault.
777, I have multiple rotary cutting machines, including an older version of a Dremel Tool that I acquired a long time ago that I favor over a newer version that I have. And at the level of image resolution that was posted I really can�t say for sure one way or another exactly how the inscription was applied. However I agree with you that a template was most likely used for the dagger here, and the fault could be with it. But the template I have in mind is the kind used with pantograph engravers which come in all different sizes. From �industrial size� all the way down to jewelers, sign shops, and the �hobby� types. They are also very easy to build and adapt to a Dremel Tool or one of its clones. Regards, Fred
PS: Attached is one of the other images with a couple of areas of interest that IMO should also be looked at very closeup.
) and I can tell you these letters don't look to me to be done with any rotary cutter and the mysterious "halfmoon" might be caused by template's fault. 
