09-13-2014, 09:21 AM
The corroded notch could also have been caused by a stressbreak in the forged blade. Roman knives tend to have very small handles, they were held more like a scalpel then a knife as we use it. This is not really something dictated by the size of the hand, as 4 cm is small for any adult hand, even one smaller then our own. Placement of the finger on the underside of the knife is most inprobable, as it also impars the cutting ability. The inside of the "notch" is also very irregular, which argues against an intentional feature. So I vote for a post deposit feature or a break causing its rejection. You can get get blade failure like this when using a blade to pry something open as well.
