Folded Damascus
Folded Damascus
Damascus Steel is a broad category of metallurgical techniques used to make higher technology knives and sword blades in the 12th through 18th centuries. Prior to the Bessemer process which allows steel to be made in large quantities with exact control over the amount of carbon in the mix, steel was made in an artisanal method – it was made in small batches, and making a batch large enough to make a sword was a technical challenge.
Steel is iron with carbon impurities; the best time to mix in the carbon impurities is when the steel is hot. The archetypal image of a blacksmith striking sparks from a red hot steel blade that we see in movies and popular culture stems from needing to distribute the carbon (from coke or charcoal) through the blade. You’d hammer the steel while it’s glowing hot, turn the blade over, hammer it again, and reheat. The aim of doing this was to make sure that the carbon granules were broken to the right size in the alloy. (Modern steel making allows much greater precision than merely hammering the nodules out). The more carbon there is in the steel, the harder it is, and the more rigid the steel is.
Damascus steel, in spite of the mythologies that have built up around it, was simply a technique of taking high carbon steel ingots (usually “wootz” steel imported from India), hammering or drawing them flat, and then putting a layer of charcoal over them, then a layer of higher nickel alloy steel over it (nickel keeps steel flexible), then hammering them together, often times trying to fold the steel back so that there’s a pattern of high carbon steel (providing rigidity) and softer nickel steel (maintaining flexibility and the softness needed to sharpen the weapon with period tools).
Damascus steel shows a distinctive pattern – the high carbon steel is darker than the nickel steel, and there’s a pattern of cells that can look almost like snakeskin or running water through the blade, as the hot blade is quenches in pickling brine. (This brine will tarnish the high carbon steel before the nickel steel). Similar patterns can be found in pattern-welded steel swords from Northern Europe and the “folded steel” swords of the Japanese, both of which have been mythologized (as has Damascus steel) into weapons that can cut rock, bodies and machine gun barrels.
Damascus steel fell out of fashion for two reasons. The first is that it’s incredibly labor intensive to make, and the second was that with the Bessemer process, modern steelmaking allowed for comparable steels at a fraction of the cost. Indeed, the leaf springs in a typical automobile or light truck can be ground down to make better swords than ever existed in antiquity in terms of quality and ability to hold an edge.
You can follow the link to look at some Damascus Steel Blades.
K McCormick is the director of North American Enterprises, Inc. He has over 20 years law enforcement experience and has been hunting, fishing and camping for over 40 years. His company researches and writes about knife related topics. You can contact him at http://www.PocketKnivesMall.com
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ITO Katana Folded Steel Model 556 Purple Lightning Damascus Sword $143.95 This sword has been constructed with a blade that is hand forged from 10-folds layers for 1024 layers of 1065 High Carbon Steel. The blade has been hand sharpened to a nice edge and etched fo the popular damascus blade look. Showcasing lightning done in white on one side, and the Japanese Thunder God on the other the oxidized (blackened) zinc alloy tsuba (guard) is an impressive addition to this … |
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Ryumon Tanto Black Folded Damascus Carbon Steel Blade $40.95 Coming in a deluxe Ryumon wooden gift box, it features the Ryumon logo etched into it, this Tanto knife makes a great gift for collectors! The blade has been forged by hand from 10-folded and 1024 layers of 1065 high carbon steel. It features a blood groove, with a tempered blade that has the popular damascus etch look and hand sharpened under a traditional Japanese hand-sharpening process. The ts… |
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ITO Katana Folded Steel Model 555 Black Thunder Damascus Sword $143.95 This sword has been constructed with a blade that is hand forged from 10-folds layers for 1024 layers of 1065 High Carbon Steel. The blade has been hand sharpened to a nice edge and etched fo the popular damascus blade look. Showcasing lightning done in white on one side, and the Japanese Thunder God on the other the oxidized (blackened) zinc alloy tsuba (guard) is an impressive addition to this … |
Peter Marker Micro Damascus Folder Knife
I recently found one U.S. dollars folding hunter Your 110v has a strong Damascus?
sheet, some kind of bone or horn handles and nickel reinforced. Does any collectors value?
Check with these guys. Http: / / www.buckcollectorsclub.org / Login.aspx
