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History of Wootz Damascus, -and Pattern Welded Steels.
Fact is, someone has been making it ever since iron was first invented, most likely starting with the "Celts" of Europe
in 500-400 BCE, (that's five hundred years before Jesus was born). "Ummm" the first Celtic Smith said,
rubbing his dirty chin,.. Vulcan I think his name was? "What am I gonna do to make this iron better than the bronze we've
been using"? It's easier to make, but rust's, and really isn't that hard for edge holding, and not so great for tools or
weapons as we had hoped". One day, .. an apprentice of his, ...who did not get his atta'boy's, -noticed, the iron that had
more charcoal in it was harder than the iron that did not. Wow! First they piled it layer on layer, iron and steel, -iron
and steel, making sure the cutting edge was steel. They had the upper hand in blade-smithing, and held it for many centuries.
Then the Germanic came along, and used strips of iron and steel, in a twisting and forging-method that produced a pattern
in the steel, so now not only was it functional, it was pretty, and pretty sells. Pretty is magic, and magic, is renowned. Even today, on the net, one can find "wootz" examples, from India with modern Smith's claiming
to be the keepers of the damascus flame - "a renowned family, with Royal sanctions' since ancient times". One thing that
really gets on my last nerve, are the Smiths, and College metallurgist's claiming to have "reinvented" -"damascus" steel.
Yawn. I have found no less that five guys saying he and his crew, started it in Britain in the 1950's, -the Netherlands about
the same time, America 1970's, France 1760's. Ho-hum. And that other guy says he started it in the 1980's. Okay? ZZZzzzzzz!
When anyone that knows anything about weapons knows Britain and America were both producing damascus shot gun barrels all
through the late 1800's. Anyone who has ever traveled, -Soldiers, Doctors, Missionaries, Rich People, Businessmen, -anywhere,
... know the Philippine's, Tibetans, Burmese, Persians, Turks, and Indians never stopped making it. The Japanese
have had their version of folded homogenous steels, going strong since 900 AD, and only stopped for a short time via anti-Samurai
edicts in the 1800's. Of course theirs is the best,... just ask them! Then you have a slew of College level Metallurgists'
having found the "fountain of pattern welded youth" publishing papers on both sides of the pond for the last hundred years.
Ta'da! Okay, I'm being snarky, and I actually thank G-d they contributed to re-popularizing it, bringing
it to the American gun and knive"world", in the 1950's-1990's, ..but the art never "died out" like some pretend. Irrespective of my sarcasm,... wonderful improvements glorious and awe-inspiring have been made
in these metallurgical strides. We have Smiths who have achieved tool steel, "spring" steel, hi nickel-chrome alloy, stainless,
and even titanium pattern welded blades, jewelry, and accouterments that are shockingly beautiful, unhistorical-functional,
and a wonder to behold as art and weapons performing better than the originals. In
the non-ferrous world Mokome Gane (the Oriental version of non-ferrous metals used to make contrast in color and design),
used to achieve a "damascus" like pattern, has seen a resurgence in the last 50 years. New methods, modern machining, scientific accuracy and methods, have reached new tolerances, and have contributed
to cost effective means to produce "damascus" and mokome in large quantities. Add that to our modern "free market base" in
China, Pakistan, and India, -read slave labor, and the market, as it were has been flooded with "damascus steel" of all grades
in the last twenty years. Indian company's can make, pattern, profile, fuller, etch, and ship damascus steel cheaper than
I can buy the materials in the US. Hence to make a living from simply making "random or any other pattern welded damascus"
has become a disappointment to many aspiring blade-makers both Europe, The United Kingdom, and on this side of the pond.
Study, and you shall find, Celtic Tribes, Roman both Republican & Imperial , Germanic Tribes, Merovingian,
Carolingian, Scandinavian, -all through time blending iron and steel in some form of wrought pattern welded steel weapons.
Until the entrance of the blast furnace and complete steel blades could be produced in mass, this steel was the preferred
steel of all warriors.
For a complete scientific, scholarly study,
of in print works, (without sarcastic B.S., from me) see:
On Damascus
Steel, by Leo S. Figiel, M.D. For the basics into Wootz, and Indian, Iraq, Iran, Pakistan, etc made damascus. In my opinion
the only steel that deserves to be called damascus. Great pattern photo's, hilts and guards of the Islamic-Arabic-Indian
fashion.
Records of the Medieval Sword, by Ewart Oakeshott. Blade,
pommel and guard types from approximately 1000-1700.
Archaeology
of Weapons, by Ewart Oakeshott, from the dawn of Bronze to Late Middle ages.
Swords
of the Viking Age, by Ian Peirce. Detailed analogy of late Migration period, through Viking-Saxon age weapons. Great advances
in the analysis of Pattern Welded blades, pattern breakdown, and the Peterson, Oakeshott, Wheeler, and Geibig typology's discussed
in detail. A must for any sword-smith.
For practical application:
The Complete Blade-smith, -Forging Your Way to Perfection, by Jim Hrisoulas, &
The Master Blade-smith, the same author. He also has the Damascus Blade, in the same vein.
Northeastern India having Piled layered Pattern Welded blade construction, even until the mid 20th century.
This is the Official Wuffingas, R. S. Inc. answer site. If you need questions on Corporate Polisy, Rules and Regulations,
Customs and Traditions this is the place for you. Each Wuffingas Kingdom has it's own site, and the information shared between
the Kingdoms must "jive" with what you see here.
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