The mystery of Damascus steel blades.

The mystery of Damascus Steel

Damascus steel was a type of steel used in South Asian and Middle Eastern swordmaking. Damascus steel was created from wootz steel, a steel developed in India around 300 BC.[1] These swords are characterized by distinctive patterns of banding and mottling reminiscent of flowing water. Such blades were reputed to be tough, resistant to shattering and capable of being honed to a sharp, resilient edge.[2]

The reputation and history of Damascus steel has given rise to many legends, such as the ability to cut through a rifle barrel or to cut a hair falling across the blade,[5] but no evidence exists to support such claims. A research team in Germany published a report in 2006 revealing nanowires and carbon nanotubes in a blade forged from Damascus steel.[6] This finding was covered by National Geographic[7] and the New York Times.[8] Although modern steel outperforms these swords, microscopic chemical reactions in the production process may have made the blades extraordinary for their time. Woody biomass and leaves are known to have been used to carbonize the Wootz ingots used in Damascus steel, and research now shows that carbon nanotubes can be derived from plant fibers,[9] suggesting how the nanotubes were formed in the steel. Some experts expect to discover such nanotubes in more relics as they are analyzed more closely.[1][7] (source Wikipedia http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damascus_steel)

Modern Damascus

Today companies such as Silver Stag create Damascus steel by forge welding multiple layers of high carbon steels into a solid block called a billet, (Silver Stag contains 1095 & 15N20 high carbon tool steels). The billet is folded and re-welded several times to produce layers, (Silver Stag Damascus = 150 to 300 layers). Patterns are created by manipulating the steel during the forge welding process, (Silver Stag offers a random and twist pattern). The blades are profiled out of the layered steel billet block, then hand ground, polished, and sharpened. The combination of layered hard and soft steels creates blade flexibility, toughness, and produces invisible serrations on the edge that aid cutting. (source Silverstag http://www.silverstag.com )