The followimg is what I've been able to wade through regarding "Damascus Steel". Everything directly known about Damascus steel has been gathered from experiments done on relatively recent artifacts, simply because such artifacts do not survive for thousands of years. The defining trait of Damascus steel is layering, not the pattern.
Every scientific finding I uncovered is refuted by another scientific finding, and the entire movement is most likely chasing legends. One such legend is that Japanese warriors preferred their layered swords to rifles, because the swords were so tough you could sever a rifle barrel with one.
Damascus is a semi-recent development of layering. Layering produces steel that is vastly superior in toughness and strength to forged steel. Damascus was identifiable by the characteristic pattern, somewhat like what is achieved presently by pattern-welded steel.
But originally, it wasn't the pattern the smiths were after. It just happened to be a characteristic of the finished product, and was not nearly as pronounced as today's acid etched Damascus. Ancient Japanese swords were folded up to 4,000 times, and were highly polished as to mute the pattern as much as possible.
Even in medieval times, no one cared about the pattern on folded steel. Soldiers wanted a blade they could swing full force, again and again, to tear through armor. Actually, when the crossbow came into use, it made armor obsolete, prompting one historian to claim the crossbow would surely end all human life.
Today, Damascus steel is valued much more for the look of it. Most, if not all, Damascus blades are ground from commecially available, industrially manufactured billets, like these: https://damascussteelbillets.com/product-category/our-products/damascus-billets/
When a Damascus blade knife says 'hand made', it doesn't generally refer to hand layering the blade, only grinding it into the desired shape and other hand work done to make the knife. The link I posted has overpriced billets. You can purchase them for about 1/2 of that. I used that link, because it doesn't have anything on it but Damascus Steel billets. Also, with billets, you can order the pattern ready made.
If you want to know more, Google is your friend. Damacus steel is layered high-carbon/low-carbon, so you get the best of both worlds. Each layer blends with the adjacent layer, welding it, not like arc welding, but forging and hammering welding, does produce a tough blade that can typically be 1mm thinner for the same strength in breaking as powdered steel.
One sure way to identify real Damascus steel as it is made today, although it is not always the case, are slight blemishes on the edge. Knifemakers in India especially, leave the belemishes rather than hone them out. But not every blade will initially hone to reveal blemishes (small spots on the edge)
These are easily honed out if one finds them bothersome. I have a neighbor from Sri Lanka where the blades are actually hand layered. He was at a festival of some sort, and someone asked if he wanted these knives. Apprarently there's much haggling, but he thought of me, and got me 2 identical knives, for $60 (and undoubtedly at a tidy profit for himself. Average wage there is $1.20/hr , 440LKR Sri Lankan currecy.)
They aren't identical like a manufactured knife. They look similar to each other. And you can tell they're made with hand tools. Previous to this I was never quite sure if what I have is Damascus. But once you see it once, you'll not easily forget.
Those 2 are the first I have with a slight dip in the blade. So, I can't sharpen it on a flat stone. Any advice on the best way to get inside that slight dip. It's about 1/4"x at the deepest, and about 5"long on an arc. Thanks for all the help.
Every scientific finding I uncovered is refuted by another scientific finding, and the entire movement is most likely chasing legends. One such legend is that Japanese warriors preferred their layered swords to rifles, because the swords were so tough you could sever a rifle barrel with one.
Damascus is a semi-recent development of layering. Layering produces steel that is vastly superior in toughness and strength to forged steel. Damascus was identifiable by the characteristic pattern, somewhat like what is achieved presently by pattern-welded steel.
But originally, it wasn't the pattern the smiths were after. It just happened to be a characteristic of the finished product, and was not nearly as pronounced as today's acid etched Damascus. Ancient Japanese swords were folded up to 4,000 times, and were highly polished as to mute the pattern as much as possible.
Even in medieval times, no one cared about the pattern on folded steel. Soldiers wanted a blade they could swing full force, again and again, to tear through armor. Actually, when the crossbow came into use, it made armor obsolete, prompting one historian to claim the crossbow would surely end all human life.
Today, Damascus steel is valued much more for the look of it. Most, if not all, Damascus blades are ground from commecially available, industrially manufactured billets, like these: https://damascussteelbillets.com/product-category/our-products/damascus-billets/
When a Damascus blade knife says 'hand made', it doesn't generally refer to hand layering the blade, only grinding it into the desired shape and other hand work done to make the knife. The link I posted has overpriced billets. You can purchase them for about 1/2 of that. I used that link, because it doesn't have anything on it but Damascus Steel billets. Also, with billets, you can order the pattern ready made.
If you want to know more, Google is your friend. Damacus steel is layered high-carbon/low-carbon, so you get the best of both worlds. Each layer blends with the adjacent layer, welding it, not like arc welding, but forging and hammering welding, does produce a tough blade that can typically be 1mm thinner for the same strength in breaking as powdered steel.
One sure way to identify real Damascus steel as it is made today, although it is not always the case, are slight blemishes on the edge. Knifemakers in India especially, leave the belemishes rather than hone them out. But not every blade will initially hone to reveal blemishes (small spots on the edge)
These are easily honed out if one finds them bothersome. I have a neighbor from Sri Lanka where the blades are actually hand layered. He was at a festival of some sort, and someone asked if he wanted these knives. Apprarently there's much haggling, but he thought of me, and got me 2 identical knives, for $60 (and undoubtedly at a tidy profit for himself. Average wage there is $1.20/hr , 440LKR Sri Lankan currecy.)
They aren't identical like a manufactured knife. They look similar to each other. And you can tell they're made with hand tools. Previous to this I was never quite sure if what I have is Damascus. But once you see it once, you'll not easily forget.
Those 2 are the first I have with a slight dip in the blade. So, I can't sharpen it on a flat stone. Any advice on the best way to get inside that slight dip. It's about 1/4"x at the deepest, and about 5"long on an arc. Thanks for all the help.
