Verhoeven/Pendray and Wootz

samuraistuart

samuraistuart

Joined
Dec 21, 2006
Messages
3,158
Apologies if this has been posted before. I came across this video on the "Tube" and found it super interesting. "Original wootz blades were never quenched". Their microstructure consisted of pearlite and carbide bands. I'm sure many of y'all knew that already, but I thought it fascinating.
 
My wootz blades are not hardened. The carbide needles are what makes them cut. Otherwise, they are rather soft.
 
I didn't pick that up from the first time I watched it. I just was picking up on the vanadium that was naturally accuring in the area.

So what is the process for getting a cutting tool out of it? How high is the carbon content?
 
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Hadn't seen that , thanks .
Incredible what they achieved in the old days !
 
I've heard about Wootz for years but never understood what the big deal was about it until watching that video. Cool also to put a face to Mr. Verhoeven.
 
There are also little comments indirectly connected ..The Church boycotted those swords ...Saladin was involved in steelmaking ! But watch the video a few times and pick up the little details that they had to do for the product to work !! These guys know their stuff !
 
I don't believe that we can't replicate wootz steel .... Unless you mean have the same source material and such.

The metallurgy is understood, the process is time consuming, but not difficult, and there are many who do it.

I also believe that the majority of what is said about Wootz is mainly supposition and hype. I doubt there are any verifiable original records on making it, the trade in it, or what people, churches, etc. actually said/believed/did with it. IIRC, the old story that it was only made in one place has been debunked. The story of it disappearing when the "source" ran out also doesn't hold water, as it was still in trade with Europe, Scandinavia, and Russia long after it stopped being made in .... well, heck, we don't even know exactly where it was made in the beginning ... do we.

It would be easy for me to state as a fact that bladesmithing dates back to Abraham, who taught it to Isaac. I could even say that the problems between Arabs and the Jews started because Isaac would not share the secrets of swordsmithing with them. There is no one who could deny it ... but that doesn't make it a fact.
 
I think wootz was not a supersteel. I have made and studied wootz and published an article "Wootz Damascus steel of ancient Orient" in Scandinavian Journal of Metallurgy 33(2):92-97 (2004)
I tested knives for leather cutting. Here are my cutting test results "Damascene pattern" is carbide figures of wootz. According to my test results wootz was not better than 0.75% carbon steel. Hardness is crucial. It makes difference between excellent and poor cutting quality. Notice that pearlite with 34 Rc cuts better than tempered martensite with 46 Rc. Pearlite has small carbide lamellas which improve cutting performance. Many ancient blades had pearlitic structure. Screenshot from 2018-07-10 16-04-59.png
 
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