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Damascus blades
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Damascus Steel
What Is Damascus Steel?
This variety of steel is forged
from a specific type of ingot, commonly known as Wootz steel, which comes from
the Far East, primarily Sri Lanka and India.The name of the steel, however,
is a reference to the city of Damascus, the capital of Syria.
With a name that sounds like it
came straight from Game of Thrones,
Damascus Steel does have an air of legend surrounding it.
For nearly two millennia, the name
has been synonymous with high quality and impeccable integrity, some people
even suggesting that a finely crafted Damascus Steel sword could split a human
hair!
Before you begin an epic quest to
secure some of this Valyrian….err, Damascus steel for yourself, it makes sense
to understand where this steel comes from, and what has made it so highly sought
after and respected for so many years.
What is Damascus
Steel?
This variety of steel is forged
from a specific type of ingot, commonly known as Wootz steel, which comes from
the Far East, primarily Sri Lanka and India.
The name of the steel, however,
is a reference to the city of Damascus, the capital of Syria, where the swords
were either sold or directly forged at some time in the past.
What makes this type of steel
stand out, particularly when forged into larger items (e.g., swords) is that
the appearance of the metal is entrancingly unique, resembling ripples or waves
across water.
The patterns found on the steel
are swirling and textured, yet the metal is extremely strong and difficult to
shatter.
Perhaps even more importantly,
the forging of such metal was known to be quite simple, as the material was
quite plastic and malleable when in a superheated form.
While many relics made of
Damascus steel have been found, the actual technique that was required to form
the ingots remains lost to history.
For roughly 1,500 years, a
flow of ingots from the east to the west allowed for this remarkable material
to spread through the world, but this forging style eventually ran out of favor
around the middle of the 18th century.
Today, there are some
manufacturers who claim to forge and sell items made of Damascus steel, but
“real” Damascus steel is no longer being produced today.
In India and other sources of
these Wootz steel ingots, their production was variable, meaning that the
natural contaminants of the metal would differ.
The bladesmiths and ironworkers
that received these ingots would then have to work with the raw materials
provided, resulting in products of different quality and appearance.
In other words, there was no
factory churning out identical ingots for western consumption, so as the
ironmaking process changed in the east, the flow of ingots that could make
Damascus steel similarly dried up.
What Makes Damascus Steel So
Special?
The unique origins and journey
of Damascus steel makes it historically relevant, but it also had a number of
qualities that made it unusually sought after throughout history.
Although there isn’t any firm
evidence about the exact process of Wootz steel ingot production, it is
believed that woody biomass, leaves and other iron alloys were used in the
process to carburize the material.
By increasing the carbon
concentration of the steel (to approximately 1-2%), it would leave behind
carbon nanotubes within the metal, which can be derived from plant fibers.
As opposed to other forms of
metal in use at the time, Damascus steel also had some degree of
hyper-plasticity; this means that the swords forged from this metal were able
to bend without breaking, and return to its original form.
It was reputed that the edge of
such blades could also be refined to an unusually sharp and durable edge.
In an age before sophisticated
armor, this sort of advantage made this type of steel extremely valuable.
How Does Damascus Steel Measure
Up Today?
While this specialized type of
steel may have been a huge advantage hundreds of years ago, modern advancements
in steel and other high-strength alloys have diminished the appeal of Damascus
steel to a mere novelty.
For example, the Rockwell Scale
is a metric for measuring the hardness of a material, and its ability to
withstand load.
Damascus steel has a Rockwell
hardness of between 30-50, depending on the particular composition of the
ingots used. However, even a basic kitchen knife today has a Rockwell hardness
in the mid-50s.
Furthermore, most blades made
today are stainless steel, meaning that they are far more resistant to
corrosion and highly durable, an advantage that Damascus steel did not enjoy.
As for the plasticity of the
metal, in comparison to traditional iron or steel swords, today’s alloys and
stainless steel has a high level of plasticity, allowing the metal to bend, yet
still spring back to its original form without losing any of its integrity.
A Final Word
These days, we are easily
enamored by things from the ancient past, particularly those objects that have
some sort of legendary quality.
Whether that is in response to
the global obsession with Game of Thrones, or some instinctual nostalgia for
simpler times, there’s no denying that things like Damascus steel hold a
fascination for us.
However, in comparison to the
metal that we have developed and commonly use today, this once-prized metal
would be deemed less than average, and is truly only desirable for its
aesthetic appearance, rather than its function.
John Staughton is a traveling writer, editor and publisher who
earned his English and Integrative Biology degrees from the University of
Illinois in Champaign, Urbana. He is the co-founder of a literary journal,
Sheriff Nottingham, and calls the most beautiful places in the world his
office. On a perpetual journey towards the idea of home, he uses words to
educate, inspire, uplift and evolve.
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