Damascussteel

FromWikipedia,thefreeencyclopedia

Damascussteelwasatypeofsteelusedfor
manufacturingbladesintheNearEastmade
withwootzsteelimportedfromSouthern
India.[1]Theseswordsarecharacterizedby
distinctivepatternsofbandingandmottling
reminiscentofflowingwater.Suchblades
werereputedtobetough,resistantto
shatteringandcapableofbeinghonedtoa
sharp,resilientedge.[2]
ThesteelisnamedafterDamascus,the
capitalcityofSyria.Itmayeitherreferto
swordsmadeorsoldinDamascusdirectly,
oritmayjustrefertotheaspectofthe
typicalpatterns,bycomparisonwithDamask
fabrics(whichareinturnnamedafter
Damascus).[3][4]

Closeupofan18thcenturyPersianforgedDamascussteel
sword

TheoriginalmethodofproducingDamascussteelisnotknown.Modernattemptstoduplicatethemetal
havenotbeenentirelysuccessfulduetodifferencesinrawmaterialsandmanufacturingtechniques.
Severalindividualsinmoderntimeshaveclaimedthattheyhaverediscoveredthemethodsbywhichthe
originalDamascussteelwasproduced.[5][6]
ThereputationandhistoryofDamascussteelhasgivenrisetomanylegends,suchastheabilitytocut
throughariflebarrelortocutahairfallingacrosstheblade.[7]AresearchteaminGermanypublisheda
reportin2006revealingnanowiresandcarbonnanotubesinabladeforgedfromDamascussteel.[8]This
findingwascoveredbyNationalGeographic[9]andtheNewYorkTimes.[10]Althoughcertaintypesof
modernsteeloutperformtheseswords,chemicalreactionsintheproductionprocessmadetheblades
extraordinaryfortheirtime,asDamascussteelwassuperplasticandveryhardatthesametime.During
thesmeltingprocesstoobtainWootzsteelingots,woodybiomassandleavesareknowntohavebeen
usedascarburizingadditivesalongwithcertainspecifictypesofironrichinmicroalloyingelements.
TheseingotswouldthenbefurtherforgedandworkedintoDamascussteelblades,andresearchnow
showsthatcarbonnanotubescanbederivedfromplantfibers,[11]suggestinghowthenanotubeswere
formedinthesteel.Someexpertsexpecttodiscoversuchnanotubesinmorerelicsastheyareanalyzed
moreclosely.[9]

Contents
1 History
1.1 Lossofthetechnique
2 Reproduction
2.1 Moran:billetwelding
2.2 VerhoevenandPendray:crucible
2.3 Anosov,WadsworthandSherby:bulat
2.4 Additionalresearch

3
4
5
6

2.4 Additionalresearch
2.5 Damascussteelingunmaking
Seealso
References
Furtherreading
Externallinks

History
DamascusbladesweremanufacturedintheNearEastfrom
ingotsofwootzsteelthatwereimportedfromIndia,[1]aswellas
SriLanka.[12]Archaeologicalevidencesuggeststhatthecrucible
steelprocessstartedinthepresentdayTamilNadubeforethe
startofCommonEra.TheArabsintroducedtheIndianwootz
steeltoDamascus,whereaweaponsindustrythrived.[13]From
the3rdcenturytothe17thcentury,Indiawasshippingsteel
ingotstotheMiddleEast.[14]

Lossofthetechnique
Productionofthesepatternedswordsgraduallydeclined,ceasing
byaround1750,andtheprocesswaslosttometalsmiths.Several
AbladesmithfromDamascus,ca.
moderntheorieshaveventuredtoexplainthisdecline,including
1900
thebreakdownoftraderoutestosupplytheneededmetals,the
lackoftraceimpuritiesinthemetals,thepossiblelossof
knowledgeonthecraftingtechniquesthroughsecrecyandlack
oftransmission,suppressionoftheindustryinIndiabytheBritishRaj,[15]oracombinationofallthe
above.[5][6][16]
TheoriginalDamascussteelorwootzwasimportedfromIndiatoDamascus,wherebladesmithslearned
howtoforgethemintoswords.[5][6]Duetothedistanceoftradeforthissteel,asufficientlylengthy
disruptionofthetraderoutescouldhaveendedtheproductionofDamascussteelandeventuallyledto
thelossofthetechniqueinIndia.Aswell,theneedforkeytraceimpuritiesoftungstenorvanadium
withinthematerialsneededforproductionofthesteelmaybeabsentifthismaterialwasacquiredfrom
differentproductionregionsorsmeltedfromoreslackingthesekeytraceelements.[5]Thetechniquefor
controlledthermalcyclingaftertheinitialforgingataspecifictemperaturecouldalsohavebeenlost,
therebypreventingthefinaldamaskpatterninthesteelfromoccurring.[5][6]
ThediscoveryofcarbonnanotubesintheDamascussteel'scompositionsupportsthishypothesis,since
theprecipitationofcarbonnanotubesprobablyresultedfromaspecificprocessthatmaybedifficultto
replicateshouldtheproductiontechniqueorrawmaterialsusedbesignificantlyaltered.[16]

Reproduction
RecreatingDamascussteelisasubfieldofexperimentalarchaeology.Manyhaveattemptedtodiscover
orreverseengineertheprocessbywhichitwasmade.

Moran:billetwelding
Sincethewellknowntechnique
ofpatternweldingproduced
surfacepatternssimilartothose
foundonDamascusblades,some
blacksmithswereerroneouslyled
tobelievethatDamascusblades
weremadeusingthistechnique,
buttoday,thedifferencebetween
wootzsteelandpatternweldingis
fullydocumentedandwell
understood.Patternweldedsteel
hasbeenreferredtoas
"Damascussteel"since1973
whenBladesmithWilliamF.
Bladesmithforgingablade
Moranunveiledhis"Damascus
knives"attheKnifemakers'Guild
[17][18]
Show.
This"ModernDamascus"ismadefromseveraltypesof
steelandironslicesweldedtogethertoformabillet,andcurrentlythe
term"damascus"(althoughtechnicallyincorrect)iswidelyacceptedto
describemodernpatternweldedsteelbladesinthetrade.[19]Thepatterns
varydependingonhowthesmithworksthebillet.[18]Thebilletisdrawn
outandfoldeduntilthedesirednumberoflayersareformed.[18]Inorder
toattainaMasterSmithratingwiththeAmericanBladesmithSociety
thatMoranfounded,thesmithmustforgeadamascusbladewitha
minimumof300layers.[20]

Characteristic"organic"
patternofDamascussteel

VerhoevenandPendray:crucible
J.D.VerhoevenandA.H.Pendraypublishedanarticleontheirattemptstoreproducetheelemental,
structural,andvisualcharacteristicsofDamascussteel.[5]Theystartedwithacakeofsteelthatmatched
thepropertiesoftheoriginalwootzsteelfromIndia,whichalsomatchedanumberoforiginalDamascus
swordstowhichVerhoevenandPendrayhadaccess.Thewootzwasinasoft,annealedstate,witha
grainstructureandbeadsofpureironcarbidewhichweretheresultofitshypereutectoidstate.
VerhoevenandPendrayhadalreadydeterminedthatthegrainsonthesurfaceofthesteelweregrainsof
ironcarbidetheirgoalwastoreproducetheironcarbidepatternstheysawintheDamascusblades
fromthegrainsinthewootz.
AlthoughsuchmaterialcouldbeworkedatlowtemperaturestoproducethestriatedDamascenepattern
ofintermixedferriteandcementitebandsinamanneridenticaltopatternweldedDamascussteel,any
heattreatmentsufficienttodissolvethecarbideswouldpermanentlydestroythepattern.However,
VerhoevenandPendraydiscoveredthatinsamplesoftrueDamascussteel,theDamascenepatterncould
berecoveredbyagingatamoderatetemperature.Theyfoundthatcertaincarbideformingelements,one
ofwhichwasvanadium,didnotdisperseuntilthesteelreachedhighertemperaturesthanthoseneededto
dissolvethecarbides.Therefore,ahighheattreatmentcouldremovethevisualevidenceofpatterning
associatedwithcarbidesbutdidnotremovetheunderlyingpatterningofthecarbideformingelementsa
subsequentlowertemperatureheattreatment,atatemperatureatwhichthecarbideswereagainstable,
couldrecoverthestructurebythebindingofcarbonbythoseelements.

Anosov,WadsworthandSherby:bulat
InRussia,chroniclesrecordtheuseofamaterialknownasbulatsteeltomakehighlyvaluedweapons,
includingswords,knivesandaxes.TsarMichaelofRussiareportedlyhadabulathelmetmadeforhimin
1621.Theexactoriginorthemanufacturingprocessofbulatisunknown,butitwaslikelyimportedto
RussiaviaPersiaandTurkestan,anditwassimilarandpossiblythesameasdamascussteel.Pavel
PetrovichAnosovmadeseveralattemptstoreproducetheprocessinthemid19thcentury.Wadsworth
andSherbyalsoresearched[6]thereproductionofBulatsteelandpublishedtheirresultsin1980.

Additionalresearch
AteamofresearchersbasedattheTechnicalUniversityof
Dresdenthatusedxraysandelectronmicroscopytoexamine
Damascussteeldiscoveredthepresenceofcementite
nanowires[21]andcarbonnanotubes.[22]PeterPaufler,amember
oftheDresdenteam,saysthatthesenanostructuresarearesultof
theforgingprocess.[9][23]
Sandersonproposesthattheprocessofforgingandannealing
accountsforthenanoscalestructures.[23]

Damascussteelingunmaking

Cementitecrystalstructure.Iron
atomsareinblue,carbonatomsarein
black.

Priortotheearly20thcentury,allshotgunbarrelswereforgedby
heatingnarrowstripsofironandsteelandshapingthemarounda
mandrel.[24][25]Thisprocesswasreferredtoas"laminating"or"Damascus".[24][25]Thesetypesofbarrels
earnedareputationforweaknessandwerenevermeanttobeusedwithmodernsmokelesspowder,or
anykindofmoderatelypowerfulexplosive.[25]BecauseoftheresemblancetoDamascussteel,higher
endbarrelsweremadebyBelgianandBritishgunmakers.[24][25]Thesebarrelsareproofmarkedand
meanttobeusedwithlightpressureloads.[24]Currentgunmanufacturersmakeslideassembliesand
smallpartssuchastriggersandsafetiesforColtM1911pistolsfrompowderedSwedishsteelresultingin
aswirlingtwotonedeffectthesepartsareoftenreferredtoas"StainlessDamascus".[26]

Seealso
Experimentalarchaeology
Kris
Tungstencarbide
Wootzsteel

References
1.Pacey,Arnold(1991).TechnologyinWorldCivilization:AThousandyearHistory.MITPress.p.80.
ISBN9780262660723.
2.Figiel,LeoS.(1991).OnDamascusSteel.AtlantisArtsPress.pp.1011.ISBN9780962871108.
3.Goddard,Wayne(2000).TheWonderofKnifemaking.Krause.pp.107120.ISBN9780873417983.
4.Williams,AlanR.(2003).Theknightandtheblastfurnace:ahistoryofthemetallurgyofarmourinthe
MiddleAges&theearlymodernperiodVolume12ofHistoryofwarfare.BRILL.pp.1014.ISBN97890
04124981.

5.J.D.Verhoeven,A.H.Pendray,andW.E.DaukschPendrayDauksch(1998)."Thekeyroleofimpuritiesin
ancientdamascussteelblades".JournalofMetallurgy50(9):58.Bibcode:1998JOM....50i..58V.
doi:10.1007/s118379980419y.
6.JeffreyWadsworthandOlegD.Sherby(1980)."OntheBulatDamascusSteelRevisited".Prog.Mater.Sci.
25(1):3568.doi:10.1016/00796425(80)900146.
7.Becker,OttoMatthew(1910).Highspeedsteel:thedevelopment,nature,treatment,anduseofhighspeed
steels,togetherwithsomesuggestionsastotheproblemsinvolvedintheiruse.NewYork:McGrawHillbook
company.pp.1014.
8.Reibold,M.Paufler,P.Levin,A.A.Kochmann,W.Ptzke,N.Meyer,D.C.(2006)."Materials:Carbon
nanotubesinanancientDamascussabre".Nature444(7117):286.Bibcode:2006Natur.444..286R.
doi:10.1038/444286a.PMID17108950.
9.LegendarySwords'Sharpness,StrengthFromNanotubes,StudySays
(http://news.nationalgeographic.com/news/2006/11/061116nanotechswords.html).NationalGeographic
(20101028).Retrievedon20111113.
10.Fountain,Henry(20061128)."AntiqueNanotubes".NewYorkTimes.Retrieved20111113.
11.Goodell,B,Xie,X.,Qian,Y.,Daniel,G.,Peterson,M.,andJ.Jellison.2008.Carbonnanotubesproduced
fromnaturalcellulosicmaterials.JournalofNanoscienceandNanotechnology.Vol8,24722474.[1]
(http://goodellbiomaterialsbioenergy.sbio.vt.edu/Goodell_JNN.pdf)
12.G.Juleff(1996)."AnancientwindpoweredironsmeltingtechnologyinSriLanka".Nature379(6560):60.
Bibcode:1996Natur.379...60J.doi:10.1038/379060a0.
13.SharadaSrinivasanSrinivasaRanganathan(2004).India'sLegendaryWootzSteel:AnAdvancedMaterialof
theAncientWorld.NationalInstituteofAdvancedStudies.OCLC82439861.
14.Sinopoli,CarlaM.(2003).ThePoliticalEconomyofCraftProduction:CraftingEmpireinSouthIndia,c.
13501650.CambridgeUniversityPress.p.192.ISBN0521826136.
15.Burton,SirRichardFrancis(1884).TheBookoftheSword.Internetarchive:ChattoandWindus.p.111.
ISBN1605204366.
16.LionelMilgrom(2009)."Carbonnanotubes:Saladin'ssecretweapon".
17.Lewis,JackRogerCombs(1992).Gundigestbookofknives.DBI.pp.5864.ISBN9780873491297.
18.Kertzman,Joe(2007).ArtoftheKnife.KrausePublications.pp.224226.ISBN9780896894709.
19.Loveless,RobertRichardBarney(1995)[1977].HowtoMakeKnives.KnifeWorldPublications.p.169.
ISBN069580913X.
20."ABSTestingRulesandGuidelinesfortheMasterSmithRating"(PDF).Retrieved20110312.
21.Kochmann,W.Reibold,MarianneGoldberg,RolfHauffe,WolfgangLevin,AlexanderAMeyer,DirkC
Stephan,ThuridMller,HeideBelger,AndrPaufler,Peter(2004)."NanowiresinancientDamascussteel".
JournalofAlloysandCompounds372:L15L19.doi:10.1016/j.jallcom.2003.10.005.ISSN09258388.
Levin,A.A.Meyer,D.C.Reibold,M.Kochmann,W.Ptzke,N.Paufler,P.(2005)."Microstructureofa
genuineDamascussabre"(PDF).CrystalResearchandTechnology40(9):905916.
doi:10.1002/crat.200410456.
22.Reibold,M.Paufler,PLevin,AAKochmann,WPtzke,NMeyer,DC(November16,2006).
"Materials:CarbonnanotubesinanancientDamascussabre".Nature444(7117):286.
Bibcode:2006Natur.444..286R.doi:10.1038/444286a.PMID17108950.
23.K.Sanderson(2006)."Sharpestcutfromnanotubesword".Nature444:286.doi:10.1038/news06111311.
24.Simpson,Layne(2003).Shotguns&Shotgunning.KrausePublications.p.256.ISBN9780873495677.
25.Matunas,EdwardA.(2003).DoItYourselfGunRepair.WoodsN'WaterInc.p.240.ISBN97809722804
26.
26.Hopkins,Cameron(2000)."DamascusKnight.45".AmericanHandgunnerMagazine20(4):128.

Furtherreading
EricM.Taleff,BruceL.Bramfitt,CholK.Syn,DonaldR.Lesuer,JeffreyWadsworth,andOleg
D.Sherby,"Processing,structure,andpropertiesofarolledultrahighcarbonsteelplateexhibiting
adamaskpattern,"MaterialsCharacterization46(1),1118(2001).
J.D.Verhoeven,"Areviewofmicrosegregationinducedbandingphenomenainsteels",J.
MaterialsEngineeringandPerformance9(3),286296(2000).
JeffreyWadsworthandOlegD.Sherby,"DamascusSteels",ScientificAmerican,pp.9499,

February1985.
J.D.Verhoeven,"TheMysteryofDamacusBlades",ScientificAmerican,pp.7479,January2001
PrabathHewageegana"EarlyIronandSteelproductioninSriLanka:AScientificPerspective
"DepartmentofPhysics,UniversityofKelaniya,Kelaniya

Externallinks
"DamasceneTechniqueinMetalWorking"(http://www.tf.uni
kiel.de/matwis/amat/def_en/kap_5/advanced/t5_1_1.html)
"TheMysteryofDamascusBlades"
(http://projects.olin.edu/revere/Cool%20links/damascus%20sci%20amer%20jan%202001.pdf)
"Secret'soutforSaracensabres"(http://www.newscientisttech.com/article/mg19225780.151
secretsoutforsaracensabres.html)
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