The manufacture of Damascus steel is a very laborious and long process, which requires a lot of experience and knowledge of the blacksmith's craft. In the technology of creation, the high quality of the product is ensured due to the optimal alternation of layers that differ in parameters. As a softening substrate, low-carbon steels are used between layers containing a high percentage of carbon . Because of this combination, damask steel takes on a special sharpness and hardness.
History of occurrence
Blades made from Damascus steel are never made in large quantities. They always exist in a single copy and have a unique structure, which is not comparable. Damascene steel and today is, above all, the extraordinary quality and ingenuity of the master. The name of this alloy came from the city of Damascus, located in Syria, which was the largest center for a variety of crafts in the Middle East. Nevertheless, there is an opinion about the invention of this alloy in India. For the first time, Europeans saw products from this steel in Damascus, since then the alloy was called "Damascus Steel", which is used today. The technological process was very complex, and the secret of its manufacture was very carefully guarded. This explains the very high cost of weapons made from Damascus alloy. By the nature of the product you can determine the master who made it. Each smith has his own distinctive style and "handwriting" with the secrets of heat treatment.
Process of creation
Damascus steel, the manufacture of which consists in the correct choice of grades of steel, knowledge of their chemical composition, qualitative processing, is characterized by an unusual pattern of the blade. Damascus steels include refined steels and welding damascus. The secret is to carefully combine the plates from blanks with different carbon content. The blanks are joined together by welding and forging. The process can be repeated many times. The result is an alloy with a combination of iron and high-carbon steel advantages . Stainless steel, from which the plates are made, is heated in the forge furnace, after which the workpieces are extensively forged in the blacksmith's forge.
Thus, a higher strength of the alloy is achieved. Next, the workpiece is cut into a plate, cut and re-placed in the bugle. The process can be repeated several dozen times. Some blanks for blades can have up to 500 layers of steel. To obtain a characteristic pattern on the blade, the preforms are etched.
Mosaic Damascus
Recently, the mosaic damascus is very popular. Damascus steel, manufactured in this way, differs from blacksmith's in that the design of the pattern is carried out in advance by placing the profile and contrasting metals inside the workpiece. After the parts are connected by forging, a composite package is created inside the workpiece. The industrial production of Damascus steel uses the same principles as the author's Damascus.