The mystery of Damascus steel is more than two thousand years old. There is no sharper and more beautiful blade made of it. The pattern on the steel blade plays with tints - it is always different, uniquely magical. But this is a formidable weapon - the blade of the blade is so sharp that it can easily cut through conventional weapons or armor made of steel.
How Damascus Steel Became Famous
For the first time, European knights saw these blades during the battles of Alexander the Great with the Indian king. The king was taken prisoner, with him was his blade with armor of extraordinary, white patterned metal. As it turned out, the usual blades of the Macedonian warriors broke about his armor. It didn't even leave a scratch on it!
Damascus steel saber.
The patterned blade, in general, plunged everyone into awe: it easily bent almost 90 degrees in an arc. The sharpness of this weapon was incredible - it easily cut through any iron weapon of the Macedonians. Such weapons were worthy to be worn by the gods!
The mystery of the origin of ancient technology
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"Damas", translated from Arabic, means water. The pattern imprinted on the blades looks like streaks of water.
Blade. Damascus steel.
Ancient Persia is considered to be the keeper of the secret of obtaining Damascus steel. Weaponsmiths of that time sacredly kept the secret of making weapons from this steel. In medieval Europe, they tried to unravel the secret of Damascus, but in vain.
Japanese katana from Damascus steel.
Legends said that once an ancient caste of blacksmiths descended from the Himalayas. Blacksmiths settled in the ancient Indian kingdom of Punjab. Soon, some masters had their students in Siam and Japan.
A medieval scientist and researcher who possesses absolute knowledge in all the sciences of Al-Biruni wrote about the incredible properties of Damascus blades.
Each Islamic master, who owned the secret of making magic blades, had his own blade pattern, and had the right to assign a name to his formidable weapon.
Sword. Damascus steel.
An attempt to unravel the mystery of making Damascus steel
Research of modern scientific laboratories only slightly revealed the secret of technology, but not completely. It was known that Persian craftsmen forged a Damascus blade from damask steel. But it's not that simple. Further, the study of this solution did not progress.
It is known that in Damascus steel the presence of carbon is 1-1.6 percent, slightly higher than in ordinary steel. The carbon in steel is iron carbide (cementide) - which "grows" in the metal in the form of ribbon-like particles.
Scientists have tried changing the temperature of the forging, which includes a cold one from 600 to 800 degrees Celsius - the result was not encouraging. Apparently, the process of forging Damascus steel included a number of different forging stages.
Damascus steel dagger.
It got to the point that the computer was offered to solve the clue of the patterned steel. The results were not significant. The program only reported on the percentage of metals: instead of vanadium, sulfides and phosphorus salts should prevail.
Even with such clues that the Damascus blade is forged from different metals, no one has yet succeeded in repeating the masterpieces of the Persian masters. The ancient keepers of the patterned steel securely hid it in the blade.