The entire history of Damascus steel is directly related to war, trade and technical progress. Perhaps, without her, we would never have been able to reach this level of development. And, nevertheless, there is nothing supernatural in "Damascus", even though it is shrouded in a host of legends and conjectures.
History of appearance
The first mentions of blades made of similar to Damascus steel date back to 1300 BC. By 800, this steel appeared not only in Asia, but also in Europe. In the 3rd century BC, similar blades were widely used by the Romans, which is confirmed by numerous archaeological excavations.
Bulat
In fact, the legendary "Damascus steel" is an Indian crucible steel with a high carbon content, that is, damask is a collective name for hard alloys of iron and carbon. It was produced in large quantities in India, though under a different name - vutz.
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Where does the pattern come from
The characteristic pattern on damask or damask steel appears only when the workpiece is slowly cooled. At this moment, a matrix of carbide and ferrite is formed, moreover, carbides have an important effect on the sword blade. The fact is that with careful grinding and sharpening, softer ferrite fibers grind off, leaving hard carbide areas on the cutting edge. Imagine a blade, the edge of which consists of the smallest teeth, indistinguishable to the eye - this is the Damascus blade.
Rusty legend
There is an erroneous opinion about the absolute superiority of Damascus steel over others. This is far from the case, it also has its drawbacks. Despite its high strength, Damascus steel is highly susceptible to corrosion, precisely because of its high carbon content and lack of alloying elements. If you do not take care of the damask blade and do not store it properly, it will rust very quickly.
What does Damascus have to do with it
In fact, the name “Damascus steel” is not entirely correct. The city of Damascus has never been the center of the blacksmithing industry, and most of the surviving ancient swords made using this technology come from Persia, India and Syria. Some researchers believe that in Damascus there was simply a large arms market, where damask blades were supplied.