Damascus Steel

The original production of iron was through high temperature chemical reactions produced in a coke fuelled Bloomery in which iron ore was combined with coke, ignited, and the resultant reaction expelled slag, and other impurities, leaving a spongy mass of relatively pure iron.

The important part of this process, was the Coke.

Coke is formed when coal of a high quality is heated in an AIRLESS environment, so that decomposition begins, but the mixture does not ignite.

What remains from coke formation is basically pure carbon, ready to accept oxygen for the combustion reaction, without hydrogen, oxygen, or other undesirable elements.


My hypothesis, is that the technology for coke formation was used on wrought iron plates, laminated between sheets of Paper, and then heated in the same type of furnace used to produce coke... Maybe even the SAME furnace used to produce coke, to save energy and time.

The lack of oxygen in the air prevented the carbon in the paper from combustion, and the high temperature caused a molecular breakdown of the cellulose, that combined chemically with the wrought iron to form Cementite and sometimes Carbon Nanotubes.

This process could be accomplished in the same furnace that the coke was being manufactured in.

This seems a altogether natural extension of both iron production, and coke production technologies.

Furthermore, the shape of the cellulose in the paper would make cementite nano-wires an extremely plausible end product of this technique, as well as carbon nanotubes.

Sooooo..... what do you think?

I personally always thought that Damascus Metal was made up of some sort of Meteoric Iron. Though you bring up an interesting idea to say the least.

I love damascus steel, but will be damned if I can find any real, reasonable priced blades out there.

I always thought, or assumed that it was created by tempering and layering several layers of different metals, that bonded correctly, reinforced each other, and created a nice springy feel to it.

I have always wanted to take a blacksmithing course and forge some swords and knives.

reply to post by tnhiker


i thought that they cant make true Damascus steel anymore, the technology was lost, what we see these days is just steel treated with chemicals to look like old real Damascus steel.

The Coke looks like grey crack rocks.

reply to post by DocHolidaze

i thought that they cant make true Damascus steel anymore, the technology was lost, what we see these days is just steel treated with chemicals to look like old real Damascus steel.

Well, that's what I'm saying... I think this is how "Wootz/Damascus" steel was made.

reply to post by DocHolidaze


Yeah, but even at knife shows or auctions its next to impossible to find. Very sad that such a fine art was lost.

reply to post by VoidFire


you may be right. the art of making the damascus blade has reported to been lost.

but that doesn't mean iron workers cannot replicate the procedure with modern equipment and accurate metal analysis, unless the iron came from outer space.

this iron could be from the core of an exploded planet.

iron of this magnitude cannot be found on earth unless it exploded, as there is no known modern way of reaching it.

it could be properly forged with pure carbon, the coke, produce the strongest steel known to man.

with no way of replicating, unless ore from a meteorite is used.

it could be why meteorites command prices of $400,000 and up.

the weapons capable of be made using the damascus procedure would be stronger than anything that can be possible on earth.

imagine a bolt procedure being reinforced with damascus steal, or the hull of a ship, or a tank.

a tank would especially benefit from damascus armour.

a samurai sword made of damascus steel made by a japanese master swordsmith would be the strongest and sharpest blade every made. but the weapon would be outdated and the damascus steel would be better spent on something else.

it could also be on an aura type aircraft than can withstand direct heavy machine gun fire and direct missile impacts with hypersonic capabilities to lift the massive weight.

knowing the state of the world, the damascus steel process, if it is ever found would be used for weapons of war.

reply to post by randomname

knowing the state of the world, the damascus steel process, if it is ever found would be used for weapons of war.

It's not like the damascus/wootz steel would be useful for anything besides swords and knives though...

Originally posted by DocHolidaze
reply to post by tnhiker

 

i thought that they cant make true Damascus steel anymore, the technology was lost, what we see these days is just steel treated with chemicals to look like old real Damascus steel.

Nanotechnology is the answer. No really. It is.

The Damascus swords of the Middle East were legendarily sharp, strong and flexible. Now, an analysis of one of these weapons under an electron microscope reveals that the key to its properties is nanotechnology, inadvertently used by blacksmiths centuries before modern science.

Source

These are some blanks made of various materials ,

reply to post by tnhiker


im thinking any true damascus steel is either in a museum or private collection at this point. the only stuff someone will find now is the fake stuff.

reply to post by ErtaiNaGia


it seems that the coke has ties to alchemy, so this is a possible theroy, ive always thought alchemy has some forgoton secrets that we have yet to find with modern chemistry, who knows maybe this is one of them.

reply to post by Klassified


thats cool i hope they actully start making this steel instead of just talking about it,

Originally posted by randomname


it could be properly forged with pure carbon, the coke, produce the strongest steel known to man.

Uh, modern steels are better than damascus steel, and there are many variants with many well controlled materials and processes compared to the relatively primitive methods of medieval times.

en.wikipedia.org...

en.wikipedia.org...

Higher competitive ranks of Olympic sport fencing use maraging steel in their blades (because it's safer and can bend without breaking)

The folding of steels in damascene and japanese swords was a technique to overcome poor ore sources. It doesn't not offer performance benefits over modern (or even good medieval European steels), though it does look really cool.

www.albion-swords.com...