A hunting sword with Damascus blade of Yataghan type

[estcrh]

Originally Posted by mariusgmioc

for accuracy one needs to mention it is PATTERN WELDED Damascus and not true/oriental Damascus steel (aka WOOTZ).

I would not even mention the word "damascus" when describing what is clearly pattern welded. I know the terms are commonly mixed up but pattern welded is pattern welded and damascus / wootz / watered steel is something completely different.

[ALEX]

Marius is correct. Damascus means any pattern, and further categorizes into mechanical (pattern welded) and true/Oriental (crucible/wootz). Even artificially induced pattern such as acid etch is also Damascus.
Refer to Leo Figiel "On Damascus Steel" classic.

[estcrh]

Originally Posted by ALEX

Marius is correct. Damascus means any pattern, and further categorizes into mechanical (pattern welded) and true/Oriental (crucible/wootz). Even artificially induced pattern such as acid etch is also Damascus.
Refer to Leo Figiel "On Damascus Steel" classic.

People use the term "damascus" incorrectly (in my opinion) to describe several types of steel, but this term is most accurately used to describe wootz / watered steel and not pattern welded which is a completely different type.



Purdue University, Materials Engineering

[estcrh]

"Damascus and pattern-welded steels - Forging blades since the iron age: Forging blades since the iron age" by Madeleine Durand-Charre, 2014

Steels are a class of materials with multiple and complicated transformations; this is true even for steels of the basic cutlery industry. A damascus steel is a fascinating subject to study, rich in multiple facets, that appears in a first approach as a composite material artistically exploited. Damacus steel was developed in the first millennium AD in India or Sri-Lanka. Its reputation is related to its exceptional properties and to the moire pattern. A similar damask pattern could be obtained by forge-welding giving rise to controversies. Recent findings allow a better understanding of this pattern formation. This book presents firstly, observations of ancient blade samples examined with modern technologies such as electron microscopy. The features of many typical swords from different periods are discussed: Celtic, Merovingian, Viking and oriental wootz swords, Persian shamshirs, Japanese katana, rapiers etc. In the second part, microstructural observations at different levels of magnification are displayed and their interpretation is discussed in detail, thus revealing the secret of sophisticated forgings. One chapter is devoted to introducing the main transformations undergone by these steels during the forging processes. The book is intended for all those people interested in the history of science and more specifically to the metallurgists, to the archaeologists and all the researchers confronted with the problems of the expertise of the vestiges, to the blacksmiths, and to the collectors of valuable artistic blades. Madeleine Durand-Charre has taught structural metallurgy at the Polytechnic Institute of Grenoble and at the University Joseph Fourier of Grenoble. Her research work concerned microstructure formation and determination of phase equilibria. She investigated complex alloys such as superalloys and steels. Her work on vanadium cast irons was awarded the Vanadium Shield in 1989 from the Institute of Metals. She is author of several books and articles in metallurgy.

[estcrh]

Amateur Mechanics: Illustrated Monthly Magazine, Volume 1, Trübner & Company, 1883

[ariel]

Since wootz has no relations to the city of Damascus, insisting on "wootz only" being a true Damascus is of dubious validity. Alex and Alan are right: it is just a matter of appearance, and sometimes it is even difficult to distinguish between wootz and pattern welded blades. Damascening is a well established technique, and refers not only to the above varieties, but also to etch-induced surface, incrustation with metals of different color etc.

It is just a general unifying term. Within it there are varieties of prettifying the object.

Wootz and pattern welding are two different birds, but birds nevertheless: inhomogeneous steels.

Partly, the confusion is due to the accepted usages ( as also shown by Tatiana): in the English usage wootz ( fulad, bulat) is a part of a broader group collectively called Damascus Steel, whereas in Russia pattern welded blades were traditionally referred to as one of the "bulats".

Manfred Sachse knew a thing or two about blades:-), and addressed them together in his book on Damascus Steel.

[Oliver Pinchot]

Privet Tatyana,

This is a very nice example of German or Austrian work in Ottoman style,
dating from the second half of the 18th century. The yataghan form was used by the Pandours, as you noted, as well as many other Balkan groups. By association, it became popular amongst officers (famously, Von Trenck) and this is where the unusual combination of hilt and blade originally arose.