Damascus and patternwelded steels - Forging blades since the iron age

Damacus steel was developed in the first millennium AD in India or Sri-Lanka. Its reputation is related to its exceptional properties and also 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, and revealed the secret of sophisticated forgings. This book presents in a first part, observations of ancient blade samples examined with modern technologies such as electron microscopy.
The characteristic 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 discussed. A specific chapter introduces the main transformations undergone by these steels during the forging processes.