Speaker 1: Welcome to brain Stuff, a production of I Heart Radio. Hey,
Speaker 1: brain Stuff, Lauren Volga bomb Here. It may look like
Speaker 1: something straight out of West Rows on Game of Thrones,
Speaker 1: but the beautifully undulating lines that characterized Damascus steel have
Speaker 1: more earthly origins. And if its appearance is striking, it's
Speaker 1: the physical benefits of this type of steel that made
Speaker 1: it so sought after and it's heyday prized for centuries.
Speaker 1: Damascus steel lost prominence by the eighteenth century, but today
Speaker 1: it's made a resurgence. So what is this mythical steel.
Speaker 1: Let's start with some basics. Steel is an alloy made
Speaker 1: from iron and carbon, but mostly iron. The challenge for
Speaker 1: ancient metal smiths was to create steel that was both
Speaker 1: flexible and strong. Early swordmakers didn't know how to precisely
Speaker 1: compose steel. They were working with iron ore, not pure iron.
Speaker 1: Iron ores are rocks and minerals that contain varying amount
Speaker 1: of iron plus other stuff. When they melted these oars,
Speaker 1: they got what they got. Eventually, they discovered that certain
Speaker 1: ores produced one property and others produced different properties. Some
Speaker 1: oars imparted flexible material and others strong. We spoke with
Speaker 1: iron master pair Yarbellious, whose name I did look up,
Speaker 1: I couldn't find it. I hope I didn't muck it
Speaker 1: up too badly. H He's an engineer and metallurgist with
Speaker 1: Damna Steel, a manufacturer steel produced in centuries old mills
Speaker 1: in Sweden. He explained, Damascus is when you combine these
Speaker 1: steels into one forging. You take the flexible and you
Speaker 1: take the strong, and you forge them together. This layered
Speaker 1: forging method yields what is known as pattern welded Damascus,
Speaker 1: and this is the type of Damascus still made today. However,
Speaker 1: centuries ago it was known as woots steel, and it
Speaker 1: was some of the finest steel in the world. It
Speaker 1: was first produced in what's now India from an iron
Speaker 1: ore with a high level of carbon about one and
Speaker 1: additional trace elements. According to study published in the Journal
Speaker 1: of Electronic Materials, the ingots or cakes of steel from
Speaker 1: what's now India were sent to the city of Damascus
Speaker 1: in what's now Syria, where they were made into swords.
Speaker 1: These also had beautiful surface patterns and were lauded for
Speaker 1: their superior physical ability. In the early centuries of Damascus steel,
Speaker 1: its most common use was for weapons, which accounts for
Speaker 1: why it was surprized. Swords were difficult to make because
Speaker 1: they're long and slender, the best steel was required to
Speaker 1: make them stable and flexible. Early Damascus steel solved a
Speaker 1: similar problem encountered in making long guns too, considering their
Speaker 1: narrow long shapes. By the sixteen hundreds, pattern welded Damascus
Speaker 1: steel was used to make gun barrels in what's now Turkey.
Speaker 1: The practice spread through Europe and was popular in the
Speaker 1: British Isles during the eighteen hundreds, but in the early
Speaker 1: nineteen hundreds productions stop when the Belgium city of Liege,
Speaker 1: which had produced eight hundred and fifty tons worth of
Speaker 1: Damascus barrels, fell to the invading German army in World
Speaker 1: War One. Although Damascus steel was named after the Syrian city,
Speaker 1: it was most likely developed in several locations. Some version
Speaker 1: of Damascus steel has been produced for centuries everywhere from
Speaker 1: Indonesia to the Middle East, and Damascus isn't one specific formula.
Speaker 1: Your Bellius explained, there are different traditions from different countries
Speaker 1: or different regions. The authors of that study that was
Speaker 1: published in the Journal of Electronic Materials noted that both
Speaker 1: pattern welded and woods Damascus were being produced by the
Speaker 1: sixth century, and not only were weapons made from these
Speaker 1: steels lightweight and strong, but they were also said to
Speaker 1: stay sharp even after being used in battle. It was
Speaker 1: even said that blades made of woots steel could cut
Speaker 1: through a silk scarf as it fell. But the formula
Speaker 1: for woods damascus has been lost to history. By the
Speaker 1: early nineteenth century, it was no longer being produced, possibly
Speaker 1: in part because the metalsmiths who made it kept some
Speaker 1: of the process secret, and possibly because the special combination
Speaker 1: of ores dried up. By the late eighteen hundreds, modern
Speaker 1: metallurgy had improved the quality of steel. Even the pattern
Speaker 1: welded damascus created at the time became obsolete and got
Speaker 1: a bad reputation. Modern refined steel simply worked better than
Speaker 1: its forebears, and today the function of Damascus steel plays
Speaker 1: second fiddle to its good looks. As modern metallurgy techniques improved,
Speaker 1: so have modern versions of Damascus steel. However, modern buyers
Speaker 1: still seek out Damascus steel for its appearance. After all,
Speaker 1: when it comes to swords and knives, their medieval purposes
Speaker 1: are no longer such a factor. R. Bellius said, you've
Speaker 1: got esthetics as a byproduct in ancient days. Today we
Speaker 1: make similar patterns to what was produced in ancient days,
Speaker 1: but the steel technology has moved so much further. There
Speaker 1: are various methods for making Damascus steel today. Some artists
Speaker 1: create a limited run of an individually designed piece of steel.
Speaker 1: Other steelmakers are interested in higher volume production and repetition
Speaker 1: of specific patterns, which they can achieve through processes like
Speaker 1: powder metallurgy, in which you use relatively pure metals that
Speaker 1: have been broken down into powder form. This is different
Speaker 1: from conventional steelmaking, in which you forge unique solid pieces together. Instead,
Speaker 1: you can use powder metallurgy to create a recipe for
Speaker 1: a pattern and recreate it as desired. It's still difficult
Speaker 1: to work. Some patterns are trade secrets and others are
Speaker 1: just difficult to replicate. There are similar patterns that multiple
Speaker 1: blacksmiths make, although they might have different names. On the market.
Speaker 1: As of the twenty first century, Damascus steelmakers are not
Speaker 1: forging many swords. Nevertheless, the material has wide usage. Because
Speaker 1: it takes more work in craftsmanship to produce damask a
Speaker 1: steel comes with a higher price tag than traditional non
Speaker 1: patterned steel. You'll find jewelry watches, spoons, belt buckles, razors, flashlights,
Speaker 1: and pens made of damascus steel, and, of course, in
Speaker 1: the tradition of its earliest use, damascus steel is still
Speaker 1: popular for knives, from pocket knives to high end kitchen knives.
Speaker 1: Today's episode was written by Carrie Whitney and produced by
Speaker 1: Tyler Clang. For more on this and lots of other
Speaker 1: sharp topics, visit how stuffworks dot com. Brain Stuff is
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