WEBVTT - How Does Damascus Steel Work?

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<v Speaker 1>Welcome to brain Stuff, a production of I Heart Radio. Hey,

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<v Speaker 1>brain Stuff, Lauren Volga bomb Here. It may look like

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<v Speaker 1>something straight out of West Rows on Game of Thrones,

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<v Speaker 1>but the beautifully undulating lines that characterized Damascus steel have

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<v Speaker 1>more earthly origins. And if its appearance is striking, it's

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<v Speaker 1>the physical benefits of this type of steel that made

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<v Speaker 1>it so sought after and it's heyday prized for centuries.

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<v Speaker 1>Damascus steel lost prominence by the eighteenth century, but today

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<v Speaker 1>it's made a resurgence. So what is this mythical steel.

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<v Speaker 1>Let's start with some basics. Steel is an alloy made

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<v Speaker 1>from iron and carbon, but mostly iron. The challenge for

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<v Speaker 1>ancient metal smiths was to create steel that was both

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<v Speaker 1>flexible and strong. Early swordmakers didn't know how to precisely

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<v Speaker 1>compose steel. They were working with iron ore, not pure iron.

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<v Speaker 1>Iron ores are rocks and minerals that contain varying amount

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<v Speaker 1>of iron plus other stuff. When they melted these oars,

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<v Speaker 1>they got what they got. Eventually, they discovered that certain

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<v Speaker 1>ores produced one property and others produced different properties. Some

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<v Speaker 1>oars imparted flexible material and others strong. We spoke with

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<v Speaker 1>iron master pair Yarbellious, whose name I did look up,

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<v Speaker 1>I couldn't find it. I hope I didn't muck it

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<v Speaker 1>up too badly. H He's an engineer and metallurgist with

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<v Speaker 1>Damna Steel, a manufacturer steel produced in centuries old mills

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<v Speaker 1>in Sweden. He explained, Damascus is when you combine these

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<v Speaker 1>steels into one forging. You take the flexible and you

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<v Speaker 1>take the strong, and you forge them together. This layered

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<v Speaker 1>forging method yields what is known as pattern welded Damascus,

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<v Speaker 1>and this is the type of Damascus still made today. However,

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<v Speaker 1>centuries ago it was known as woots steel, and it

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<v Speaker 1>was some of the finest steel in the world. It

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<v Speaker 1>was first produced in what's now India from an iron

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<v Speaker 1>ore with a high level of carbon about one and

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<v Speaker 1>additional trace elements. According to study published in the Journal

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<v Speaker 1>of Electronic Materials, the ingots or cakes of steel from

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<v Speaker 1>what's now India were sent to the city of Damascus

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<v Speaker 1>in what's now Syria, where they were made into swords.

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<v Speaker 1>These also had beautiful surface patterns and were lauded for

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<v Speaker 1>their superior physical ability. In the early centuries of Damascus steel,

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<v Speaker 1>its most common use was for weapons, which accounts for

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<v Speaker 1>why it was surprized. Swords were difficult to make because

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<v Speaker 1>they're long and slender, the best steel was required to

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<v Speaker 1>make them stable and flexible. Early Damascus steel solved a

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<v Speaker 1>similar problem encountered in making long guns too, considering their

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<v Speaker 1>narrow long shapes. By the sixteen hundreds, pattern welded Damascus

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<v Speaker 1>steel was used to make gun barrels in what's now Turkey.

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<v Speaker 1>The practice spread through Europe and was popular in the

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<v Speaker 1>British Isles during the eighteen hundreds, but in the early

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<v Speaker 1>nineteen hundreds productions stop when the Belgium city of Liege,

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<v Speaker 1>which had produced eight hundred and fifty tons worth of

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<v Speaker 1>Damascus barrels, fell to the invading German army in World

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<v Speaker 1>War One. Although Damascus steel was named after the Syrian city,

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<v Speaker 1>it was most likely developed in several locations. Some version

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<v Speaker 1>of Damascus steel has been produced for centuries everywhere from

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<v Speaker 1>Indonesia to the Middle East, and Damascus isn't one specific formula.

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<v Speaker 1>Your Bellius explained, there are different traditions from different countries

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<v Speaker 1>or different regions. The authors of that study that was

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<v Speaker 1>published in the Journal of Electronic Materials noted that both

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<v Speaker 1>pattern welded and woods Damascus were being produced by the

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<v Speaker 1>sixth century, and not only were weapons made from these

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<v Speaker 1>steels lightweight and strong, but they were also said to

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<v Speaker 1>stay sharp even after being used in battle. It was

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<v Speaker 1>even said that blades made of woots steel could cut

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<v Speaker 1>through a silk scarf as it fell. But the formula

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<v Speaker 1>for woods damascus has been lost to history. By the

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<v Speaker 1>early nineteenth century, it was no longer being produced, possibly

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<v Speaker 1>in part because the metalsmiths who made it kept some

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<v Speaker 1>of the process secret, and possibly because the special combination

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<v Speaker 1>of ores dried up. By the late eighteen hundreds, modern

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<v Speaker 1>metallurgy had improved the quality of steel. Even the pattern

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<v Speaker 1>welded damascus created at the time became obsolete and got

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<v Speaker 1>a bad reputation. Modern refined steel simply worked better than

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<v Speaker 1>its forebears, and today the function of Damascus steel plays

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<v Speaker 1>second fiddle to its good looks. As modern metallurgy techniques improved,

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<v Speaker 1>so have modern versions of Damascus steel. However, modern buyers

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<v Speaker 1>still seek out Damascus steel for its appearance. After all,

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<v Speaker 1>when it comes to swords and knives, their medieval purposes

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<v Speaker 1>are no longer such a factor. R. Bellius said, you've

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<v Speaker 1>got esthetics as a byproduct in ancient days. Today we

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<v Speaker 1>make similar patterns to what was produced in ancient days,

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<v Speaker 1>but the steel technology has moved so much further. There

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<v Speaker 1>are various methods for making Damascus steel today. Some artists

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<v Speaker 1>create a limited run of an individually designed piece of steel.

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<v Speaker 1>Other steelmakers are interested in higher volume production and repetition

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<v Speaker 1>of specific patterns, which they can achieve through processes like

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<v Speaker 1>powder metallurgy, in which you use relatively pure metals that

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<v Speaker 1>have been broken down into powder form. This is different

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<v Speaker 1>from conventional steelmaking, in which you forge unique solid pieces together. Instead,

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<v Speaker 1>you can use powder metallurgy to create a recipe for

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<v Speaker 1>a pattern and recreate it as desired. It's still difficult

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<v Speaker 1>to work. Some patterns are trade secrets and others are

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<v Speaker 1>just difficult to replicate. There are similar patterns that multiple

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<v Speaker 1>blacksmiths make, although they might have different names. On the market.

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<v Speaker 1>As of the twenty first century, Damascus steelmakers are not

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<v Speaker 1>forging many swords. Nevertheless, the material has wide usage. Because

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<v Speaker 1>it takes more work in craftsmanship to produce damask a

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<v Speaker 1>steel comes with a higher price tag than traditional non

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<v Speaker 1>patterned steel. You'll find jewelry watches, spoons, belt buckles, razors, flashlights,

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<v Speaker 1>and pens made of damascus steel, and, of course, in

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<v Speaker 1>the tradition of its earliest use, damascus steel is still

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<v Speaker 1>popular for knives, from pocket knives to high end kitchen knives.

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<v Speaker 1>Today's episode was written by Carrie Whitney and produced by

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<v Speaker 1>Tyler Clang. For more on this and lots of other

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<v Speaker 1>sharp topics, visit how stuffworks dot com. Brain Stuff is

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<v Speaker 1>production of iHeart Radio. For more podcasts my heart Radio,

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