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Annales Société d'agriculture, industrie, sciences, arts et belles-lettres du département de la Loire 1864
http://books.google.com/books?id=uedDAAAAIAAJ
De La Canonnerie Ou Fabrication Des Canons De Fusils
http://books.google.com/books?id=uedDAAA...9#PRA1-PA202,M1

Dictionnaire encyclopédique et biographique de l'industrie et des arts industriels
Eugène-Oscar Lami 1885
http://books.google.com/books?id=RkIWAAAAYAAJ
Fabrication Des Fusils De Chasse
http://books.google.com/books?id=RkIWAAA...lt&resnum=6

After a long and painful weekend I've got a (poor) translation of the 1864 document up
http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dfg2hmx7_162c3zhvkfx

Even so, lots of interesting information!
1. I need help with effet de moire, vilbrequin, corroie, and derochment la trancha??
2. MORE damascus patterns I've never seen
Damas Riblons
Damat et Rubans Croises
Demi-Damas (half coiled?)
Serpentaux en Damas Frises
3. Named Twist pattern described
le ruban de fer simple ou canon tordu en rubans de fe
le ruban de fer corroyé
le ruban composé de fer et d'acier
le ruban anglais on moiré; le ruban de fer étoffé
4. At the London Exposition of 1861-62, the author exhibited 18 patterns.
5. Alternees is the name for the individual flat or cubed strips of iron and steel that are layered (piled) to form the lopin (billet.)
7. Damas Moucheté is the name for the general pattern of which Bernard is an example. Mouche or fleuret in English is "blossom or floweret" or "bull's eye" and certainly describes Bernard II.



It turns out that Moucheté Damas was created in St-Etienne in 1845 and Leopold's dad, Albert, came to Saint-Etienne to learn the means of production.
Enjoy and if you figure out something else important, please let me know!

Another cool pic from a Belgian site

Thomas and Léonard Dombret, Canoniers

I'll take a look at the whole thing later, but to start: effet de moire would likely be a mottled or shimmering effect. Vilbrequin--a tool, bit or brace. Corroie is a form of the verb to weld. (Corroye is the past participle: welded.) Derochement is clearing the rocks out of something; perhaps removing impurities in this case. I think trancha is probably tranche, which in general means a slice or piece of something, but I think I've seen it applied to barrels--although not sure in what context.

Hi RevDoc,
Seems to be a labor of love!
Had a quick look at your translation and will revert for a more leisurely read later. My gunmaking French is not very fluent, so I’m in no position to play the professor.....
A couple of points – “barrel makers” is probably a more accurate translation of “Canoniers”
I would prefer “twists” for spires, rather than “turns”
The family name is Malherbe de Goffontaine and not Goffontaine or Malherbe Goffontaine. The “de” usually indicates a minor nobility/landowning background way back in the past. (Most French/Belgian surnames derive from localities; Goffontaine is a village very close to Liege.)
The translation is a bit off in places, e.g. Ils soudent cinq centimètres de spires à la fois puis réchauffent les spires suivantes is translated as “They weld five centimeters of turns at a time and then turns the heat below.” This should be “They weld five centimetres of turns at a time and then reheat the following twists/turns.”

On the words you asked about, I've no context but fwiw
Effet de moire - I suggest that an accent is missing from the e of moiré ; it is a term frequently used in textiles, a wavy effect, usually seen on silk.
Vilebrequin - A Google search shows that it is associated with crankshaft steel, seems like a process?
Corroie – is this a typo? In car engine terms Courroie is a fanbelt or any flexible loop used for transferring power.
derochment la trancha?? Possibly another typo? Tranche is a slice and derocher is probably based on roche = rock. With a “c” inserted Decrocher is the verb to “unhook” e.g. to pick up a phone is to decrocher

Rs
K.
See that Larry B beat me to it!

Thanks so much Larry and Kerryguy!
The vilebrequin is indeed the name of the tool used to turn the rods.
It's amazing how one little piece can solve the puzzle. I've been trying to figure out the 'effet de moire' for a long time. Here's the entire paragraph, which is in the discussion of Twist barrels

Canon à ruban moiré et ruban anglais. — En fabriquant les lopins, pour faire les canons de fer et d'acier dont je viens de parler, il est arrivé parfois que l'étireur s'est trompé, au lieu d'étirer les mises sur champ, il les avait étirées sur plat, ce qui avait confondu toutes les mises ensemble. Le canonnier, ignorant l'erreur commise, une fois le canon forgé et déroché, s'est trouvé stupéfait de voir apparaître une nuance tout à fait bizarre, imitant l'effetde la moire. C'est ce qu'on a appelé le canon moiré. Ce genre de canon, dont la découverte est, comme on le voit, due au hasard, est très résistant; malheureusement il est trop sujet à présenter des pailles, à cause du nombre infinie des soudures dont toujours quelques-unes sont imparfaites. En réunissant trois ou quatre lopins ensemble et en conservant toujours le plat des mises correspondant au plat des rubans, on a obtenu un peu plus tard des moirés plus fins. C'est à celte variété de moiré qu'on a donné le nom de ruban anglais.

English Plain Twist or Skelp does have an irregular, mottled pattern



HOWEVER, there is a group of damascus patterns that are neither lamellar (Bernard I) nor crolle (Turkish), but MOTTLED:

Leclerc



Remington 'Chine P' (which I think also means 'mottled')



Remington 'Ohonin 6 S.T.' or 'Thonin'





and Remington 'Pieper P'



And to really stretch things-it's possible that pattern was acquired from the Japanese
'Chonin' means merchant or tradesman in both Japanese and Italian (or 'commerciante'). In French; 'marchand' or 'commercant', Portuguese; 'comerciante.'
Matchlock arquebus (Tanegashima) were introduced to Japan by the Portuguese in 1543, and likely into China by the Ottomen Turks about the same period.
http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dfg2hmx7_245hnhnz5d6

It's a good day when you learn something new but I'm afraid that book is a LONG way off

Drew, thanks for your perseverance tracking down this very important historical information. The trail must be barely visable, having grown over with two devastating wars and the indifference of those involved to preserve the art for posterity. What you're doing is greatly appreciated and I can only hope you compile it in a published volume someday for posterity.

Gotta find that pattern display from Liege shown at the London Exhibition of 1861-62 first Joe

This looks like it should be the villebrequin?

RevDoc

A "Moire" effect is properly described as the interference pattern seen when two plates of plate glass have a thin film of water between them; similar as has been said to shot silk, not unlike an oil film on water. Case colours are a form of Moire.

"Derochment" is de-slagging; a term I'm familiar with from industrial furnace work.

Trancha does indeed come for the word for "slice" but can also be taken as wafer or layer.

Eug