doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com damascus question

I have a set of sxs barrels that are marked Belgiun fine damascus on the top rib. I have done several barrels and have had good results bringing out the contrast that I am looking for, however with this set I can't get any evidence of the tubes being damascus. Is there any chance the tubes are fluid steel? Thanks : Mike

Not much, but there is a small chance that they are seam welded tubes of (hot rolled) mild steel; which is really a form of fluid compressed steel, just not alloyed, sized, shaped, or intended for barrels. Think about it for a minute. There was no reason to have fluid compressed steel pose as damascus. There might be a reason to have seam welded mild steel tubes faux painted to hide the weld. Posing as damascus is not illogical and more plausable than trying to pass painted barrels as blued/blacked steel barrels.

Mike,

Anything's possible. I looked a DHE Parker at a local gunshow last weekend and the barrels were sleeved Steel barrels but the rib was marked "Damascus Steel".

Derrick

"Damaskus barrels they faked those too"
Imitation damaskus produced by etching.A wery intresting story in
the paper.

(From The American Rifleman date april 1976)

Maybe it is so.(only a thught)

Regards Lennart

I don't recall the date but there was some point in time where Belgian law required the makers to change their markings on faux damascus/twist. After this date bbls may be found marked damascus finish etc. Prior to that date I believe a bbl could be found marked damascus that in fact was not. These were for the most part the cheapest of bbls, so don't expect one of these to actually be stronger or of better quality than a "Real" damascus.

My first JABC hammer gun had the fake Damascus. I don't remember what it said on the rib but it was probably something like London Fine Twist. It was obviously a fake because the "twist" pattern continued from one barrel, across the under rib and on to the other barrel. Ditto 2-P's statement that you shouldn't expect them to be better, or even as strong, as a set of well made Damascus barrels. I have seen some marked "Damascus Finish" as he said but the one I had gave no such indication of fakery. A likely explanation on the Parker was that the sleever simply used the original Parker rib. Look closely at the under rib on your gun, Mike. See if the pattern runs right across it, like mine did.

I believe Jim's explanation to be very probable. As for the seam welded barrels. If you find that is the case, avoid firing it. Later gun makers made sure to emphasis "fluid steel" barrels. A seam welded barrel, when it lets go, opens almost the entire length of the seam. Damascus was considered a huge safety improvement over the seam welded barrels.

The price of damascus barrels dropped over time because of the introduction of modern equipment and the lower cost of coke smelted steel.

After 1900, the USA imposed a 48% tariff on imported goods. So you have to add that to these prices.

Ferdinand Drissen's (a Liege gun maker) 1898 price sheet:
Imitation Damascus $5.40
Birmingham $8.10
London $9.07
Bernard 1st grade $16.21
Crolle 6-band $34.74
The above prices are in dollars. The original was in Belgian Francs, which were worth approximately $.193 cents on the dollar.

Pete

It was in 1898 the law came

Regards Lennart

Are you referring to the Dingley Act of July 24, 1897? It stayed in effect until the Payne-Aldrich Tariff Act of 1909. I did mistype the date I had intended, which was the McKinley act of 1890.

The Dingley tariff was an amendment to the Wilson-Gorman act of 1894 which was amending the McKinley act.

Pete

I referring the American Riflemans articel.

"Finally,at a sitting held on march 19, 1898,the Commision des brevets du Conseil superieur de l'Industric et du Comerce decided against the demand of the Union des canonniers de la Vesdre that imitation damaskus barrels should be stamped "imitation damaskus".That it be forbidden to mark any iron or steel gun-barrel of imitation damaskus with an unauthorized description,for ex. Turkich damaskus,Crolle damaskus,Bernard damaskus,or with any description using the word "Damaskus"and so on......(before it's ok.)

Lennart