Originally Posted By: Steve Culver
....Im thinking a low layer count (maybe 11 layers) forge welded, twisted and then flattened out into bar stock. I could forge the welded rod to around 1 inch square before twisting, rather than the approximately 3/8 inch that was used in gun barrels. The larger stock and broader damascus pattern would make identifying the iron and steel layers easier....

Only thoughts Steve. Instead of flattening the twist into a bar, a barrel might have more likely been ground to shape. A forged bar might end up with spots of long thin tapered laps of the two materials, where you may be looking for slices somewhere in the middle.

I've also noticed when wrought is heavily etched, the stringy appearance is easy to see. Doc Drew's pictures show tiny islands of slag pretty evenly distributed. I've always suspected that is the reason and result of the heavy drawing to produce a barrel, distribute and mitigate inclusions or defects.