doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com What is it about Damascus?

I own far more damascus rifles than shotguns, my most recent purchase.

We all understand that pattern welded BLADES have a different fabrication process than BARRELS.
Blades were produced primarily by folding and hammering of the laminate, occasionally with some twisting, and then grinding. Modern blades have incredibly creative patterns from the twisting and grinding.

This is an x-ray of a pattern-welded sword, French, Lorraine, Merovingian period, sixth century. The central portion clearly has a crolle pattern



Blade history here
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1p97fInNIiSMjHuMRzJp2pHmQ1QPwPDeJECNbNKzInI4/edit

Wootz, which may have been what the first pattern welded smiths were trying to reproduce.
https://docs.google.com/document/d/13X5cxrij91Q_W-46bxP188B_axDKBWT5Mc5yHePegh0/edit

Steve Culver explains the barrel fabrication process, and that of the tubes with names in the pattern here
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1jQPuv4yOXpTppdXkAiyGj6LC5bXDAYBCR1DME9lB0JM/edit

'Remington Arms'



The pattern all starts with how the lopin is stacked
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1xylidcizmxlYC66XHUDLpQFtU6gi9WyXSkTayKKWCXc/edit

Barrel historical resources are here
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1oPd3fOeToSHZwCaahXNIyV3sGVqow_Z_ENO8Fnk7kTQ/edit

and from Greener
https://docs.google.com/document/d/1f1ALnG5lwS9zCTlOuA064FSX6xeSEx-Nm2g1BaZyM5Y/edit

Gene: "In London the barrel-welding industry was never of great importance since 1844 no gun-barrel welder has practised in the Metropolis. The last maker was W. Fullard, of Clerkenwell, who enjoyed a high reputation for all kinds of sporting gun barrels."

https://www.grayssportingjournal.com/damascus/

More from Terry's article from Grey's Sporting Journal...

There are other advantages, such as strength for weight, and how a Damascus gun can be exquisitely balanced, but those become rather esoteric and subjective. Here we are dealing with safety, pure and simple. To quote Edwin von Atzigen, my Swiss gunmaker and gun restorer of old, “a good barrel is a good barrel” and as long as pressures are kept within the limits dictated by the regulating authorities, there should be no problem.

Where steel has an insurmountable advantage is cost, and this is partly because the knowledge and skills to produce the fine Damascus that came out of Belgium 125 years ago no longer exists. Even if we wanted to make Damascus like that today, and were willing to pay for the man-hours, we couldn’t.

We can, however, still admire those barrels they made back then. On the rack right now, I have half a dozen shotguns with Damascus barrels, and one double rifle. My most beautiful Damascus is the barrels on an E.M. Reilly that was salvaged after 35 years in the rafters of a henhouse, and which Edwin restored for me 20 years ago. It’s a 12-bore with 30-inch barrels, and weighs an exquisitely balanced 6 lbs., 4 oz. It has a second barrel set, made later with fluid steel, but I never use them. They add an ounce of weight—inconsequential—but somehow never feel as good.

Perhaps the feel is imaginary, or perhaps I’m just mesmerized by that lovely Damascus. Either way.