The American Rifleman magazine December edition has a very good article about damascening. I had never heard or seen anything on the subject. I enjoyed it and thought you might also.

don't have the magazine here but a quick example pulled from the web;



This early Colt Revolver as well as other varied examples is at
"Damascening | Art techniques materials"
https://www.sharetopfive.com/damascening-art-techniques-materials-video-inside/

This came from
the "Spanish Damascene Metalwork (1850 – 1900)"
section of the https://www.khalilicollections.org/

[img]https://i.imgur.com/XfxrBrg.jpg?1[/img]
The damascene applied to the toplever of my Eusebio Arizaga 20 ga is the Arizaga family crest.

The American Rifleman is a publication of the National Rifle Association

https://www.americanrifleman.org/content/the-art-of-gold-damascening/

Leonardo Antaris authored a number of books, specificly one on STAR firearms. That book has a nice section in it that shows and explains the process as well.
Lots of Damascened STAR handguns pictured in book in color as well.
(IIRC one of Star's biggest customers for Damascened handguns in the 70's and 80's was a Canadian by the name of Wm. Clinton.)

The author did a display at the OGCA show in 2017 titled Spanish Gold. It displayed several high grade samples of the art and well as tools, materials, photos, ect.
I believe his display was a 1st place award

He set up the same display at the NRA show in 2019, same title.

I think some of the NRA/AR article info came from that. I recognize some of the pics as from his book.
He authored a book on Astra handguns as well. IIRC there are some Damascene Astras pictured as well but I don't recall them to be in color.

Very different type of inlay work in many respects. The precious metals being so thin and small in dia. Called foil and thread in that trade as opposed to sheet or plate stock & wire.
Detail work is almost all by punches,,lots of tiny shaped punches. Not so much by the use of gravers to make lines in the thin metal.
The scoring of the background for the gold attachment isn't very different from the way many engravers attach inlays and overlays.
Scoring in 3 different directions produces an entanglement of very sharp teeth to which the soft metals attach themselves to.

The damascene method of scoring is with a knife blade,,the engravers method is usually with a flat chisel turning up a burr in a row.
The knife scoring is needed as it is very fine,,very shallow. That is needed so the foil and thread gold which is only a few .000 thick doesn't pierce through and show on the outer surface.
Those teeth that pierce through will turn blue when the piece is 'blued' after all the inlay work is done.
Traditional bluing was by 'heat bluing'. Much of the modern work is done by hot salt bluing, especially firearms..

The problem of the steel teeth coming through the gold inlay and showing on the surface is also an issue for the gun engraver using a chisel to produce the attachment teeth.
Can't be too high or they will pierce the inlay when applied and hammered down for attachment.

Nice articles and links,,thank you for the postings..