doublegunshop.com - home Forums General Discussion DoubleGun BBS @ doublegunshop.com Iron, Steel & Alloy Staining

Correct!!

I would flatten the rod to a thickness that allows for stock removal to develop the damascus pattern. The other option, would be to flip the flat layers 90 degrees and create a bar that just has long straight lines of alternating iron and steel. Maybe weld the 1 layer stack a second time, to create 22 layers. If the bar was finished to 1 � inches wide, the layers would be .068 thou in width. If the bar was 2 inches wide, the layers would be .091 thou wide. The possibilities are endless.

Principe de Fabrication d'un Canon de Damas Localit� de la commune de Pepinster (Province de Liege) Belgique
The action of vitriol (Blue Vitriol = Alum and copper sulfate) brings out the steel in black and the iron in white wonderful patterns that repeat at every turn.

It is for threads like this that I keep coming back to read and reread to better understand

Also from Principe de Fabrication d'un Canon de Damas and not the best illustration but it does appear that Acier (steel) is black and Fer (iron) white



Masse - Lopin
Baguettes - Rods
Torsion - Twisting the rods
Ruban - Ribband
Enroulement - Wrapping the ribband around the broche/mandril
Forgeage - Hammer welding

Any educated opinions as to which alternee is steel and which iron? I'm thinking the blue-grey is steel and brown-grey iron?

Hmmm,

If Fluid Steel barrels of the period color black, why wouldn't the steel layers of Pattern-Welded barrels do also? Yes, it was a rhetorical question.

I should have 'splained that better

This is the Damascus Demonstration Rod, and I believe PRE-coloring



End view of the demonstration 'lopin' shown in my previous post



I guess the question is directed toward those who have worked with 'raw' wrought iron and low carbon steel

My thoughts; based on observations from my work.....

Hot rolled steel always has a bluish mill scale on it. So, I would assume the blue-gray layers are steel. The wrought iron having a silica content, may inhibit formation of mill scale. Thus, the simple red rust surface on it.

As someone who makes a lot of damascus steel, it is most common to place the low carbon element on the outer layers of the billet. The outer layers come to heat the quickest and will be at a temperature that can burn out carbon for a longer period of time. High carbon materials are placed inside the billet, where they are protected from the deoxidizing atmosphere in the forge.

I have raw wrought iron in my shop. I am willing to send a piece to anyone who wishes to test finishing of it. And/or, I will weld up a sample of wrought iron and steel damascus for testing. The only question will be whether the samples that I provide will be representative of the materials used in damascus barrels. I have some 1002 steel in my shop. It may be close to what was used in barrels.

Thank you Steve.

"1002 steel may be close to what was used in barrels."

I agree

The chemical composition of only TWO samples of pre-1900 2 Iron Crolle was similar to AISI 1005 low carbon, low alloy steel based on Optical Emission Spectroscopy (OES).

Wrought Iron may have .05% - .25% carbon.

Interesting about Steve's comment of the Silica content in Wrought Iron. One thing I've noticed is that during an agressive etch small inclusions in the WR actually appear to "Sparkle". I'm wondering if that is the Silica.

Sure, I'd volunteer for finishing the test pieces. I'll be starting another run in a few weeks.

Regards
Ken