Frag Out! Magazine
Issue link: https://fragout.uberflip.com/i/1365706
legends and fairy tales. But should we believe in them unconditionally? We are not sure if those legends were brought by crusaders from the battles they won and were celebrating the weaponry that impressed them or from the battles they were beaten by said weaponry. Well, it is better to say to be beaten by an enemy equipped with such weaponry! Nevertheless there was something that really impressed crusaders. Damascus steel must have better quality than any other European steel used on the Old Continent. Let's try to understand where the difference was, except the looks. Semi-finished products smelted in the smelting furnace had a big grain and during proper cooling and bigger carbides created a characteristic pattern. While forging in low temperatures, thanks to particular forging techniques, that specific pattern made by carbides didn't vanish. Graining in the steel was decreasing and big carbides (created while cooling the steel after smelting) were broken to smaller ones. Small-sized graining and carbides clusters were responsible for cutting properties of this steel and made it able to cut fabrics or meat much better than other steels (legend of cutting falling shawl). What is more, Damascus steel was mostly used to produce very curved sabers that due to the shape cut much better than European straight swords. The admiration was never ending but in the European battlefield those Damascus sabers weren't as good as they appeared to be. In their homeland they were efficient as they needed to cut multiple layers of turban rather than steel helmets or plate armor. They weren't efficient in dealing with plate armor, most they could cut through were lamellar armor or chain mail. While hitting steel plates, which weren't elastic at all, it often happened that blades would snap. That's why they were mostly made as parade sabers – encrusted with valuable metals and gems – that owners can boast with them because of the beautiful blade and encrusting that was made generally already in Europe. Let's look on the Old Continent and our turf. Even though Damascus steel was brought as a semi-finished product on polish soil, we produced weaponry and tools with similar patterns on blades. It was different in production and name. COLD STEEL