[TheForge] Wootz Lost?

[James Binnion]

Jason,

This is one of the problems with the internet, information gets mixed and mashed up. For instance wootz is the anglicized version of ukku in the languages of the states of Karnataka, and Andhra Pradesh, a term denoting steel. India was the source for the high quality crucible steel used in the original watered pattern "damascus steel". The name damascus steel came into western use because the crusaders and other Europeans encountered it in the middle east where Damascus was a principle trading center so it became damascus steel. When the Europeans tried to duplicate it they utilized pattern welding which was known to them as a technique to try to gain the patterned properties of the wootz. This is where the terminology mix up of pattern welding and wootz or damascus steel comes from. If you are interested in the history of such attempts in the early 1800s Michael Faraday did many well documented experiments trying to create wootz before he turned his attention to electromagnetism.  Steve mentioned in his post wootz is a crucible steel and this is what Dr Verhoeven and Al Pendray recreated in their experiments that the article you referenced.

Here are several references

Pattern Formation In Wootz Damascus Steel Sword Blades by J.D. Verhoeven


http://materialiaindica.wordpress.com/2009/02/16/a-brief-history-of-materials1metallurgical-heritage-of-india/


"Faraday and his Metallurgical Researches. With special reference to their bearing on the development of alloy  steels" by Robert Abbott Hadfield


J.D. Verhoeven's page at Iowa State lists a dozen research papers he did on wootz damascus steel.  http://www-archive.mse.iastate.edu/who-we-are/people/emeritus-professors/john-verhoeven.html





James Binnion
jbin at well.com