Damascus

Damascus steel's origins trace back to the Near East around 300 BCE. It is believed to be produced from wootz steel, which originated in India and Sri Lanka. Wootz steel was notable for its high carbon content and unique microstructure. To this day, we don’t know exactly how they used to make Damascus, but our modern equivalent has been popular and well known.

Here at The Rainy Forge, all our Damascus is made by sheer muscle. I currently have no power hammer, aside from the one I was born with, and I work with as combination of 1095, 1084, and 15N20 for my billets. To make Damascus, I begin with a three to five layer stack of two or more of the listed steels, hammer it flat, forge welding everything together, and then folding the billet over. This process is then repeated until the desired layer count is reached, and various techniques are used to put different patterns in the steel. The final knife is then ground clean, acid etched in ferric chloride, and then bathed in instant coffee to get those deep blacks.