Slashdot Mirror

← Back to Stories (view on slashdot.org)

Recreating The Lost Art Of Damascus Steel

Posted by Hemos on from the looking-in-the-past-for-the-future dept.

YouAreFatMan writes "The Chicago Tribune has an article about two researchers -- a metallurgist and a blacksmith -- who have apparently been able to reproduce the legendary Damascus steel. 'Islamic artisans used it for centuries to make swords that spurred envy and myths among Europeans--including the legend that a Damascus blade could slice a falling silk scarf in midair.'"

4 of 554 comments (clear)

  1. ..And then created religious laws that forbade it by Ars-Fartsica · · Score: 2, Troll

    They laid the groundwork of knowledge but were unable to reap the rewards out of ignorance of technology and a bizarre unflinching adherance to ancient religious law.

  2. Re:Just use micro-aligned crystals... by bugnuts · · Score: 0, Troll
    Why 32,768 layers exactly? Well, that's what you get when you flatten a piece of steel, fold it in two, and stretch it back while hammering it 15 times...

    Does ANYONE here have any idea what this guy is talking about? He must be some kind of total math pencilneck egghead geek. Stop with the bizarre rocket science, bub, we're humans here, not frikkin computer chip-head geniuses.

  3. Alot of work... by evilMoogle · · Score: 0, Troll

    Wouldn't it just be easier to use a laser to cut the silk scarf? It'd look cooler too. Ninjas with Damscus steel blades are nowhere near as cool as Ninja with Lasers.

    --
    Erik
    "You," Bite me.
    "Each and every one of you." Bite me.
  4. hmmm... by 4n0nym0u53+C0w4rd · · Score: 4, Troll
    From the article:
    For hundreds of years, some of the keenest minds in science sought in vain to tap the secret of how blacksmiths in ancient India and the Middle East fashioned a supremely tough metal known as Damascus steel.

    [snip]

    Although Verhoeven and Pendray have patented their technique...

    Can you say Prior Art?

    --

    Buy Hex-Rated Stuff, fight the DMCA!