A sparkling damask is born
Of soft iron, hard steel.
And a sword becomes a hundred times stronger
And on the blade - patterned spirals.
( Alexander Simonov, "Damask sword" )
Come from a fairy tale
Everyone knows that fairy tales are not just interesting stories that children can take, but also a storehouse of wisdom that weaves a cunning pattern with historical events and epics.
In the tales of the mighty heroes and noble knights, the term "damask armor" is often found. The most powerful and brave heroes performed their feats with damask steel weapons. What kind of metal is this? Why is he so good? Why was it so expensive and so valuable? And in general, damask armor - what is it? Armor, shield, visor? Or maybe this metal is a secret development of blacksmiths who have sunk into oblivion, an experiment of aliens, or a gift from above?
Does damask armor exist in our time and are valued as it was in antiquity? The meaning of the word "damask steel", the origin and use of this metal are described in this article. We will reveal all the secrets of truly fabulous steel, which is actually quite real.
Weapons of Illustrious Heroes
Damask armor is an outdated name for knives. And not armor at all, as it might seem at first glance. For comparison: analogues of the word "armor" in the sister languages Polish (bron) and Czech (zbrane) mean exactly steel weapons, such as a damask blade, sword, knife, dagger or saber.
Such famous fairy-tale characters as the heroes Ilya Muromets and Dobrynya Nikitich, King Arthur and Svyatogor, possessed unbreakable damask steel weapons, thanks to which they were considered invincible warriors. The meaning of the word "damask steel" is simple - it is hardened steel.
Mystery from space
The mystery of the ancient damask lies in the distant past, and more precisely in 1421, when an iron meteorite fell to Earth near the Russian city of Yaroslavl. A huge piece of metal that fell from the sky was considered a gift from the gods and was spent only on unique weapons. Only a few eminent blacksmiths had access to extraterrestrial metal, and blades and knives made of damask steel were forged for selected soldiers.
Legendary uniqueness
Swords forged from ordinary iron broke and bent after the first 2-3 strokes, while damask ones served forever. They could easily cut the iron shield or rip the chain mail of the enemy. It is also surprising that, despite their incredible strength, damask blades were very elastic and bent 90-120 degrees, without losing their integrity. Thus, a simple cold weapon of the enemy in battle, if not stupid, then shattered into pieces, like broken glass, while damask armor remained intact and sharp. According to legend, they gave as much gold for a damask sword as the blade weighed, and it weighed a lot!
Dream metal
Despite the fact that the meteorite was large and the blacksmiths were extremely thrifty, the reserves of the unique metal were exhausted. Damask armor over time turned into a legendary weapon from the past, thanks to which many great victories were won. Information about wonderful weapons was passed from mouth to mouth, from old to young.
Many years have passed since that time, but the heroic damask armor, the significance of which only increased over the years, did not give people rest. Patterned blades forged from steel were sung in epics, myths, and legends. Here are just a few examples of how the damask steel and armor from it are mentioned in fairy tales:
- in a book about Vladimir Krasno Solnyshko, one of the knights, sparkling with damask armor, fights with the "accursed enemy";
- in the "Tale of Tsar Saltan" written by Pushkin, merchants, in addition to gold and silver, brought damask steel;
- the peasant son Ivan defeats the unknown Miracle-Yudo, demolishing his head with a damask sword;
- in the fairy tale about the adventures of the resourceful tramp Aladdin, travelers are scared by poison and damask steel;
- brother Ivanushka, who drank water from a puddle and turned into a kid, calls his sister Alyonushka for help with the words: "Knives sharpen damask, they want to kill me ...";
- Finley-hunter in a fairy tale of the same name, a good fairy warns that they want to kill him with a sharp damask sword;
- in the book "Mistress of the Enchanted Forest" the main character Velimir, in search of the evil witch, cuts his way through the branches and thickets with a sword from the damask steel;
- the great and mighty hero Eruslan Lazarevich cuts off the head of the insidious Serpent with a damask sword.
In addition to ancient fairy tales and legends, the phrase “damask armor” is often found in modern poems and prose. The meaning of the word is invaluable in literature, respectively, thanks to modern authors, damask steel exists to this day. Here are contemporaries whose efforts preserve knowledge of super-sharp weapons:
- Victor Prishchepchenko ("And Armed Zelo").
- Andrey Shabelnikov ("Damask sword of the brave Teuton").
- Sergey Semenov ("On Horseback").
- Ninel Koshkina ("Does Shadow Know His Place?").
- Sergey Stepanov ("Rage of the Normans").
Treasure from india
The first artificially created damask steel learned to make in India. Then the secret of high-strength metal production leaked to Iran and Central Asia. True, in those parts damask steel, the characteristics of which exceeded all the wildest expectations, was called differently. In India, it was a "university", and in Asia and Iran - "farand", "taban", "Khorasan".
The Persian encyclopedic scientist Al Biruni, who lived in the Middle Ages and possessed knowledge in almost all scientific fields of that time, wrote a whole treatise on damask. It has been preserved in ancient archives to the present day. Al Biruni wrote: "Damask armor is obtained by melting two substances that melt unevenly and do not mix with each other until uniform. As a result, two-color blades are obtained, which are valued unusually high."
Damask armor is easily recognizable by its characteristic patterned pattern. It is obtained as a result of crystallization of carbon and is a peculiar sign of the difference between such products. In addition, damask steel blades were incredibly sharp. For example, they easily dissected a scarf thrown on the tip of the thinnest gas fabric.
The mastery of damask blacksmiths
Most damask armor was produced in Syrian Damascus. Bulat round ingots were brought to Syria from India, and Damascus blacksmiths had forged magnificent, fabulous weapons. Daggers, sabers and blades were more expensive than gold and were a symbol of wealth and prosperity.
The price of Indian damask steel rose exponentially. And the Syrian craftsmen, by composing different types of steel and repeated forging, created welded damask steel, which to this day is called Damascus steel and is very much appreciated.
After Syria was captured by one of the military leaders of Khan Togluk - Tamerlan, he took all the blacksmiths out of the conquered country and settled them in Samarkand. However, in captivity, the masters worked very badly. And over time, the blacksmithing went dead. The descendants of the Syrian masters settled around the world, and the method of making damask steel and armor from it was completely forgotten.
In the footsteps of ancient merchants
There is evidence that steel, very similar to damask steel, was made in Japan. Blades brought from this country possessed the same flexibility and durability as weapons made from space material.
With the expansion of trade routes, eastern metal, as well as sabers, daggers and knives made of damask steel, appeared in Russia. In historical sources there is evidence that Russian blacksmiths purchased this material for the manufacture of very expensive weapons.
Damask armor, the value of which was unusually high in those countries with which the East conducted trade, was very appreciated in England. This is evidenced by the messages of the Royal Royal Academy, dated 1795 and preserved to this day. They describe the events associated with the purchase of blade steel ingots for research.
However, the secret to making the wonder metal was kept behind seven seals. And this is not surprising: after all, in ancient times there were no chemical laboratories and analyzes, so it was simply impossible to derive the ideal damask formula. Everything was done by eye, and the approximate proportions and composition were kept in the strictest confidence. Few authentically knew how damask armor is properly made. The meaning of the word "damask" was nevertheless associated with the best quality of weapons and brought the soldiers in awe.
Fake spread
Years later, the blacksmiths of Europe tried to recreate at least Damascus steel, but failed. They had no choice but to learn how to make false metal, the weapon from which outwardly looked like damask, but in other qualities could not be compared with the true armor of myths.
In the 18-19th centuries, the production of fake damask steel was widespread in Italy, Germany, Spain, Bulgaria and France. Weapons from it, especially German and Spanish, were wildly popular due to their beautiful appearance, combining mirror polish and beautiful patterns. The quality of false damask armor left much to be desired. Because the weapons were made from ordinary low-quality carbon steel.
Recreated from the darkness of centuries
Several centuries passed before damask steel was created in Russia, which in its composition was almost a copy of eastern samples. The reproduction of the legendary two-color metal was handled personally by a mining engineer, a metallurgical scientist and, in combination, Major General Pavel Petrovich Anosov. He, a talented Russian, a patriot of his homeland, who grew up on fairy tales about the heroes, was sure that damask armor is an indestructible weapon.
It all started in 1828, when the Mining Department ordered the head of the Zlatoust plant (Chelyabinsk region) Anosov to reveal the secret of heavy-duty steel and develop a damask formula. Developments and experiments, a series of successes and failures lasted more than 10 years. In the process of research, the scientist first used a microscope to study metals, and also replaced the gilding of blades with galvanization.
Anosov mixed iron ore and graphite, combined different types of iron, melted metals in air and in vacuum - in a word, he experimented.
At the end of 1838, Pavel Petrovich nevertheless managed to obtain patterned steel - cast damask steel, not inferior in quality to the ancient Oriental samples. In 1839, metal ingots and products from it went to an exhibition in St. Petersburg. And already in 1841 Anosov wrote one of his largest works - “On Bulat”, which was nominated for the Demidov Prize.
Thanks to this clever man, damask armor, the meaning of which was sung in ancient legends, ceased to be an unattainable dream.
Anosovsky Damask
What was damask recreated by Anosov? In terms of its chemical properties, this metal differed from steel in the increased amount of various carbon content and in parameters was very similar to cast iron. However, unlike the non-friable, fragile cast iron, damask steel was softer and more pliable and at the same time incredibly hard and strong. To get high-quality damask steel, it was necessary to strictly observe the production technology. Otherwise, improper processing can turn this strong metal into ordinary steel.
After the death of Anosov, the secret of making high-quality damask was again lost. Perhaps he was simply hidden from prying eyes, or maybe it happened as a result of neglect. However, after some time, inventor and metallurgist Dmitry Konstantinovich Chernov set out to recreate Anosovo damask steel.
He conducted a great many experiments, mixing low-sulfur iron and silver graphite in different proportions. As a result, Chernov received a beautiful patterned metal, but found that when forging the pattern disappears. The scientist came to the conclusion that the main condition for creating damask armor is the correctly selected temperature during forging. Despite the attempts made, he never managed to get the same illustrious metal.
Is it all about molybdenum?
More recently, during the next excavation, a blade from Japanese damask steel, made in the 12th century, was found. Chemical analysis of weapons revealed one of the secrets of the unique qualities of this material. Scientists have discovered molybdenum in steel - a malleable transition refractory metal that is not found in its natural form. In the modern arms industry, molybdenum has long been used as an alloying additive to various types of steel. This increases the strength and viscosity of the weapon.
It is unlikely that the ancient Japanese knew about molybdenum. Most likely, the iron ore from which they made weapons contained a large amount of this chemical element.
The mystery is not solved!
Today, modern types of steel are significantly superior to damask steel. Nevertheless, it is still one of the most advanced metals for the production of knives.
If you set a goal, you can find a craftsman smith who is able to forge a damask knife. In the end, in life there is always a place for a fairy tale ...
The pattern of the blade is always unique
He is not similar to others as a person.
A sword for a warrior is both a friend and a twin ...
In it is the pain of war and peace, poetry.
( Alexander Simonov, "Damask sword" )