The lost secret of the Damascus steel, the strongest material of antiquity
In Europe, the first to learn about it were the Crusaders: steel was light and strong.
The formula of its production was secret. And it was precisely this secrecy that condemned it to oblivion.
Is it possible to " un-invent" something? The answer, perhaps, is yes. The best example is precisely the Damascus steel, the legendary material used by numerous knights of the past, including the Crusaders, whose formula is still unknown, lost as a secret in the past. Many, in recent years, have tried to reproduce it. Some are convinced they have succeeded, but not everyone agrees.
Damascus steel was known to Europeans during the Crusades age. Legendary swords capable of cutting feathers in half, in the air, but which, at the same time, could withstand numerous fights with Saracens. They were recognizable at first glance, because of the characteristic "damask" veins that appeared on the blade. But they were also very difficult to reproduce. The method of manufacture, as always in history (and even today) when it comes to weapons, is considered a trade secret.
The problem is that while various manuals of machining techniques for all kinds of objects from antiquity have survived, the formula for Damascus steel has disappeared over time. The sword, quickly replaced by the entry of firearms, became less and less important. Before long it was forgotten, surviving only as a legend.
According to sources, the secret of the Damascus swords lay in the moment of tempering, that is, cooling. This was a handcrafted process that was charged, at the same time, with numerous magical meanings. The recipe for the cooling liquid of a sword was another, important, production secret. Damascus steel swords were cooled, according to the rumour, by sinking them "in dragon's blood." An impossible thing, of course. But which reveals, if one compares other sources, that the liquid used was red (though sometimes referred to as "green medicine").
There were numerous other stories about the way a sword could be cooled. For example, holding it while riding a galloping horse (i.e., cooling it with air). Another was to heat it "until it became like the sun growing in the desert," that is to say, very red, and then to cool it until it was "purple." It was at that point that it had to be immersed in the body of a "muscular" slave, so as to acquire, by killing it, its strength.
The tempering process, in short, was more of a ritual than an actual technical procedure. Perhaps this is precisely why, all things considered, the magical formulas related to Damascus steel appeared so mysterious and, for those who did not know them, fascinating. If we then add that, at that time, it was one of the best steels around, it is easy to understand the reasons behind the myth. All this is to say that yes, humanity does progress. And often forgets what it leaves behind. Sometimes forever.
(da linkiesta.it)
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(thevintagenews.com)