Sparkling damask steel is born
From soft iron, hard steel.
And the sword becomes a hundred times stronger, And patterned spirals on the blade.
(Alexander Simonov, "Damask Sword")
Come from a fairy tale
Everyone knows that fairy tales are not just interesting stories to entertain kids, but also a storehouse of wisdom that weaves a cunning pattern with historical events and epics.
In fairy tales about mighty heroes and noble knights, such a term as "damask armor" is often found. The strongest and most courageous heroes performed their feats with weapons made of damask steel. 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 by aliens, or a gift from above?
Does damask armor exist in our time and is it valued as in ancient times? The meaning of the word "bulat", the origin and use of this metal are described in this article. We will reveal all the secrets of a truly fabulous steel, which in factactually quite real.
The weapons of famous heroes
Damask armor is an outdated name for melee weapons. And not at all armor, as it might seem at first glance. For comparison: the analogues of the word "armor" in the twin languages Polish (bron) and Czech (zbrane) mean 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 indestructible weapons made of damask steel, thanks to which they were considered invincible warriors. The meaning of the word "bulat" is simple - it is hardened steel.
Mystery from space
The secret of the ancient damask steel lies in the distant past, or rather 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 damask steel blades and knives were forged for selected warriors.
Legendary uniqueness
Swords forged from ordinary iron broke and bent after the first 2-3 blows, but damask ones served forever. They could easily cut through an iron shield or rip open the enemy's chain mail. It is also surprising that, despite their incredible strength, damask blades were very resilient and bent 90-120 degrees without losing their integrity. Thus, a simple edged weapon of the enemy in battle, if not blunted, thenshattered into pieces like broken glass, while the damask armor remained intact and sharp. According to the legend, for a damask sword they gave as much gold as the blade weighed, and it weighed a lot!
Fairy Metal
Despite the fact that the meteorite was large and the blacksmiths were extremely frugal, the reserves of the unique metal were exhausted. Bulat armor eventually turned into a legendary weapon from the past, thanks to which many great victories were won. Information about the miraculous weapon was passed from mouth to mouth, from old to young.
Since that time, many years have passed, but the heroic damask armor, the value of which has only risen over the years, did not give people peace. Patterned blades forged from steel were sung in epics, myths, and legends. Here are just a few examples of how damask steel and armor made from it are mentioned in fairy tales:
- in the book about Vladimir Krasno Solnyshko, one of the knights, sparkling with damask armor, fights against the "cursed enemy";
- in "The Tale of Tsar S altan" written by Pushkin, merchants, in addition to gold and silver, brought damask steel;
- peasant son Ivan defeats the unknown Miracle-Yudo, cutting off his head with a damask sword;
- in the fairy tale about the adventures of the resourceful tramp Aladdin, travelers are frightened with 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: "Damask knives are sharpening, they want to kill me…";
- Finley the hunter in the fairy tale of the same name, the good fairy warns that they want to kill him with a sharp damasksword;
- in the book "The Mistress of the Enchanted Forest" the main character Velimir, in search of an evil witch, cuts his way through branches and thickets with a sword made of damask steel;
- the great and mighty hero Yeruslan Lazarevich cuts off the head of the insidious Serpent with a damask sword.
In addition to old fairy tales and legends, the phrase "damask armor" is often found in modern poetry 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 ultra-sharp weapons:
- Viktor Prishchepenko ("And heavily armed").
- Andrey Shabelnikov ("Damask sword of the brave Teuton").
- Sergey Semyonov ("Riding the Gorynych").
- Ninel Koshkina ("Does the Shadow know its place?").
- Sergey Stepanov ("Fury of the Normans").
Treasure from India
The first artificially created damask steel was made in India. Then the secret of producing high-strength metal 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 "vuts", and in Asia and Iran - "farand", "taban", "khorasan".
The Persian scientist-encyclopedist Al Biruni, who lived in the Middle Ages and possessed knowledge in almost all scientific fields of that time, wrote a whole treatise about damask steel. It has been preserved in ancient archives to this day. Al Biruni wrote:"Damask armor is obtained by melting two substances that melt unevenly and do not mix together until homogeneous. The result is two-colored blades that are extremely highly valued."
Damask armor is easily recognizable by its characteristic patterned pattern. It is obtained as a result of the crystallization of carbons and is a kind of distinction of such products. In addition, the damask steel blades were incredibly sharp. For example, they easily cut through a handkerchief thrown over the tip of the thinnest gauze fabric.
Skill of Damascus blacksmiths
Most of all damask armor was produced in Syrian Damascus. Round ingots of damask steel were brought to Syria from India, and Damascus blacksmiths were already forging magnificent, fabulous weapons. Daggers, sabers and blades cost more than gold and were a symbol of we alth and prosperity.
The price of Indian damask steel grew exponentially. And Syrian craftsmen, by combining different types of steel and repeated forging, created welded damask steel, which to this day is called Damascus steel and is highly valued.
After Syria was captured by one of the commanders of Khan Togluk - Tamerlane, 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, blacksmithing fell into disrepair. The descendants of Syrian craftsmen settled all over the world, and the method of making damask steel and armor from it was completely forgotten.
Following the footsteps of ancient traders
There is evidence that steel, very similar to damask steel, was made in Japan. Blades brought from this country had the same flexibility and strength as weapons made from space material.
With the expansion of trade routes, oriental metal, as well as sabers, daggers and knives made of damask steel ended up 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 traded, was very much appreciated in England. This is evidenced by the messages of the English 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 of making a miracle 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 formula for ideal damask steel. Everything was done by eye, and the approximate proportions and composition were kept in the strictest confidence. Few people knew for certain how damask armor was made correctly. The meaning of the word "bulat" was nevertheless associated with the best quality of weapons and led the warriors to awe.
Spreading fake
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 a falsemetal, the weapon from which outwardly looked like damask, but in other qualities could not be compared with the true armor from 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 polishing and beautiful patterns. The quality of the false damask armor left much to be desired. Because the weapons were made from ordinary low quality carbon steel.
Recreated from the darkness of ages
Several centuries passed before damask steel was created in Russia, which in its composition was almost a copy of Eastern samples. The mining engineer, metallurgist scientist and part-time Major General Pavel Petrovich Anosov was personally involved in the reproduction of the legendary two-color metal. He, a talented Russian, a patriot of his Motherland, who grew up on fairy tales about heroes, was sure that damask armor is an invincible weapon.
It all started in 1828, when the Mining Department instructed the head of the Zlatoust plant (Chelyabinsk region) Anosov to reveal the secret of heavy-duty steel and develop a formula for damask steel. Developments and experiments, a series of successes and failures continued for more than 10 years. In the process of research, the scientist used a microscope for the first time 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,experimented.
At the end of 1838, Pavel Petrovich still managed to get figured steel - cast damask steel, in no way inferior in quality to 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 most intelligent man, damask armor, the meaning of which was sung in ancient legends, has ceased to be an unattainable dream.
Anosov damask steel
What was the damask steel recreated by Anosov? In terms of its chemical properties, this metal differed from steel in an increased amount of various carbons and was very similar in parameters to cast iron. However, unlike non- malleable, brittle cast iron, damask steel was softer and more pliable, and at the same time incredibly hard and strong. To obtain 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 Anosov's death, the secret of making high-quality damask steel was again lost. Perhaps it was simply hidden from prying eyes, or maybe it happened as a result of a negligent attitude. However, some time later, the inventor and metallurgist Dmitry Konstantinovich Chernov set out to recreate the Anosov damask steel.
He did a great many experiments mixing low-sulphur iron and graphite silver in differentproportions. As a result, Chernov received a beautiful patterned metal, but found that the pattern disappears when forged. The scientist came to the conclusion that the main condition for creating damask armor is the right temperature during forging. Despite his attempts, he never succeeded in getting that famous metal.
Is it all about molybdenum?
Relatively recently, during regular excavations, a blade made of Japanese damask steel, made in the 12th century, was found. The chemical analysis of weapons revealed one of the secrets of the unique qualities of this material. Scientists have discovered molybdenum in steel, a malleable transitional refractory metal that does not occur naturally. In the modern arms industry, molybdenum has long been used as an alloying addition to various types of steel. This increases the strength and toughness 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.
Mystery unsolved
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 edged weapons.
If you set a goal, you can find a skilled blacksmith who can forge a damask knife. After all, there is always a fairy tale in life…
The pattern of the blade is always unique, It is not similar to others, as a person.
A warrior's sword is both a friend andbrother…It contains the pain of war and peace poetry.
(Alexander Simonov, "Damask Sword")
