Damascus Steel: The Cutting Edge of Medieval Technology

Рет қаралды 14,770

2 жыл бұрын

It was the stuff of legend. The superweapon of the Middle Ages. Harder, sharper, stronger, and more flexible than anything else. It was a modern superalloy steel in a medieval environment. It was Damascus steel, and it was made in... Turkmenistan??!
In this episode of How Minerals Made Civilization, check out the hidden story of Central Asian (Damascus) steel: its mysterious origins, the loss of the technology, its rediscovery.
#howmineralsmadecivilization #damascussteel #mininghistory #steelmaking #mineralresources
Sources: A. Feuerbach (2002) Crucible steel in Central Asia: Production, use, and origins.

Пікірлер: 29

@pedrosugliano9762 Жыл бұрын

this is some top tier educational content right here, thanks a lot to all those whose work made this possible, you all deserve the best.

@TP-ym1xe Жыл бұрын

The vast amount of new knowledge you've shared in those 15 minutes was astounding! This is a criminally under-watched video. Your exposition needs more discussion and shares online and on social media.

@minerals.arizona Жыл бұрын

Thank you for the kind words. Feel free to spread the word!

@definitelynosebreather 2 жыл бұрын

What the hell.. this deserves to have way more views. Incredible work.

@minerals.arizona 2 жыл бұрын

Thanks for your kind comment. We'll do our best to get it out there.

@misterangel8486 Жыл бұрын

Impressive video. Highly informative. I agree with the others on comments, this video deserves a lot more views. Thank you very much👍

@wally9935 Жыл бұрын

Thank you for the great and informative video!

@minerals.arizona Жыл бұрын

Glad you enjoyed it!

@tykehotep2865 2 ай бұрын

Thankyou really enjoyed that. I have to be honest I hadn't heard of Damascus till say a few year ago when purely by chance I came across the blade maker Sharup on you tube (love watching things being crafted but anway) so yeah looked up the cost of one and hmm yeah. Till 3 weeks ago I was in a gun shop and they had a selection of old damascus 3,5" outdoor knives for want of a better word so bought 2 for lets say dirt cheap took em home sharpened cleaned and dressed them And honestly I cannot stop gazing at the pattern once I start Sorry for the bad grammar and waffling On buy a nice Damascus you wont regret it lol

@GrantHendrick Жыл бұрын

Wonderful video. Thank you!

@minerals.arizona 11 ай бұрын

Glad you enjoyed it!

@americanwoman6246 7 ай бұрын

@@minerals.arizonayour channel is awesome!

@vuzzler1 Жыл бұрын

Nice explanation

@greatkaafir7478 Жыл бұрын

Damascus blades were first manufactured in the Near East from ingots of wootz steel that were imported from Southern India (present day Tamil Nadu and Kerala). The Arabs introduced the wootz steel to Damascus, where a weapons industry thrived.

@abdoexa Жыл бұрын

yes , Damascus words return to Damascus city in Syria , Damascus swords was made also by Othman century

@hishyamwahab1339 11 ай бұрын

Don't claim too much.. show me where yr blade..my blade.. u can Google keris .. until now we know how to create tht ... But we keep as scret

@shanuyadav7273 10 ай бұрын

Yes thats makes sense since Arab traders settled in southern part of India in 7th century, they exported the wootz steel.

@prodigalfraudaddy 10 ай бұрын

@@shanuyadav7273 not just arab ,,even julis Caesar had an embassy in kerala

@canarddefer3574 10 ай бұрын

This is a very good introduction to the history of Damascus/Wootz steel; however you seem to be following the outdated notion that Damascus steel production was a technology in itself, rather than a happy accident of high quality ores being used in the crucible process (and we must remember that crucible steel of various grades was being commonly produced across the Middle east and Asia across the time period you discuss). Recent scholarship runs largely against the notion that Damascus became a lost technology: rather, it is accepted that the loss of a steady supply of manganese/vanadium rich ores robbed the Indian and Middle-Eastern swordsmiths of their previously high quality raw material. These sword makers did not lose their Damascus/Wootz technology - rather, they never had it in the first place, because, for all their excellence, they had no notion of how carbide-forming elements affected the crucible process. Why their supply dried up is subject to conjecture (perhaps the exhaustion of one or more seams of exceptionally high quality ore), but the fact that most metallurgists today point to manganese and vanadium carbides as the defining feature of the best quality Damascus/Wootz steels does seem to give the lie to the 'lost technology' theory.

@joefish4466 7 ай бұрын

You're minmizing the skill of those making those blades back in the day. All the "Damascus" blades currently available are pattern welded blades, which says a lot. Modern blacksmiths can easily make crucible steel with manganese/vanadium/chromium, but you don't see them turning these things into something resembling the original Damascus blades, which they could sell for far more than the pattern welded stuff they eagerly hock. I think the lost art reflects the loss of the source material AND the subsequent loss of the specific techniques that were used to shape those raw material into the classic Damascus blades.

@65mto 4 ай бұрын

We should remember about carbon nanotubes and cementite nanowires in Damascus steel, they are important for it's amazing properties.

@Economist96 Ай бұрын

Words have meaning: Iron DOES rust. A sword will snap, not shatter.

@chrissinclair4442 9 ай бұрын

Did Damascas have more carbon then other steel, but carbon nano tubes kept it from being brittle? Haven't finished watching yet so maybe it says.

@hishyamwahab1339 11 ай бұрын

It's happened cuz different types of iron.. the best blade mix meteor iron. ... Actually in different part in the world..we ll get different types of iron...

@kencarse3677 9 ай бұрын

Iron is iron no differences. It’s the impurities or additives along with the process that makes the difference

@CaritorSales 6 ай бұрын

The Damascus steel is Orginally Orginated present day TELEGANA, Hyderabad Region south india, India.

@EmbeddedSorcery 3 ай бұрын

Can't even use actual Damascus steel in the thumbnail of your video? Not even going to bother watching.

@f0-f09 18 күн бұрын

Welp, then you're missing out on an amazingly informative video because of such superficiality

@FireRevontulet 7 ай бұрын

my god,, this video is full of misinformation and badly researched history. And by the way, what they are passing as damascus steel images here are actually pattern welded steel examples