Special Magic Kitchen

First of all, true Damascus steel doesn’t exist in modern knife blades. Yes, you can buy knives with a Damascus look, but this metal is not what is considered Damascus steel or its predecessor, Wootz steel. The craft of making Damascus steel disappeared sometime around the mid-1700s, but this doesn’t mean that people haven’t tried to recreate it.

Damascus steel was first encountered by Europeans during the crusades where Arab swords were legendary for sharpness, flexibility, and their unique wavy blade patterns. Originally, the steel making process came from India and it was ore from the subcontinent that was used to make the famous swords that came out of Damascus.

The pattern on modern knives that gives the appearance of a Damascene blade comes not from the ancient forging process, but through a type of welding called ‘forge welding,’ where sheets of high and low carbon steel are welded together to produce layering. Etching is then used to reveal the layers in the wavy pattern that you see in modern cutlery. See the photo above.

Now, I must caveat this post slightly because even though the art of making Damascus steel did disappear about two centuries ago, it very well may have been resurrected here in the United States. Master bladesmith from Florida, Alfred Pendray, in conjunction with a professor of metallurgy from Iowa State, John Verhoeven, have scientifically recreated steel very close to Wootz steel using similar materials and techniques. It really is quite amazing, but the mystery of how to produce Damascus steel may actually be solved. You can read an article from Scientific American back in 2001 that details this discovery.

Alfred Pendray and Professor Verhoeven filed for a patent on their Damascus steel process in 1992, and if you want to see a Pendray Damascus steel reproduction, click here. That Pendray dagger was sold for $2,500. Another knife by Pendray is currently available for sale for $4,495, and If you want to order one directly from the bladesmith, the wait is apparently 4+ years.  I think it is safe to say that true Damascus steel will never be in the kitchen.