What on earth is a Damascus steel ? the name alone sounds incredibly exotic. Is it an ancient way of forging steel ? a mysterious alloy that's supposedly stronger than what we can make today ? An alchemy perhaps ? A secret formula that we have yet to uncover ?
So I did a google search, and a lot of knives made of Damascus steel showed up. And sure enough, I was instantly hooked onto the patterns of the Damascus knife. The patterns are insanely gorgeous.
As it turns out, the old way of making Damascus steel is called Wootz, and experts have yet to conclude what it is that makes Wootz Damascus what it is. On the other hand, the modern Damascus is somewhat different from the yesteryears, but it is equally impressive. It refers to as binding two or more "iron type" metals, and forging them together. The analogy would be like kneading a dough ball to create the layers, the more the layers, the fluffier the bread gets. The Damascus steel means layers and layers of stashed up metals forged together, and this is precisely the distinctive pattern you see on a damascus blade's surface.
And unlike the conventional knife making, a finished Damascus knife is etched in concentrated acid. The multiple layers from various "metals" are oxidised, with each metal reacted differently, thus the different coloration.
The forging process of a Damascus steel is incredible if not downright amazing. We rarely see a Damascus used in photography, other than this soft release button designed and made by Patrick Borie-Duclaud of Komaru. But the thing is, it's sold out almost instantly.
but don't fret, we have other Soft Shutter Releases made by Komaru, and they are equally impressive, albeit slightly less exotic.
