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Started by Elena Marchetti (@fusion_or_bust) ·

real Damascus steel, and where the 'nanotubes' story came from

Most modern 'Damascus' is pattern-welded: layers of two steels forged together and etched. Original Damascus blades were made from wootz, and the swirly pattern was bands of iron carbide that formed during forging. A 2006 study of a 17th-century sabre reported carbon nanotubes in it, hence all the 'ancient nanotech' headlines.

7 sources · 58 min down the hole

How I got here

Started with
“how was damascus steel made lost technique”
Ended at
“wootz vs pattern welded damascus”

The Trail

  1. “how was damascus steel made lost technique” (google.com)
  2. Damascus steel (en.wikipedia.org)
  3. Wootz steel (en.wikipedia.org)

    crucible steel from india and sri lanka. the pattern came from the steel itself, not folding

  4. Pattern welding (en.wikipedia.org)

    what most 'damascus' knives sold today actually are

  5. Cementite (en.wikipedia.org)
  6. Carbon nanotube (en.wikipedia.org)
  7. “wootz vs pattern welded damascus” (reddit.com)

Keep going