Wootz ingot / true Damascus

[Copycat]

Hello All,

Imagine having a terrible preserved wootz sword/saber etc. Should you be converting this into an ingot?

Kind regards,

[Lee]

No.

[Interested Party]

Pictures please. I'm chismoso!

[Copycat]

Hypothetical idea of course. It popped in head as I watched my tulwars / talwars.

[werecow]

No.

What this guy said.

[Interested Party]

Thanks for the picture. Honestly from what I understand of the chemistry of the process I do not believe that if you took these three blades and melted them into a liquid state to create a new ingot that the resultant steel would display a wootz pattern. The possible exception (my theory) would be cutting them into small pieces, placing them into a crucible with leaves, glass, maybe some charcoal dust and sealing the crucible. Then heat the crucible slowly to the perfect temperature, I have seen several theories on what that is, and slowly cooling that over a long period. Basically, recreating the process in which the crystalline structure was formed in the first place. Interesting idea, but historically destructive. If this was my dream, I would be more inclined to repeat the Al Pendray experiment of tracking down an old mine used in historical wootz production so that you had a better chance of the correct chemical composition. Getting together 80 kg minimum of ore and processing that. Probably 320 0r 400 kg would be a better goal in that would give you 4-5 chances to get the process right given you could properly forge the wootz once it was an ingot. Interestingly enough, I discovered an iron deposit (mostly large chunks of iron oxide mixed with sand and trace gold) recently at work that I have been collecting and storing in the hope that someday I will have spare time and health enough to finish the project that I dreamed of with my grandfather when I was 12. Ironically, I would be at roughly the same age he was when we dreamed of making wootz by the time I have the time I get around to the experiment ;)

Good luck in your adventures,
IP

[Copycat]

Thank you for your extensive reply.

The high risks of destroying or changing the wootz properties are off putting.