Hi all,
From a technological point of view Sham is a type of wootz/pulad as it is crucible steel, however it is made of hypoeutectoid steel (less than 0.8% Carbon), whereas Verhoevens "true" spheroid crucible steel patterns needs to have above 0.8% carbon (hypereutecotid) for that type of microstructure to occur. For those who are interested, arguabley...The Sham pattern is caused by ferrite/pearlite banding whereas the other types (kara Khorasan for example) the pattern is made from the alignment of the cementite (the stripes) in a pearlitic/ferritic matric (background). So from a ancient technology point of view Sham is a type of wootz/pulad as it is made of crucible steel. In ancient times (and even today when doing backyard production) it would be dificult to control the carbon content to such a small degree (0.05% difference would change the microstructure) so, in theory, the same craftsmen could make Shan and Kara Khorasan blades from the same crucible firing, just one handful of plant matter contained more carbon than the other.
