MEET THE MAN WHO BEATS DAMASCUS STEEL

I'm a horseshoer by trade. My dad was a blacksmith, and I started helping him when I was very small. I've always enjoyed working with the old traditions. That's one of the reasons I became interested in Damascus steel. The old bladesmiths didn't have fancy foundries or equipment; Damascus blades were made in a backyard-shop atmosphere. Yet these swords were tremendously sharp and strong. They were better quality than anything else that was around at that time. I was fascinated by the fact that the method for making them was lost. And in my ignorance, I thought I could solve the problem on my own.

I worked by myself on Damascus steel for almost five years. Then a friend told me that John Verhoeven, a metallurgy professor, was working on the same problem. In 1987, we started writing to each other. Then I visited his lab. John and I made a good match because I knew forging and he knew metallurgy. We had a lot to teach each other, and we weren't ashamed or embarrassed to ask each other questions.

To make Damascus steel, I take charcoal and mix it with an iron that has the impurities we need to form the Damascus pattern. I also use green leaves, just like the old bladesmiths did. Hydrogen (which comes from the water in the leaves) helps the carbon from the charcoal mix better with the iron.

I try to do everything as close to the original procedures as possible, but I do use some modern technology when I know it won't make a difference in the steel. For example, I use power hammers that can hit hard or soft. I also use a modern gas forge that can control temperature very accurately. The original bladesmiths didn't have any fancy instruments to tell them what to do-they had to look at the color and feel of the metal to figure out what was happening. And I had to teach myself to do the same, because there were no records of how the early smiths broke down the steel cake into a blade. I would have loved to have been a fly on the wall of one of those early shops just so I could have seen how those early smiths worked. It took a lot of trial and error to figure out how the blade should be forged: we had to figure out the right temperatures, and how the metal was hammered and beaten.

As far as I know, I'm the only bladesmith who makes Damascus steel.When you compare my blades to original blades, pretty much everything's the same. I make so many blades today that I often forget how many years it took to figure out. All I can say is that it's been a really fun experiment.

-Alfred Pendray

Alfred Pendray beating a blade into shape.

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