Hat's off to you Doc Drew for the digging in the old literature that you do, as well as the modern analysis. Though there seems to be mentions of best iron and steel, the description of the various scrap used and the experience that they could work with that material might suggest that it was not necessary to work with highly refined material.

I wonder if the images of the size and distribution of the inclusion in the damascus are a sort of benchmark fluid steel had to meet, cost effectively, to take over and exceed.