Keith, I remember reading the same "unwind" theory, from a British gun writer back when fluid steel was the new kid on the block. There was also the famous British test, 1890's I believe, in which good Damascus won out as being stronger than the best fluid steel. Of course fluid steel has improved a lot since then, and much of the bad rap Damascus gets comes from cheap guns (mostly from Belgium) sold in American hardware stores back around 1900 or so.
There's no guarantee that any barrel won't blow. Modern ones from reputable makers like Remington and Perazzi (or was it Krieghoff--or both?) have failed. Sherman Bell didn't have much success finding Damascus guns--even cheap ones--that would fail under anything approaching normal working pressures.
