Bill Fiorini was a fantastic smith.
Having watched the old documentary video "Making Damascus barrels", I don't think the process is unobtainable now. One of the challenges that would be faced is the stuborness of modern steels compared to the steel/iron mix used in the old barrels.
Watching the way the steel moved under the hammer and when it was being twisted in the video tells me it was much more ductile than what I am used to forging ( all tool steel ). That being said, the right mix of steels to produce a strong barrel but one that is forgeable without so much difficulty would be a key to sucess. ...
This is an interesting point. I have lost count of how many times I have watched the movie. I have spoken with countless people about it, from gunsmiths to bladesmiths to those that reblacken the barrels. Everyone has a unique observation. It is only through such astute observations that we begin to understand.
I wish I could obtain the rights to the two other movies. One shows the billets being formed in the rolling mills, the other was a 1934 redo of the 1924 movie. I got caught trying to capture them on my camcorder and was quickly stopped and put under very close observation by everyone within ear shot
I felt sorry for Marc who was with me.
We really do not know the precise formula for the metals they used. We do know that it became a specialty item over time. I believe the infrastructure could not justify it as newer formulas were developed with a broader market and Belgian gun making began to shrink.
One of these days, the countless conversations about having some samples analyzed and photographed will come to fruition.
Pete
