Interesting he said he has testified in court cases on Damascus guns. That would have records available.
If there have been recent court cases on Damascus guns failing I have never heard about them. Not to say it's impossible just you would think they were reported. Who would somebody sue, maker long out of business ?
Could it be another reporter caught fabricating facts ?
Boats
Could be going after ammo makers . . . although US shotshells usually carry the warning that they're not to be used in Damascus guns.
Concerning Roster and steel vs lead: To give him his due, I don't believe I've ever read him claiming that steel is better than lead. Or even as good. He has done a lot to demonstrate that steel is better than many naysayers would have us believe. At the same time, his research involving steel and pheasants (which probably needs to be updated--he used pretty anemic steel loads) revealed some issues that he hadn't observed with waterfowl.
He is convinced that lead shot is probably going to be prohibited in the near future. I think he's wrong about that, given the current political climate and the likely linkage of any lead ban to an assault on gun rights in general. But he simply doesn't have the expertise in the field of vintage guns, proof, pressure etc that he does when it comes to steel and other varieties of nontoxic shot.
