Pete,
If your interested in the demise of damascus, you may want to read 1005115 (1911)...it was issued to Franz Hatlanek of Kladno Austria...Kladno is also the home of Poldi steel including "anti-corro steel" but I have not yet connected Hatlanek and Poldi except for proximity and trade. At the very least, they where competitors if not associates. My guess is that Hatlanek was an employee at/for Poldi. I'm assuming Poldi is also someones last name and not just the name of that large Austro-Hungarian steel producer located in Kladno.
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also the exclusive horse shoe nail period was 1800 - 1825, after that there were more variations to choose
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true hand hammered damascus (stub/twist/skelp/mingled), like Rigby damascus (Dublin), became economically unfeasable in the percussion era. If someone thinks they have a hammered damascus gun, it had better be percussion or a converted percussion (like Barber & Lefever)...past that, you better have documentation that shows that maker (or makers supplier) was still hammering so late. The only breech loading exceptions that I have seen had high relief Rigby damascus recievers and rolled damascus barrels. Both were Irish guns.
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True Damascus steel (capital D) better known as "wootz" actually originated in Kurdistan. At least that seems to be the general consensus. Perhaps Rev already stated that, and I'm re-hashing old ground.
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Does this BBS have a spell checker?
Last edited by Robert Chambers; 06/05/07 10:51 AM.
