Damascus barrels are actually discussed in the below case in connection with a failure to warn claim. Tossed, no negligence on part of manufacturer. Great description of facts though.
‘The uncontradicted testimony of plaintiff's own witnesses, Crysel, and of defendant's experts, Hill, McLain and Houser, is that the gun in question is in fact an old, twist steel Damascus made gun, the manufacture of which type guns was discontinued about the turn of the century. This type gun was made by twisting small steel rods around a mandrel, then subjecting them to intense heat to weld the rods and hammering them while they were hot. The mandrel was then withdrawn and the work smoothed or polished. All the experts who testified agreed that the Damascus type gun is inferior to the construction used in the manufacture of modern guns and none of them would fire a Damascus gun, even if it were new, because to do so would be unsafe. All of defendant's expert witnesses testified, and a casual inspection will show, that the gun was old and rusty, the barrels were pitted, the stock was broken and held together in part by a steel band around the stock in front of the trigger guard placed there by plaintiff's witness, Crysel, and the general condition was poor. The gun was offered in evidence as Defendant's exhibit D-1 and it is apparent to the Court, who is not an expert, that the gun was, in fact, unsafe. The experts who testified could not determine the exact date of manufacture of the gun, but since the manufacturers discontinued making this type gun around the turn of the century, as they testified, the particular gun in question must have been made before the year 1900. The experts also testified that deterioration in Damascus made guns takes place merely by the passage of time since slag which is bonded in between the welds when the twists of metal are hammered together on the mandrel will absorb moisture, thereby speeding corrosion in the barrel. This corrosion weakens the welds and tends to pull them apart.
‘Plaintiff offered no evidence to show that the shell in question which resulted in the rupture of the barrel was overloaded, improperly manufactured, or in any wise defective, and in that respect he has failed to make out his case, unless the doctrine of res ipsa loquitur applies. In spite of plaintiff's lack of evidence, the defendant, in the Court's opinion, has shown by uncontradicted testimony that the shell was not, and *332 could not, have been overloaded, and that there was no defect in the shell or the manufacturing process. Mr. Hill, a witness for defendant, described in detail the mechanical process used in the manufacture of shotgun shells, with illustrative drawings and charts, and the Court is convinced from his testimony that the machine used in the manufacturing process could not possibly produce an overloaded shell. The inspection processes were also described in detail by this witness, both while the shell is being assembled and manufactured and after the shell has been loaded, and from those inspection processes, mechanical, visual and manual, any shells showing abnormalities, imperfections, improper crimping or too much wax are promptly discarded.
Singleton v. Olin Mathieson Chem. Corp., 131 So. 2d 329, 331–32 (La. Ct. App. 1961)
