Compressed steel tubes in conjuction w/ the new fangled smokeless powder was a just a fad and giving pattern welded tubes, water pattern or Damascus tubes a bad name was to sell the steel maker's product; therefore, it was all about economics. The Brits couldn't compete on a global scale w/ other countries tube suppliers who had a cheaper wages. Also, the cost was directly related to the quantity of natural resources a country had and also the distance and type of transport to the source, furnace and forge. Leo Figiel in "On Damascus Steel" notes that after the pattern welded(helical or spiral wound) tube was perfected by the Turks, Persians, Afghanis, Indians(India) and the Italian Cominazzi family, the tubes could be totally filled w/ powder and ignited unlike as before on previous tube types, where they could only fill it 1/4 of the length.
Kind Regards,
Raimey
rse
Last edited by ellenbr; 04/22/08 06:20 PM.
