Drew-

Agreed, but don't you think the material iron/steel in question and concepts for working the materials are most likely related? It would stand to reason early barrel makers were drawn from the ranks of those who had access to and were schooled and skilled in working in those particular materials. This may have also formed the basis for the common esthetic you noted in your earlier posts.

While blades may be folded and barrels twisted, lamination is the common technique and one that would appear to have originated hundreds of years before damascus shotgun barrel production.

Doug