Wow skatr-thank you!
So what do we (sorta) know about Laminated Steel?
From English Sporting Guns and Accessories by Macdonald Hastings - "The gunmaker Rigby of Dublin, made the first Damascus barrels; but they did not come into general use untill after 1825. Prior to that, barrels were twisted out of horse shoe nails. Damascus barrels (only remotely to do with the place called Damascus) were worked into their beautiful herring-bone patterns by the mingling of iron and steel. Even the new barrels were only reluctantly accepted by the sportsman." This may be the first description of Laminated Steel barrels.
The Gun, or a Treatise on the Various Descriptions of Small Fire-Arms 1st Edition 1835 by W.W. Greener
Discussed Silver Steel and Mr Wiswoulds Iron, the description of which suggests early Laminated steel.
The Science of Gunnery, as Applied to the Use and Construction of Fire-Arms, 1841, may be W.W. Greener’s description of his claim for inventing Laminated Steel - "I have had as high as three-fourths of steel to one of iron, and where proper attention is paid to clipping of the steel to pieces, corresponding with the (horse-nail) stubs, and properly mixing the whole (into a 'bloom' of molten metal), welding (in an air furnace) and forging by the heavy hammer, reducing by a tilt ditto, and rolling down to the…rod, a most excellent, tenacious, and dense body of iron is obtained; while, by cutting into lengths of 6 inches, bundling a number together, and re-welding them into a bar, you gain an increased density and tenacity…rendering it…considerably more powerfully strong than any explosive fluid ever yet compounded could burst…"
Shooting By Baron Thomas de Grey Walsingham, Sir Ralph Payne-Gallwey, Lord Charles Lennox Kerr, Archibald John Stuart-Wortley, Gerald Lascelles, Simon Fraser Lovat 1886
"Laminated steel barrels differ but slightly from those known as 'Damascus.' The former were first made by Mr. W. Greener (senior), of Birmingham, about 1850, and were composed of three parts steel and one part iron. At the present time the best English damascus, as well as laminated steel barrels, contain over 60% of the harder metal, and there is little perceptible difference between Damascus and a laminated Damascus barrel, as both are of very similar workmanship and materials.
The Birmingham Proof House Test of 1891 as published in The Field included barrels described as:
1. Belgian and English Laminated Damascus
2. Machine-forged English Best Laminated Steel, 3-Rod and 2-Rod
3. English hand-forged 3-Rod Best Laminated Steel
In the 9th edition of The Gun, William Wellington Greener stated that he used Best Silver Steel, but in earlier editions referred to Silver Damascus. He also compared ‘Old-fashioned laminated steel (75% steel), ‘Modern Laminated Steel' (60% steel), and ‘Laminated Damascus.’
Some c.1870s Parker Hammer Lifter barrels are marked "Twist" on the top rib, but are clearly laminated steel. The Parker 1899 catalog lists "Fine Laminated Steel" for Quality I & H hammer guns, which is a grade below the "Fine Damascus" used on Quality G guns. It is likely One or Two Rod "Laminated Damascus" of either an English or Belgian source.
The 1888 Colt Patent Firearms catalog also has a quality gradation from Twist to "Laminated" to Damascus and Hunter Arms used “Laminated Steel” on Quality No. 1 L.C. Smith guns 1892-1898.
Last edited by revdocdrew; 10/23/07 11:07 PM.
