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Damascus Steel.—According to Demmin,* the treatment of steel known as "damaskeening" is no longer practised at Damascus. The metal used is a cast steel, in which-a strongly marked figuration is produced by the presence of crystallised graphite, which is rendered evident by the corrosive action of acids. In 1804 Clouth imitated the oriental Damascus steel, and Stodart and Faraday considerably improved the process of manufacture. At the present time artificial polished Damascus steel is largely made in France, whence it is exported to the East. It is also made for gun barrels at Liege, and for swords at Solingen and Passau. There are black, brown, and yellow damaskeenings, which are produced in the following manner :—Several bars of steel of different hardness, or of iron, cast steel, and steel, are welded together, hardened, and formed into sword blades. They are then treated with acids, where by the harder portions acquire a dark colour, whilst the softer portions remain bright.

The figurations appear wavy, striped, or mosaic-like, according to the manner in which the various bars were hammered together. The finest and most expensive variety is said to be the Liege Eenard damaskeening, which is formed of three bars welded together, each of which consists of seventy-two iron and seventy-two steel wires. The gun barrel is formed by smithing this compound bar, which is wound round an iron cylinder placed over a mandril. When finished, the iron cylinder is drilled out.

An imitation of damaskeening, which is used in Liege for cheap
sporting guns, is produced by affixing paper printed in lithographic ink on the surface of the finished iron or steel gun barrel, and into this dilute sulphuric acid is poured, which corrodes the portions of the barrel not protected by the ink on the paper. Ou heating the gun barrel, blue and brown colorations are produced
Bery- und Hüttenmännische Zeitung, vol. xlviii. p. 8. 1889.—i.