About Damascus

Modern Damascus steel is often referred to as a pattern welded steel, where various sheets of different steels are pressed together at high temperatures to form a solid piece of steel with varying chemical composition.  This is then folded, twisted and drawn to give us the various patterns.   The surface of the steel can then be chemically etched to reveal the pattern.

When the steel is forged the Damascus forms a thick scale (looks a lot like rust) all over due to the extreme temperatures in the furnace.  The as-forged Damascus needs to be shaped to a near-finished product.  This is done by mechanically removing material by cutting, grinding, sanding etc. 

 Once the steel has been rough formed it needs further heat treatment to further optimise the mechanical and chemical properties of the steel (the hardness and chemical resistance of the steel is improved by this).  Again, due to the extreme temperatures in the furnace a layer of scale forms on the item which has to be removed by grinding and sanding (generally at this point the steel is too hard for conventional cutting methods). 

 Once all the scale is removed and the item is ground / sanded to finished shape and size the steel smooth all over and is shiny silver (you can see the pattern but only when looking closely). 

 The chemical etching brings out the pattern so that it is visible to the eye.  In this process the etchant chemical reacts with one of the materials in the steel quicker than the other (due to the difference in chemical composition in the two metals) which brings out the pattern.   

It can then go on to be further crafted into unique Damascus steel rings, wedding bands  and other jewellery.

The Damascus steel we use contains 304 (austenitic) and AEB-L (martensitic) Steel. 

Both grades are stainless so the rings will not rust or tarnish with time.

Our stainless Damascus rings resist scratching very well when compared to traditional gold jewellery.  It is however possible for the etched colour to fade over time and as such we are able to offer a repair service to restore your ring back to its original glory.  Please contact us to find out more.