A Damascus steel sword is a blade of pattern welded steel, which in this catalogue always means 1095 and 15N20 forge welded together, folded, drawn out and acid etched. The name is confusing and always has been. It has nothing to do with the city of Damascus and nothing to do with the historical crucible steel that the name originally described.
What is on this tag
Flame bladed short swords at 27 inches overall, dagger swords at 30 inches with 23 inch blades, wakizashi with triquetra engraved brass tsuba and wrapped tsuka, gladius short swords at 27 inches with brass fittings, messers and longswords. Overall lengths run from about 23 to 38 inches with blades from roughly 17 to 29. The steel is Damascus of 1095 and 15N20 at 58 to 60 HRC. Grips are olive wood, rosewood, leather wrapped and cord wrapped.
The name, cleared up
Historical wootz Damascus was a crucible steel made in south Asia and traded through the middle east, with a pattern that came from carbide banding inside a single steel rather than from welding two together. It has not been made commercially for centuries. Modern Damascus is pattern welded, which is a different and much older European and Asian technique that produces a superficially similar look by completely different means. Both are legitimate. Only one is what you can buy today.
The short blades here
A good part of this tag sits under 30 inches, which is the most useful size band for anybody without a dedicated display wall. The Japanese short swords are in the wakizashi and the wakizashi explainer covers where it sat beside the katana. Roman short blades are in the gladius and the full pattern welded range in the Damascus swords.
Care
The etch is a surface finish and not a coating. Handling wears it at contact points over years and abrasive cleaners remove it outright. Wipe, dry and keep a thin film of light oil on the blade, and store it out of a closed leather scabbard rather than inside one.
No two alike
Every billet is folded by hand, so the pattern runs differently through each blade. What arrives will match the listed pattern family and the listed dimensions and will not be identical to the photograph.
Free US shipping
On most pieces. Heavier and oversized ones carry a flat charge.
Hand Forged
Heated, hammered and ground by hand.
Engraving available
Names, dates or Norse runes on most pieces.
