What is the Damascus barrel?

What is the Damascus barrel?

Damascus or “Damascus twist” barrels are older shotgun barrels that typically were made before 1900. Iron and steel ribbons were twisted and welded together. Damascus barrels have a distinctive, irregular pattern of short, streak-like marks around the barrel.

How are Damascus barrels made?

Perfection over the next millennium resulted in early Damascus firearm barrels being made in Eastern and Near-eastern countries. Thin ribbons were wound around a mandrel, heated and hammer-welded to create barrels. A thin metal sleeve was wrapped around a mandrel over which the barrel ribbons were wound.

Is laminated steel Damascus?

Damascus and laminated are typically considered the same thing. There are some folks who took standard barrels and applied a Damascus type of outer layer for looks. Quote: Damascus or twist-steel barrels are made by layering alternate strips of steel and iron then welding them together.

When did steel barrels start to replace Damascus barrels?

From 1857 Joseph Whitworth & Co. produced fluid steel barrels and by the 1880’s they began to replace Damascus as the preferred material, taking away the uncertainty of ‘ good’ or ‘bad’ quality Damascus.

Is it safe to shoot with a Damascus shotgun?

Today, damascus shotgun barrels are considered to be unsafe to shoot. But, about 100 years ago damascus shotgun barrels were considered superior to barrels forged from a tube of steel. Now, damascus knives and swards are reputed to be much stronger than the ones made from a single piece of steel.

Is the top of a Damascus barrel smokeless?

Reading the magazines of the time, there was often a letter from a reader asking about this and the answer was always the same – modern, smokeless powder shells will blow-up the The top barrel is true Damascus, from a Purdey 10 gauge.

Are there any Remington 12 gauges with Damascus barrels?

Remington 1900 12 gauge side-by-side with Damascus barrels. This gun was intentionally destroyed with a gross overcharge of smokeless powder. Such a charge would have destroyed any modern shotgun.