Sometime ago a member posted on these forums about modern Damascus Steel barrels. I contacted Mr Per Billgren of Damasteel in Sweden and he has given me the links to the company that makes both rifle and shotgun barrels out of the blanks that his company produces. For whoever is planning a best gun, these would be something to consider.

Damasteel

Gobec Austria

Good hunting!

That is some beautiful stuff. A set of damascus scope rings & bases would be awesome indeed.

D Humbarger,

Damasteel make the Damascus slides for CAspian Arms' 1911 pistols. If you need sights or something else, you could contact Caspian or Damasteel. They are usually very good in responding to requests on e-mail.

Per Billgren has developed a kind of Damascus for double gun actions and I hope that he succeeds in persuading someone to make double rifles or shotguns on them. They would look really beautiful!

Good hunting,

Mehulkamdar:

Beautiful steel. Since I can't read German, my perusal of the barrel makers sight was somewhat restricted. I couldn't find any prices. Do you know what a barrel costs, whether shotgun or rifle? Have you heard any accuracy reports from the rifle barrels?

They are beautiful, I wonder what their performance is like? accuracy and long term use. Would the different steels have a tendency to wear at different rates causing uneven bore wear and possibly effecting shooting? Not that it would stop me, looks so damn good that even if they didn't have great barrel life I'd have to get one (if they were reasonably priced).

Please post more info. if you can find out any.

Red

Gentlemen,

I hope to receive a package of information from Per Billgren who owns Damasteel. Oldsarge is also in touch with Damasteel's US agent to find out if they also i port barrels. As soon as I get the press kit, I shall scan and post it here. I shall also e-mail Per Billgren about this information request.

From what I know, Flodman use Damasteel barrels on the O/U rifles and shotguns and also that Brno have used the barrels on some of their custom rifles.

Best wishes and good hunting,

Isn't Damascus steel less able to hold up to modern pressures? I remember that some of the early smokeless shotgun shells had warnings about Damascus steel on the box.

NE Jack,

Damascus steel in the old days was used for shotgun barrels because it rang less. There were Nitro Proofed Damascus barrels made but the cost of doing this became prohibitive in the old days. Damasteel uses a patented modern process that has little to do with the old methods of making these barrels. They have several types of Damascus for different applications and I am waiting for the press pack sent to me by them to arrive. I should get it shortly and shall post the details on it on these forums.

Best wishes,

Thank you sir!
Being familar with serval heirloom shotguns that are of Damascus steel, I wondered about that.

quote:

Originally posted by mehulkamdar:
NE Jack,

Damascus steel in the old days was used for shotgun barrels because it rang less. There were Nitro Proofed Damascus barrels made but the cost of doing this became prohibitive in the old days. Damasteel uses a patented modern process that has little to do with the old methods of making these barrels. They have several types of Damascus for different applications and I am waiting for the press pack sent to me by them to arrive. I should get it shortly and shall post the details on it on these forums.

Best wishes,

Mehulkamdar, I would most certainly participate in a purchase if we can make this happen. I don't know who but I feel certain we can find someone willing to make barrels from this stock.

There is a place here in New Zealand http://www.damascus.co.nz/index.htm that makes and sells damascus steel in a variety of patterns. I don't know if their material is suitable for rifle barrels but they sell it in bars and bolsters and I'm sure that you could ask them to make different sizes.

Hello the campfire:
I would be interested in seeing if the damascus barrels would function as well as regular barrels. I would wonder about the two kinds of steel reacting differantly. I wonder if the situation would be like using walnut and cherry in furniture. They react to humidity differantly and allowance must be made because they swell at diffrent rates and split.A Barrel heats up and cools down in cycles and two metals might not expand or contract the same way. Also the harmonics of the two could differ.
Just my idle thoughts on the subject.
Judge Sharpe

beautiful metal. I've always liked pattern welded steel. I try to work on it in my little forge as I can, but there's a trick!! If these guys can make modern damascus able to withstand rifle pressures, I think there will be a ready market.

quote:

Isn't Damascus steel less able to hold up to modern pressures? I remember that some of the early smokeless shotgun shells had warnings about Damascus steel on the box.

Yes on the warnings, but the strength is every bit as high as fluid steel barrels. There is so much myth concerning damascus steel it makes me want to retch from time to time.

The principal fly in the ointment with damascus is the collusion of how it's made and the use of black powder in days gone by. It is laminated steel, the pattern commonly associated results from differences of carbon concentrations resulting from the process used to join the laminations. IF a barrel has a void that allows BP residue to initiate corrosion there are potential problems. That is why a bore scope is truly useful in evaluating one of them. If the bore is pitted I would be inclined to NOT shoot it with any powder type. Black powder can and often does generate greater pressures than smokeless so don't assume it's safe for BP but not smokeless. That said, I'm aware of two damascus SxS 12 Ga guns with BADLY pitted bores that were tested to distruction with smokless loads. Both guns failed in the neighborhood of 40 KPSI in each barrel. Makes me wonder what pressure levels a non-pitted barrel could stand, and there are a bunch of them out there.

If you have the money to do it, don't hesitate for a second to have a barrel made of damascus. It is very strong stuff, even more today than in the past. The odds of one of your neighbors one-upping you are zilch.

For anyone interested, I just received a Damasteel brochure with details of the barrels that they manufacture. There are technical details for someone who may want to buy blanks and machine them themselves. If someone is interested, please let me know and I shall scan and e-mail the details to you.

Best wishes and good hunting!

I would love a copy.
email: john@bridgerbullets.com

Thanks

I'd really appreciate a copy. Thanks.

Mehul,

You have a PM!

There is a good article in the current Double Gun Journal by Sherman Bell about testing to destruction, both damascus and fluid steel barrels on two Parkers. Very interesting account and has me rethinking my former aversion to Damascus.

Gentlemen,

I have just scanned and e-mailed the brochures.

If someone buys one of these barrels, please post pictures here.

Best wishes,

Thanks, Mehul!