As Jens notes, it seems there are brief inclusions in many books concerning ethnographies of tribal groups, regions and various histories of countries etc. For example most references on Tuaregs in North Africa will discuss the social status and such details on the blacksmiths, although typically not procedures or forging details. In most cases, whether Africa, Europe or Asia, blacksmiths maintained the secrets of thier craft mightily and as a result were often regarded with suspicion, as masters of the 'dark arts'. the fact that they worked often in complete darkness peaked the imaginations of the superstitious and typically uneducated masses. There are interesting comments on this in Wagners "Cut and Thrust Weapons" .
The book Jens suggests is I believe very good concerning methods and Elgood discusses some of the ritual herbology etc. involved in forging metal in India. The books on Damascus have very good detail.
In studying the folklore involved in the creation of the "Bowie Knife" I found a great deal of interesting material, including the fabled use of meteoric steel in the legendary knife. Which brings me to the fantastic threads that Jens inititiated concerning both the use of meteoric steel in blades as well as that of magnetic steel . There are many posts on this forum discussing all forms of forging steel.
Plenty of material on these forums using the search feature!!
Best regards,
Jim
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