something wrong with my computer this morning; lost my whole dang reply. Ladder pattern steel is steel with a rhytmically waved grain. Strictly it is straight grain steel with periodic "rungs" or waves seperating the straight-grain sections, as seen here. It is analogous to "curly" grain in wood. The ladder pattern is formed by cutting notches across the steel and then forging them out. On curved blades like this one, the pattern will often be more opened out toward the outer edge of the curve, having been spread out when the curve and the bevel were forged. Within Islam this pattern is often referred to as the ladder of the prophet/ladder of Muhammed, and held to have religious meaning/magical powers. It is a pattern encountered in Europe and Japan, as well as from Mooroco to Indonesia and the Philippines. It is encountered in both layered and wootz/bulat (Tartaric carbide-bearing steel/"true damascus"/crystaline steel), and as either whole blades or welded elements of them (side plates, in my experience). It may lock the layers together against delamination, and also can provide a seration effect at the edge.
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25th December 2004, 06:57 PM
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