Where's the Wootz?

[urbanspaceman]

It is a bit ambiguous, I agree.

[Jim McDougall]

I think the issue at hand is, as crucible steel is in essence produced in the same manner as the mysterious 'wootz' of Middle East, India but in the west. So the question, in my 'lay' perception is.....how are the smelted products of these versions of steel different?
If I understand correctly, the smelted steel becomes ingots, and these ingots of iron fashioned into carburized steel are then used to forge blades.

Then it becomes the manner in which the raw steel is forged, with proper tempering, temperatures, quenching etc.

As can be seen, my understanding of these important factors in the making of blades is hopelessly basic as my knowledge of edged weapons is more historic and of swords in finished product. The steel, its differences and characteristics is most important, and I admit its complexity has intimidated me to the point of avoidance.

If I have understood, the 'wootz' steel was produced in the Middle East, but the furnaces in India and Sri Lanka produced the ingots which were traded to many blade making centers in other regions and cultures.

In the same manner, steel produced in Sweden was a much traded and desired form which provided ingots to makers throughout Europe, England.
I am not sure if the Swedish steel was crucible or not......ingots seem like they were more blockish, like bars of precious metal.

How is crucible steel different from that produced in blast furnaces ?
Again focused on western methods.

[urbanspaceman]

It is believed that Wootz was produced as far back as 800bCe in Southern India and Sri Lanka.
It is a hypereutectoid 'Crucible' steel: i.e. its temperature rises to the point where it melts and the organic additives included in the crucible, which was a "clay" watermelon shaped vessel, become evenly distributed, as opposed to folding and hammering.
Those additives were rice husks, pomegranate peel, wood chips and leaves (?); also, it has been suggested that glass was added to homogenize impurities into a slag layer on top - but I remain uncertain as to the veracity of this suggestion.
The forges were on hillsides, and tent-like funnels directed wind into the furnace to achieve the necessary temperatures.
The resulting cakes of wootz could then be forged into blades given the appropriate knowledge and ability - which was not always a given.
So, was this method practiced in the Middle East?
That is my question.
Surely this is known and established.

[urbanspaceman]

The 'Crucible' method was lost until 1744 when Doncaster born clock and locksmith Benjamin Huntsman - in search of a perfect mainspring - moved to Sheffield and finally perfected the process.
Unfortunately, paranoid and guarded until the end, he never patented the method.
This method is the basis for modern steel making using the Bessemer converter.
There my knowledge ends.

[urbanspaceman]

Beware of typing Wootz into Youtube unless you are retired.

[urbanspaceman]

Sweden was primarily famous for its 'Oregrounds bar iron' which was very pure.
'Newcastle' steel, traded from the late 1600s into the 1700s, was produced by William Bertram in the Derwent Valley (Ca.Shotley Bridge) and recognized as the finest steel available anywhere.
He was known for using the 'German Method', which isn't surprising considering he was born and raised in Remscheid before moving to Wira Bruk, then Shotley Bridge after marrying a Swedish lass.
At its finest, it was almost too hard to work, and Sheffield tool-makers, when manufacturing shears for the fabric industry - 'Shear Steel' - complained... asking for a softer product.
The Bertram family descendants were producing "The World's Finest Cutlery" as late as the 1970s under the Hen and Rooster label.
Naturally, William was buying his bar-iron from Sweden and supplying the German smiths in Shotley Bridge with their steel; hence my knowledge of him.

[Interested Party]

There used to be some interesting videos of Al Pendray and John Verhoeven using ore from Damascus area and crucible technique assisted by local smiths to recreate crucible steel.

Has anyone mentioned the local variances in ores effecting the final outcome of the crystalline structure?