BLADE Staff

Test your knowledge of damascus steel with this 25-question quiz from BLADE Magazine. From ancient origins to modern master smiths, see how deep your damascus expertise runs.

Think you know your damascus steel? From ancient Persia to modern-day master smiths, the history of damascus is layered—just like the blades themselves. This quiz digs deep into the facts, myths, and makers behind one of the most iconic steels in knife history. Whether you’re a seasoned collector, a curious forger, or just a damascus fanboy, it’s time to put your knowledge to the test. Ready to slice through 25 questions on the steel for the ages? Let’s see what you’ve got.

Answers at the bottom of the page.

1) Canned steel/canister steel is a method for the making of:
a) maidenhair damascus
b) stainless damascus
c) mosaic damascus

2) The first recorded use of canned steel was in the making of high carbon steel from:
a) blister steel
b) wrought iron
c) shear steel

3) BLADE Magazine Cutlery Hall-of-Fame® member Steve Schwarzer made his first powder-metal mosaic damascus in 1990 with the help of:
a) Cutlery Hall-of-Famer Alfred Pendray
b) Joe Hytovick
c) Daryl Meier

4) When Cutlery Hall-of-Famer Bill Moran introduced the modern American custom knife industry to damascus steel blades at the 1973 Knifemakers’ Guild Show, how many damascus knives did he display on his table?:
a) seven
b) 11
c) eight

5) Another name for damascus steel is:
a) Samarkind steel
b) pattern-welded steel
c) wood-grain steel

6) The art of forging damascus had developed into a highly developed industry in Damascus, Syria, by circa:
a) 1000 A.D.
b) 1200 A.D.
c) 1400 A.D.

7) According to Bill Moran, the first pattern-welded or damascus blades were made by the Merovingian Franks and Vikings at least as early as the:
a) 2nd century A.D.
b) 4th century A.D.
c) 8th century A.D

8) Damascus steel was named after Damascus, Syria, because:
a) the steel was forged there
b) the city was one of the most important centers of commerce for the steel
c) the name sounded a lot more romantic than calling it pattern-welded steel

9) In areas of Asia, damascus steel was called:
a) fulat
b) bulat
c) both a and b

10) The Arab word damas means:
a) sharp
b) aqueous, water, flowing
c) super steel.

11) What resident of Essen, Germany, forged blades of damascus prior to World War II?:
a) Hans Gruber
b) Erwin Mueller
c) Fritz Schwigat

12) Also known as the master smith of the Third Reich, who made hunting knives and entire sets of cutlery with damascus blades for his friends and others—including members of the Nazi Party?:
a) Max Schultz
b) Paul Muller
c) Herman Rommel

13) Toward the end of the 1960s, what German maker/steel researcher forged a number of bowie knives of damascus steel?:
a) Manfred Sachse
b) Erich Von Stupp
c) Heinrich Boker.

14) ABS master smith/Cutlery Hall-of-Famer Wayne Goddard popularized blades of cable damascus in the mid-1980s. According to Wayne, up to that time knives of forge-welded wire cable had been made in Oregon for at least how long?:
a) 40 years
b) 60 years
c) 80 years.

15) According to On Damascus Steel by Dr. Leo S. Figiel, steel made by a crucible process—that is, wootz steel—was made as early as:
a) 200 B.C.
b) 100 B.C.
c) 100 A.D

16) Also according to On Damascus Steel, the first damascus steel was made as early as:
a) the second century B.C.
b) the first century B.C.
c) the first century A.D

17) Western Europeans experienced the effectiveness of damascus swords used by defenders of the Muslim faith during the Crusades of the 11th, 12th and 13th centuries. The Westerners referred to the long blade used by their opponents as the:
a) Sword of Islam
b) Sword of Death
c) Sword of Destiny

18) Bill Moran once wrote the best and most beautiful damascus blades consisted of how many layers of steel?:
a) 256
b) 512
c) 1,024

19) With whom did Cutlery Hall-of-Famer Jim Parker collaborate to produce a series of factory damascus knives in the mid-1980s?:
a) Daryl Meier
b) Don Fogg
c) Fain Edwards.

20) One of the landmark damascus knives Bill Moran exhibited at the 1973 Knifemakers’ Guild Show was this European quillon dagger. Who bought it at that historic show?:
a) Peter Semon
b) Rita and Cutlery Hall-of-Famer Butch Winter
c) Paul Lansingh.

21) In his groundbreaking The Hunter’s Dream mosaic knife, Steve Schwarzer adapted some of the techniques of what process to avoid the distortions seen in most mosaic patterns up to that point in time?:
a) glass blowing
b) Venetian glass working
c) glass inversion

22) In the early ’90s, an ABS master smith forged a damascus pattern with images that looked like flames ascending from the edge toward the spine. Not surprisingly, he called it flame edge. His name:
a) Robbin Hudson
b) Larry Fuegen
c) Don Fogg

23) In ancient Persia, the pattern called Kirk Narduban is the pattern known today as:
a) random
b) mosaic
c) ladder

24) Al Dippold created a mosaic damascus method that included his surname appearing 11 times on each side of the blade. Al called the method:
a) Accordion
b) Jigsaw
c) What’s My Name?

25) According to Daryl Meier, letters or words first started appearing on pattern welds between the:
a) 5th and 8th centuries
b) 11th and 13th centuries
c) 15th and 16th centuries

Answers

1) c; 2) b; 3) b; 4) a; 5) b; 6) c; 7) a;
8) b; 9) c; 10) b; 11) c; 12) b; 13) a; 14) c; 15) a; 16) b; 17) a; 18) b; 19) c; 20) b; 21) b; 22) a;
23) c; 24) a; 25) a.

More On Damascus:

• Hottest Damascus Patterns, According to Top Bladesmiths
• Damascus Steel: Experts Forecast Growth In The Knife Industry
• Damascus Folders: New Custom Examples
• Damascus Steels: What To Use And When
• How Many Damascus Knives Did Bill Moran Make?