The terms Damascus steel, damascened, or pattern welded designate a composite steel forged from two or more different types of steel. It is named after its birthplace, the Syrian city of Damascus, a former stronghold of stamped steel production. As a common practice, a harder high carbon steel and a softer low carbon steel are repeatedly welded and folded together.
High carbon steel ensures greater hardness, better hardenability and longer edge retention, while softer steel gives the blade greater flexibility and tensile strength. This procedure, which arose at a time when steel grades were often low and inconsistent, allows the positive attributes of different steel grades to be combined.
In addition, the different hues generated by the varying carbon content of the alternating layers create strikingly beautiful patterns, such as the twisted motif called the Torsion Damascus pattern or the Rose Damascus pattern. No doubt these unusual patterns explain in part why inherent magical properties were attributed to Damascus steel blades of the Middle Ages.