Minerals and Metals in Ancient India v1.c27.5

v1.c27.5

To produce steel, reheating and quenching is necessary; such a treatment results in martensitic transformation and high Brinell Hardness number which cannot be achieved by mere carburization. The Damascus steel, swords, produced from Indian wootz, constitute of high carbon steel with (white) cementite streaks in pearlite-graphite-martensite matrix, and possess the ideal combination of hardness (even at the edges) and ductility. (Sherby and Wadsworth, 1985) Bronson wondered when were such steel swords produced in India.