Microstructure of a genuine Damascus sabre

The surface and cross-section of a genuine Damascus sword was characterised by means of wide-angle X-ray scattering techniques complemented by optical and transmisssion electron microscopy. Position-resolved Xray phase analysis revealed that, unlike ferrite and martensite, the distribution of cementite is inhomogeneous in different spatial zones parallel to the cutting edge of the blade. For the first time a quantitative X-ray phase and texture analysis was made possible by averaging all spatial zones of the surface and the cross-section of the sword and applying the Rietveld method with code TOPAS. Differences concerning texture and structure characteristics of ferrite, martensite and cementite are discussed. More evidence for the structure of cementite nanowires is supplied. (C) 2005 WILEY-VCH Verlag GmbH & Co. KGaA, Weinheim.