LAMINATED STEEL
c. 1860s W&C Scott & Sons
A metal laminate is “a sheet or bar of composite metal composed of two or more bonded layers” and by that definition, all Pattern Welded barrels are indeed laminated. Several barrel types, with different methodology of production and appearance, have been referred to as Laminated Steel. Unfortunately, nomenclature changed during the 19th century, and also varied depending on the country of origin and whomever was describing the barrel. The followed barrels have been labeled Laminated Steel, or by the description of the method of production could be classified as such: Wiswould's Iron Stub Damascus (the iron and steel puddled) Laminated steel with a mosaic pattern (puddled) Greener's Silver Steel (puddled) Laminated steel with a herring-bone or “angularly laminated” pattern (puddled) Laminated Damascus (apparently starting with individual strips of iron and steel)
Laminated Steel differs from Damascus in that: 1. Laminated Steel has a higher steel to iron ratio, with higher quality steel. 2. Laminated Steel starts with the iron and steel mixed together (puddled) in a semi-molten state (the bloom) which is then hammered or rolled into rods. Damascus starts with individual strips of iron and steel. 3. Laminated Steel rods are twisted less than Damascus. 4. Laminated Steel rods may be subjected to additional rolling or hammering.
In the 1910 9th edition of The Gun, W.W. Greener stated that he used “Best Silver Steel,” which in earlier editions he called “Silver Damascus.” He also referred to “Old-fashioned laminated steel” (75% steel), “Modern laminated Steel” (60% steel), and “Laminated Damascus.”
Both English and Belgian Twist barrels were labeled “Laminated Steel”
c. 1886 C.G. Bonehill with Plain Twist/Skelp barrels
c. 1880 Joseph Bourne, Birmingham Stub Twist courtesy of Leighton Stallones
From English Sporting Guns and Accessories by Macdonald Hastings The gunmaker Rigby of Dublin, made the first Damascus barrels; but they did not come into general use until after 1825. Prior to that, barrels were twisted out of horse shoe nails. Damascus barrels (only remotely to do with the place called Damascus) were worked into their beautiful herring-bone patterns by the mingling of iron and steel. Even the new barrels were only reluctantly accepted by the sportsman. This may be the first description of Laminated Steel barrels.
William Greener, The Gun, or a Treatise on the Various Descriptions of Small Fire-Arms, 1st Edition, 1835 http://books.google.com/books?id=oIEY4qL6_z0C&pg=PA18-IA1&dq=wiswould %27s+iron
Discussed Mr Wiswould's Iron, the description of which suggests early Two Iron Laminated steel.
“This is a mixture of steel and iron, invented by Mr. Wiswould, of Birmingham; but as he wishes the method of making it to be kept secret, I cannot say more than that its composition is three-fourths steel, and one-fourth iron; and that, like the Damascus, it is twisted in the rod, but not to the same extent, not having more than from four to five twists in the inch. Two of these twisted rods are welded together, with the grain of the metal running in an angular direction, as represented:”
The Science of Gunnery, as Applied to the Use and Construction of Fire-Arms, 1841, may be W.W. Greener’s description of his claim for inventing Laminated Steel I have had as high as three-fourths of steel to one of iron, and where proper attention is paid to clipping of the steel to pieces, corresponding with the (horse-nail) stubs, and properly mixing the whole (into a ‘bloom’ of molten metal), welding (in an air furnace) and forging by the heavy hammer, reducing by a tilt ditto, and rolling down to the…rod, a most excellent, tenacious, and dense body of iron is obtained; while, by cutting into lengths of 6 inches, bundling a number together, and re-welding them into a bar, you gain an increased density and tenacity…rendering it…considerably more powerfully strong than any explosive fluid ever yet compounded could burst…
Shooting by Baron Thomas de Grey Walsingham, et al. 1886 Laminated steel barrels differ but slightly from those known as ‘Damascus.’ The former were first made by Mr. W. Greener (senior), of Birmingham, about 1850, and were composed of three parts steel and one part iron. At the present time the best English damascus, as well as laminated steel barrels, contain over 60% of the harder metal, and there is little perceptible difference between Damascus and a laminated Damascus barrel, as both are of very similar workmanship and materials.
B. Redfern English Percussion Double marked “Laminated Steel Indestructible by Gun Powder”
Greener Pinfire with the same rib stamp “Laminated Steel Indestructible By Gunpowder.” Greener percussion guns have been identified with “Inventor of Laminated Steel” stamped on the rib.
Henry Wilkinson, M.R.A.S., Engines Of War: or, Historical and Experimental Observations on Ancient And Modern Warlike Machines And Implements, Including the Manufacture of Guns, Gunpowder, and Swords with remarks on Bronze, Iron, Steel, &c., 1841 p. 70 Part III On The Manufacture of Fire-Arms, And Modern Improvements. http://books.google.com/books?id=DVL--AeY2DkC&pg=PA70&source=gbs_toc_r&cad=0_0
Starting on p. 87 Forging of Gun-Barrels A description of Stub, Stub-Twist, Wire-Twist, Damascus-twist, Stub-Damascus, Charcoal iron, Threepenny skelp iron, Two penny or Wednesbury skelp, and Sham-damn skelp. The most approved modern method of converting…(horse-shoe nails)…into (Stub-Twist) gun-barrels after carefully sorting and picking the, to see that no cast-iron or impurities are mixed with them, is first to put about half a hundred weight into a large cast-iron drum or cylinder, crossed internally with iron bars, through the centre of which a shaft passes, which is connected by a strap with a steam-engine, and the revolution of the drum actually polishes the nails by their friction against each other; they are then sifted, by which every particle of dust is removed. The steel intended to be mixed with them is clipped by means of large shears, worked by the engine into small pieces, corresponding in size to the stubs, and afterwards cleansed by a similar process. About 40 lbs. are thrown on to the inclined hearth of an air-furnace, where they are puddled or mixed together with a long iron rod, and withdrawn in a mass called a bloom, almost in a state of fusion, to be welded under hammer of three tons weight, by which it is formed into a long square block: this being put in, at another door of the same air-furnace, is raised to a bright red heat, and drawn out under a tilt hammer of a ton and half weight, into bars of proper size to pass the rollers, by means of which it is reduced to rods of the required size. p. 95 A description of Stub Damascus A certain proportion of scrap steel, such as broken coach-springs, is cut into pieces and mixed with the iron by the operation called puddling, by which the steel loses a considerable portion of its carbon, and becomes converted to mild steel, uniting readily with the iron, and greatly increasing the variegation and beauty of the twist. In whatever manner the iron may be prepared, the operation of drawing it out into ribands for twisting is the same. This is effected by passing the bars, while red hot, between rollers until extended several yards in length, about half an inch wide, and varying in thickness according to whichever part of the barrel it may be intended to form: these ribands are cut into convenient lengths, each being sufficient to form one-third of a barrel: one of these pieces is made red hot and twisted into a spiral form, by placing on end in the prong of an iron rod, which passes through a frame, and is turned by a handle, the riband being prevented from going round without twisting by means of an iron bar placed parallel to the revolving rod. The spiral thus formed is raised to a welding heat, and dropped on to a cylindrical rod, which being struck forcibly on the ground (called jumping) the edges of the spiral unite, and the welding is then completed by hammering on the anvil. The other spirals are added according to the length of the barrel, and the forging is finished by hammering regularly all over. The ends of the spirals should be turned up and united at each junction of spirals, to avoid the confusion in the twist occasioned by merely dropping one spiral on another; but this is rarely done. Wire-Twist, of any degree of fineness, may be obtained by welding alternate laminae of iron and steel, or iron of two qualities, together; the compound bar thus formed is drawn into ribands, and twisted in the same manner as the preceding.
“Stub Damascus” or an early Laminated Steel From the 3rd edition of The Gun, 1881 “Laminated steel barrels are twisted, and the rods welded in the same manner as the stub Damascus, but the rods are composed of superior metal containing a larger percentage of steel.”
c. 1795 Knubley 24b courtesy of Stephen Helsley.
Early Westley Richards muzzleloader courtesy of Stephen Helsley
Alfred Marshall Mayer, Sport with Gun and Rod in American Woods and Waters, 1883 http://books.google.com/books?id=m0pJAAAAMAA Laminated steel barrels are formed of ribbons composed of six parts of steel to four parts iron, and the only difference between laminated steel and Damascus barrels is that the ribbons composing the former are made of rods less twisted; but the ribbons are subjected to more hammering when on the mandrel, in order to get greater condensation and firm welding of the fibers of the two metals.
th W.W. Greener, The Gun and Its Development, 8 edition, 1907 http://books.google.com/books?id=3HMCAAAAYAAJ&pg=PA224&dq In the foregoing descriptions of the methods of manufacturing twist barrels it is stated incidentally that some kinds are superior to others. The comparative strength of gun barrels and of the material employed in their manufacture, the merits and disadvantages of chosen varieties, will be found stated in detail later, but as the method of manufacture, as well as the material employed, affect the quality of the barrel, it is advisable to state here that, so far as known, the strongest forged or twist barrel is the laminated steel now usually termed “stub-Damascus,” made of three twisted rods to the riband. The word laminated, as the designation of a gun barrel, arose from the fact that early in the last century thin strips, plates, or lamina of steel, piled alternately with iron strips or plates, formed the composite metal from which they were made. They differ from Damascus in so far as the iron and steel are differently arranged in the pile, so that instead of a decided curl in the figure there is only what may be termed “herring-bone” lines running spirally round the barrel from end to end.
John Henry Walsh referred to this as “angularly laminated.”
Westley Richards & Co. 10b
c. 1875 P. Webley & Son with the ‘mosiac’ pattern from the randomly mixed iron (silver) and steel (black). Refinished by Craig Smith
“Laminated Damascus” appears to start with individual strips of iron and steel rather than a “puddled” mixture
Wesson Fire Arm Co., Springfield, Mass. percussion double
c. 1880s J.P. Clabrough Bros.
The Birmingham Proof House Trial of 1888-1890 as published in The Field included barrels described as: 1. Belgian and English Laminated Damascus 2. Machine-forged English Best Laminated Steel, 3-Rod and 2-Rod 3. English hand-forged 3-Rod Best Laminated Steel
The strongest barrel was judged to be 3-Rod English Best Laminated Steel
1889 Parker Grade 2 with Birmingham Proof marks courtesy of Paul Ehlers
Belgian Laminated Steel Adolphe Jansen, Liege c. 1859-1884
Belgian Pointille Laminated Steel The Parker “Fine Laminated” offered on Quality I and H hammer guns in the 1899 catalog is a grade below the “Fine Damascus” used on Quality G, and referred to as Lam1 in the Parker stock books. The 1888 Colt Patent Firearms catalog also has a quality gradation from Twist to “Laminated” to Damascus, and Hunter Arms used “Laminated Steel” on Quality No. 1 L.C. Smith guns 1892-1898.
Parker used both Pointille and a mosiac pattern laminated steel c. 1890
1890 Parker Grade 1 - Pointille
1892 Grade 0 - Mosaic
1893 10g Grade O “Fine Laminated”
American Arms Co., Boston Pointille
Harrington & Richardson Grade 1 Pointille
Possible American Laminated Steel Barrels
See http://docs.google.com/Doc?id=dfg2hmx7_1742r4n6vcz
c. 1870 Ethan Allen
c. 1870 Wesson Firearms Co. Laminated Steel with a “Herringbone” pattern.
c. 1870, Parker offered ‘Plain Finish-Iron’ Barrel for $50, ‘Superior Finish-Iron’ Barrel for $75, and ‘Laminated Steel’ barrel for $100. Letters in the Nov. 1878 The Chicago Field from Parker Brothers included statments that “We import largely both Laminated and Damascus, and also manufacture a very fine Laminated - as fine, we think, as any we have ever seen imported. We have made them about eighteen months.”
The Parker-made “Laminated” barrels 1877-1880 in the serial number range of 10000-15000 carried a special 'P' mark on the flats.
Grade 3 Lifter SN14056 c. 1878 courtesy of Austin Hogan
Late 1870s 16g Lifter labeled “Twist” but clearly Laminated Steel
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