A form of steel that has wavy line patterns. Damascus is created by welding several pieces of steel together, folding the newly welded piece onto itself, hammering that piece flat, and repeating the process until the desired density of line patterns has been achieved.
Damascus steel is a steel used in Middle Eastern swordmaking from about 1100 to 1700 AD. Damascus swords were of legendary sharpness and strength, and were apocryphally claimed to be able to cut through more "ordinary" European swords and even rock. The technique for making Damascus steel remains a mystery even with the presences of numerous well-preserved examples.