Students of AGH University of Science and Technology in Kraków won the award at the TMS Annual Meeting and Exhibition, held in mid-March in Orlando, U.S. Khanjar type knife made of self-produced Damascus steel won recognition from the jury.

Young metallurgists have worked on the complicated project for several months in the Metal Forming Science Club Hephaestus. In 2014 they received Rector’s Grant for the implementation of this idea. The purpose of the project entitled "An attempt to reconstruct the process of manufacturing and forging Damascus Steel using modern electrometallurgical and hot processing technologies" was obtaining material as close as possible to the original in terms of chemical composition and microstructure, which after forging would reveal damask pattern on the surface.

This type of steel, used and produced from ancient times to the Middle Ages, is considered one of the most mysterious materials, difficult to decipher even for specialists in the field of materials engineering - noted Dembiński.

"Numerous studies have shown the presence of nanostructures in the original tools made of Damascus steel, whose production at the present advancement of technology requires the use of the latest equipment and technologies in the field of nanomaterials. These findings indicate an opportunity for broader than expected opportunities that the subject of Damascus steel opens before materials science" - said Dr. Maciej Rumiński, scientific supervisor of the project.

"Our students were able to reproduce this type of steel with high precision and care. This is a great achievement and I am glad that it has been recognized at the conference in Florida" - he added.

144th edition of the conference, every year bringing together over 4 thousand specialists in the field of materials - engineers, scientists and entrepreneurs from around the world, was also the first edition that included the "TMS Bladesmithing Competition" for students. The competition participants presented self-made 20 to 120 cm long blades.

The competition was attended by 25 universities, mainly from the United States. Students of metallurgy at AGH - Estera Machoń and Remigiusz Błoniarz from the Faculty of Metals Engineering and Industrial Computer Science - were the only Polish representatives in this group.

The jury evaluated the projects taking into account several aspects, including the blade itself (quality and aesthetics), a video depicting the bladesmithing process, a blade characterization report.

Competition podium was filled by U.S. universities: Oregon State University, the University of Florida, and Colorado School of Mines. AGH students received the only awarded Honorable Mention.

Creators of the knife emphasized that making it would not be possible without the cooperation with the National Museum in Kraków, which gave students access to the original objects made of Damascus steel.

PAP - Science and Scholarship in Poland

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