THE HISTORY OF DAMASCENING

In Solingen, surfaces were already being etched in the Middle Ages. The first attempts were likely to have made been by blacksmiths who decorated highly prized steel, originally imported from Damascus, for the blades of swords and daggers and the like. This so-called Damascus steel consisted of several layers of various types of steel of assorted hardnesses, welded together. Initially, these different layers were also identifiable by etching using special acids, as the individual steels themselves discoloured distinctively. The words, ornaments and symbols inscribed later on, on épées, armaments, swords, daggers and similar weaponry bear witness to the uniqueness of the weapons and to the kinship among knights. Additionally, in later centuries the most unusual, chiefly metal, surfaces were decoratively adorned by engraving. Since about 1950, jet moulds have been etched in order to provide moulded plastic parts with textured surfaces.