Metallographic preparation of a composite of meteorite iron, steel, pure iron, and nickel manufactured by the Damascus technique

Abstract

Abstract A composite material was subjected to metallographic examination. It was manufactured by forging together different ferrous materials and nickel. This technique ranks among the Damascus techniques and is also used to manufacture so-called “krises”. A kris is a traditional dagger from Southeast Asia, particularly from Indonesia and Malaysia, manufactured by processing different iron and nickel alloys or meteorite iron containing nickel. As is typical for Damascus materials, widely varied patterns are obtained on the blades which may have different shapes. To manufacture a kris blade, sheets made of pure iron, C10 steel, meteorite iron, and nickel were forge-welded in preliminary tests. Samples were taken and subjected to metallographic examinations. Different layers can be recognized after polishing. Etchants typically used for steels (Nital, Klemm) cannot be used to reveal the nickel microstructure. The nickel grain boundaries can be revealed by ion etching. To improve the different ferrous material microstructures’ contrast, an additional heat tinting process was performed. The metallographic examination reveals that forge welding created a homogeneous joint between the individual layers.