The Secrets of Wootz Damascus Steel

A 50-minute documentary about the legendary Al Pendray, together with two swordsmiths from Jordan, and their quest to produce authentic wootz Damascus steel with ores mined from a historical mine in Jordan - a mine that is known to have produced weapons for Saladin himself.

[kamarasune]

Sorry to hear that Al had passed away. What a wonderful craftsman he was and bless his soul he unselfishly shared all he knew on the subject before his passing. I hope this gives Jordan a special boost. Everyone around them has oil but now they have something very special that could help their people also :).

[driprubies]

I swear old guys workin away in their shops are among the happiest and most fulfilling people!

[georgeherod]

Can you imagine making one of those blades without all the modern-day equipment?
Gives you a real appreciation for the talent of the master craftsman of those days.

[peterhudson-nttz]

This is one of the very best videos I have ever seen. There is as much art involved in Wootz as there is Science... Anyone interested in studying swords must see this video !!

[Thebrandon]

Historic work for sure. I particularly liked seeing how happy he was to work with this material provided by Abd and Awni. At such an age, he was still able to find something that could excite him to such a degree. I'm quite confident in saying he lived a full life - and lived it to the fullest. I imagine Abd and Awni have had 100% success in the time since this video was made, which is fantastic. It's nice to see individuals from countries with very little in common that are known for not getting along find something that excites them to the degree that they're willing to travel halfway around the world to pursue. RIP Al and all the best to Abd and Awni

[ponderingnugget]

Interesting documentary. I would like to have seen more on the origins of wootz steel in 5th century BC Southern India and use of "wind tunnels" to funnel the monsoon winds into the ancient crucibles. It's amazing that this modern material was developed so long ago. These gentlemen have done some estimable work to re-create these processes.

[munman]

am i the only jordanian here ?
this was an awesome documentary, hopefully the wootz will be eventually fully mastered with the wardeh mine ores

[samhouston]

Pure, honest, authentic and no biases. Just good old research work. WOW. Very hard to watch anything without underlying hidden agenda these days. Thank you for the awesome work.

[charruauno]

Thank you for sharing, excellent video and process, in fact I remember when my Grand Father (from Lebanon) use to teach me how to make Damascus steel, for knives. We use to go hunting for the ore and continued with the same process, with the only difference that we provided the force air to achieve the temperature need it, with a turbine made with a bicycle, so we pedal for 14-18 hours, my legs use to get very tired, but the results was extraordinary. Then we didn’t have automatic hammer, we did it all by hand. Thank you and have a nice day.

[christophertorres]

Wootz is such a fascinating topic, so I'm glad to see more long-form videos of talented blacksmiths exploring it!

Thanks for sharing.

[michaeltrimble]

Outstanding study into metallurgy and smithing. This man looks so humble on the surface, and the outpours a wealth of experience and knowledge. Excellence. You achieved that so others can build upon it. That is out freakin standing!

[gorillafunk]

Real eye opener to the dedication of those focused on finding the lost secrets of these legendary blades. A rare youtube gem

[shirleeeyyy]

It is a shame Mr. Pendray wasn't approached by the Jordanians with this project a little earlier than they did. I have no doubt Mr. Pendray would have produced a blade that rivaled the ancient ones. Rest in peace you for posting.

[VeronicaGorositoMusic]

Amazing documental, and as a musician, I know the history of the Zildjian family and their top notch cymbals craft along 400 years to this day, so I put toghether the two legendary topics about metal forging...swords & music. It seems incompatible from a POV, but they're somehow related.

The ancients knew some things!

[scholagladiatoria]

Wonderful stuff Mike, thanks so much for everything you do. Please more!!

[Roamstrong]

Why yes, YouTube, I will give a like to this man's literal life's work. A beautiful obsession.

RIP Al Pendray

[scottleft]

Al Pendray....the ol' pendragon....made it to 80....and 3 weeks....sadly missed.

[geraldstarr]

I watch this every few months, always feel bad for the Jordanian fella missing Mr Pendray’s technique. Thankfully he had the documentary and his colleague to relay the information. It’s so well presented, stunning work all round.

[thomasjewell]

I don’t understand how someone can give this a thumbs down... The content and explanations are beautifully done... and if you knew anything about the culture Southwest Asia you would that there is great wisdom at work from all these gentlemen in the video... my hats off to all in the video, and I would be very honored to even own a bar of the metal... great work gentlemen and keep up the hard work...

[Mystakaphoros]

I have never been so excited about vanadium in my life.