Big D: you're so right, they couldn't get rid of Damascus barrels fast enough after fluid-compressed steel became cheaply available.
I'm drawn to them because they're artistically beautiful, they function for me flawlessly, and they can't be replaced anymore.
When you talk about "lost arts" they're a great example of that. Old timers used to say that they were quieter than fluid steel to shoot in that they didn't "ring" as loudly...well, maybe. I suspect that was from the charges of powder being used in them and not so-much the barrels themselves, but...maybe.
The 3-bar Damascus tubes on my Syracuse-styled Elsie here couldn't be prettier to me and I have several English guns where the Damascus is absolutely gorgeous.
Such as this very early boxlock from George Newnham (my boys gun, it weighs 6lbs2!) I wish he'd leave the poor Sprucies alone...
