Rose Melling Damascus

[Whitefish]

Looked at a 1894 Remington 12ga. SxS in very good condition today. The seller put much stock in that the Damascus pattern was what he called " Rose Melling pattern ". Has anyone heard of this pattern, and if so is it unusual or rare?

[Drew Hause]

No such thing.
The Remington Damascus salesman's sample rod is shown on p. 275 of Charles Semmer's Remington Double Shotguns.

Named patterns used by Remington
London (Stub Twist)
Twist
Laminated
Boston N. (Horseshoe)
Boston 2 S.J. (2 Iron Crolle)
Oxford 2 & 4 S.J. (2 and 3 Iron Crolle in several different patterns)
Chain J
Etoile 3. B.P.
Legia P. (Herringbone)
Washington N 3. B.P. ( “American Flag Bunting”)
Chine P
Ohonon 6 S.J. (Herringbone or Manufacture Extra)
Pieper P.

More information and examples are here
https://docs.google.com/a/damascuskn...SZxCmUQME/edit

If the seller would like to send a full size close up high resolution image by jpg attachment to revdoc2@cox.net I would be happy to read the pattern, and post the image here.

[Drew Hause]

Would very much like to hear more about Mr. Melling's connection to Remington!!

Samuel Melling, Ince Forge Co., Wigan, a member of the Iron & Steel Institute
https://books.google.com/books?id=NF...AJ&pg=PR44&lpg

Wigan is a town in Greater Manchester on the River Douglas

Ince Forge Co.
http://www.gracesguide.co.uk/Ince_Forge_Co

Melling’s Iron Twisting Machine
https://books.google.com/books?id=Dn...g=RA3-PA59&lpg

Thomas Melling
https://books.google.com/books?id=cH...J&pg=PA356&lpg

James Melling
http://www.boatfamilies.org.uk/getpe...e=CanalFamily1

[Harold Ward]

Hello Whitefish, Rose Damascus indeed is real. To make the rose pattern, the smith will most of the time take a package of about 60 to 90 layers and drill a pattern of shallow blind holes into the flat side approx. 5mm deep this is done to both sides, then the piece is then forged flat again. the result is a pattern of irregular sized circles with snaking lines interspersed between them. The drilling disrupts the somewhat orderly layers of forged steel and that gives you the multilayered small circular patterns that are known as Rose. There is another interesting variation on this process called the Nail pattern Damascus, in which you drill holes all the way through the piece and then insert shortened nails into it then forge flat, although I prefer the rose Damascus pattern myself.

[Dean Romig]

We would very much like to see an example of this "Rose Melling" or "Rose Damascus" pattern.

[Harold Ward]

Here are a few examples that I dug up.

[Harold Ward]

You may know these examples by a different name but this is what those who are into Damascus steel know it by.

[Dean Romig]

So, is it a more modern innovation or do you have some earlier examples, say from the 1890's and into the next decade of the 1900's?

[Mills]

Learn something new in this hobby every day

[Harold Ward]

I don't know for sure, but if I were to make a guess I would say that it is not a new innovation as Damascus steel blades have been around since the middle ages and feel certain that this pattern has been produced long before the 1900s, although as with any product, processes are refined. Back then the Damascus blade was considered state of the art weaponry and considered to be the magic sword by those who faced it in battle . the secret of making it was closely guarded and could only be afforded by those who could afford them , mostly noblemen. The mystic was enhanced by swordsmen in battle who's Damascus swords could slice their opponent's blades in half.