A weapon with a Damascus blade is considered an expensive and beautiful gift. Such items in the personal collection always please the owner with their exquisite appearance and unusual execution of the blade. German Damascus blades do not fall in price and are always desirable for collectors. The price is high, because a real Damascus blade is always painstaking handiwork, and only a few owned the skill of making Damascus blades.

An example of an expensive, but very beautiful Chain Cortex SA of the highest ranks Karl Eichhorn, the price is more than $ 50,000.

Chain SA cortex of the highest ranks Karl Eichhorn

When Paul Müller, Germany's last remaining Damascus master, died in 1971 in Solingen at the age of 83, it seemed that the art of creating the Damascus blade had come to an end.

Of course, during the war years, Müller made every effort to train assistants to study the profession of the forge of Damascus, but his three assistants were drafted into the armed forces in 1943, and he was again left alone to make constant needs in the production of Damascus. The people Müller had trained did not return to the forge to test their newly acquired skills, and there was no information about their fate on the battlefield.

**German cavalry sabre with a beautiful Damask rose pattern.**

Mueller worked in the forge for almost the rest of his days, but his hand trembled with age, and he lost the visual acuity necessary for full-fledged work. However, when Mueller died, his craft did not die with him. Realizing that his age and eventual death would put an end to a long tradition of Damascus production, Müller sought out and found someone skilled enough to train as a Damascus blacksmith. The man who should get the secrets of making damascus was Robert Curten. Robert Kürten passed his tests in the workshop on October 4, 1971 and was proclaimed master of the Damascus craftswoman "Handwerkskammer" in Düsseldorf. He went on to work for Eickhorn as a master consultant, following in the footsteps of previous Eickhorn masters such as Paul Dingler, Karl Wester, and the father-son team of Alexander and Paul Müller.

Rare prototype of the SS cortex — A rare prototype of the SS cortex. He was produced in 1939 at the training school of the SS concentration camp Dachau by blacksmiths of Damascus. This was a proposed design, made at Himmler's direction, for consideration as a possible replacement for the 1933 SS dagger. All accessories are covered with silver, the handle and sheath are covered with black leather. Three of these daggers were handmade by Paul Müller, the school's principal, and sent to SS headquarters in Berlin for inspection and approval. The dagger was never accepted. (Private Collection).

Damascus production

Kürten moved with quick and confident steps. Using his eyes as his primary tool, he transmitted the image he saw in his mind to his skillful hands, and began to create in the forge. Mr. Curten's secret was how he made up the steel. Despising a false Damascus, he preferred to work with a genuine Turkish Damascus. Starting with the highest quality steel, he was able to make the blade so that no press could copy it.

**Robert Kürten's promotional card, which depicts some of his Damascus "handicrafts". The caption is "original Turkish Damascus".**

The blade started with hot damascus steel rods with the required number of rods depending on the length, width and desired thickness. By placing square rods, usually three, side by side, he began the process of heating and hammering until they became a single unit. He knocked out the desired basic shape and continued the process until he gave it the desired degree of strength. He then narrowed the edges and formed the finished shape. When this stage of his work was nearing completion, Kürten's hand turned into the hand of a real artisan, he aligned the edge to the eye and gave the blade only the right degree of hardening, which could only be achieved by years of painstaking effort and experience.

Some examples of Damascus steel that have been provided to buyers wanting to get a blade of higher quality than those that were usually manufactured. The examples given are from the Eickhorn sales catalog from 1939. Templates from left to right: N. 420 Linear Damascus; N. 425 Turkish Damascus; N. 421 Little Rose of Damascus; original Damascus steel (simple design); n. 422 The Great Rose of Damascus.

Once the blade shape was completely finished, the blade was polished to the point that it looked like any other standard steel blade, without any lines or patterns of damascus. The trademark, motto and inscriptions specified by the buyer were then applied to the blade in an acidic manner. Only after a series of acid baths did the pattern of damascus manifest itself — the acid corroded the milder steel at a greater rate than it dissolved the harder steel. After reaching the desired pattern, the final touches were superimposed on the anvil. Also, the damask pattern was given a bright shine and any small spots were removed. A clear varnish was then applied to the blade to provide protection. After that, the desired handle was attached to the blade, and the process was completed.

**Standard SA dagger with Damascus blade. The inscriptions and oak leaves are gilded. Such daggers were provided as semi-official items as a gift or could be purchased privately.**

The SS Dagger of Honor with a Damascus blade, silver trims with an oak leaf pattern and a sheath covered with black leather. Such subjects were usually awarded only to the most senior managers. — **Standard SA dagger with Damascus blade. The inscriptions and oak leaves are gilded. Such daggers were provided as semi-official items as a gift or could be purchased privately.**

Production depended on the size and width of the blade, but it usually took 12 to 40 hours, depending on the degree of complexity. The artificial patterns of damascus, while beautiful to the eye, were a poor substitute for hand-forged damascus. The patterns —rose, mosaic, fern leaves, and peacock feathers—were the most common patterns. Unlike real Damascus blades, these items cannot have the designations "Echt Damast" ("real Damascus") or "Damast".

An example of such a stamp on an early Luftwaffe sword with a Damascus blade, the "Damast" stamp, price over $10,000

Early Luftwaffe sword with Damascus blade, stamped "Damascus" — **Early Luftwaffe sword with Damascus blade, stamp "Damascus", price over $10,000**

**Early Luftwaffe sword with Damascus blade, stamp "Damascus", price over $10,000**

The Guild of Artisans of Solingen became so concerned during the war that something could have happened that would have led to the death of the art of the blacksmith of Damascus, that they made a full-length film of the whole process and kept it in their archives.