Toledo Steel

[Maillemaker]

I've seen much discussion of "Damascus" steel on the forums.

Is there a difference between Toledo steel and "Damascus" or pattern-welded steel? Again, the interwebby is full of mythology and quasi-magical descriptions of "Toledo" blades, and this is the best place to debunk those legends.

[ThomasPowers]

Toledo steel is not wootz or patternwelded steel. It was just the product of the famed Spanish mines and refineries back starting from Roman times. Now it can be used to make pattern welded steel and it was considered a superior steel even by the Romans though some of it's properties were attributed to quenching in the Tagus river.

So a pattern welded blade from Toledo steel made by a master swordmaker would have definitely been most likely a superior blade. And many factors would be part of what made it superior!