Special Presentation: What is Gold Damascene?
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 7 ส.ค. 2024
- Today were are going to do something a bit different than normal, and take a detailed look at an intersection of arms and art: gold damascene. This is a type of art used to embellish a wide variety of objects, including firearms.
Gold damascene enjoyed a renaissance in Spain in the mid 1850s thanks to the work of a man named Placido Zuloaga and his father. During this time, and at Placido's hands, the form changed from a simple background to show off engraving into a technique of primary artistry.
In this video, we will look at:
- What gold damascening actually is (compared to other forms of artistic embellishment)
- How the art form developed from the 1850s until the current day
- How damascening is actually done
- The main different styles
- How to discern good damascening from outstanding damascening and mediocre damascening
Hopefully, this will leave you with both a new appreciation and a new understanding of damascening!
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Imagine a fully damscenic covered main battle tank...
Nobody would want to shoot it
like these guns, I guess.
Makes me think of Dune or 40K :)
Hell yeah! Best lynch movie/best books and for me birth of SF. But you got to remove the electronics, cause of the computer ban...
would exist in warhammer 40k world
The display you see behind Ian was at the May 2017 Ohio Gun Collectors Association. The owner/curator of the display won multiple awards in competition with many other outstanding displays. I was fortunate to examine the display and have a detailed conversation with its owner. I won't mention the owner's name here because, I presume if he wanted it known in this public forum, Ian would have mentioned him. As an American gun engraver and historian of the Firearms Engravers Guild of America, I have always been intrigued by the art of damascening. That display and Ian's video answered many questions for me.
Thanks - he preferred to remain anonymous.
Wow, I thought Ian was in a museum. Props to the man behind that exhibit!
Interesting!
Also that organization name when turned into an acronym is FEGA, and that makes me chuckle a bit.
Of course, if I own that many gold guns I’d prefer to be anonymous too.
Wow, the idea that one person has collected such amazing guns, assembled their histories and the intricacies in the practice of gold damasce, and then brought this knowledge and these items in the form of an exhibit for others to see is just so much more impressive. I'm sure there are some people who might say that it's wrong for someone to collect artifacts and keep them rather than them being in a museum, but the fact is that some items are so niche that there simply isn't a museum which could fairly be expected to hold onto and manage them. This guy/girl is really doing the lord's work.
21:25 "Here we have pistols with a +1, +3 and a +5 enchantment"
Hah that's a good one! Rare, Epic, Legendary/Mythical
Fractaly beautiful
Personal thanks to Ian, who probably saved me from failing college as I had to write an essay about traditional metalworking in Spain!
You should send him a personal message, through email or some other way!
Press x to doubt. I mean, depending on your education, it seems oddly specific
@@juliusraben3526 There are college classes on a whole host of different things, and there are people interested in just about anything and everything. Just gonna take a wild guess here, but I think Josemi Esteban was writing an essay for a degree in history. I don't know what level of degree this was for, but I had a professor who was working on his doctorate dissertation in anthropology and it was about beer in Iron Age Europe. A neighbor of mine is writing his evolutionary biology thesis/dissertation (can't remember which) on fruit flies, for God's sake. I think it is totally within reason to write an essay on something like traditional metalworking in Spain!
@@juliusraben3526 Here we have someone who's never written a thesis or dissertation. They are often *incredibly* specific
@@liyifenn thats true. And what you describe, isnt an assay. Which is what original poster was writing :)
So, when can we expect the mud test?
3rrator Right? Im sure the current owner wouldn't have a problem loaning Karl and Ian a few of those guns for desert mud tests. Good one. I'm still laughing.
3rrator do the Lama, I can't stand those things, why would one damastine a Lama ??!! So many better guns to give such fine attention to.
Dose it take glock mags?
Most likely it was the Llama company itself that paid somebody to damascene that Llama pistol.
All you would be testing is how well the engraving holds up, and the video already shows the limitations of this engraving.
*Looks video description*
"Oh, interesting. But probably not for me...."
*Sits glued on chair through whole video*
Taistelukalkkuna that tends to happen with forgotten weapons videos.
Taistelukalkkuna ditto
Same here.
100% truth. awesome video
Can't pass the chance to learn so much more in a short time.
I love Forgotten Weapons but never thought I'd sit through a whole 38min presentation about gun embellishment. Well played Ian, well played.
Wait, this was 38 minutes? Oh. So it is. I never noticed...
I am shocked that I've currently sat through 28
But was it well played?
And yet it feels like 10 minutes long
As an cnc machinist that makes tight tolerance aircraft parts, tooling, connectors, as well as very small to micro parts for semiconductors and other small parts for the medical industry, this is mind boggling to me. The way these artists, by hand, punched in such tiny pieces of gold with such precision is beyond impressive. I can do some fine work by hand and have experience in just doing something as simple as deburring a very small soft material part such as in plastic or brass but that is nothing compared to what these guys do.
We only see the works of the great artists. It's like going to a museum and only seeing Rembrandts.
I have seen these craftspeople at work in Toledo. We have a couple of fine examples of damascene jewelry. Many of them work without magnifier aids.
Dude, I can barely trim my beard without messing it up...
So this is just camo for the owners who probably live in engraved gold palaces.
Camo isn't decoration.
This is.
These guns come from people who have either reached max prestige or have unlocked all over camouflage
@@AG.Floats did you really try just to reply like the guy was being serious? It was a joke man.
A.K.A Arab monarchs and oil tycoons. I saw an Arabic engraving and the Saudi emblem (palm tree and cross swords) on several pistols along with a name plate that mentioned that the pistol was engraved for the grandson of a Saudi King.
Seriously no one thought of Trump after the words "engraved gold palaces"? XD
I'm a guy who likes simple and plain things, but I must admit this is eye-wateringly beautiful.
Same. I hate flashy things but these are incredibly tasteful.
You must have missed the part where he explains that firing the gun doesn't really damage it, mostly handling does. So be more careful about holstering and storage, basically. And maybe don't damascene grips
Same same. I never saw the aesthetic value in gold until now.
I feel a soft but not very brushy fabric (cotton fibers would work if stretched out to fit flush with the holster but provide cushion) for the interior of the holster, paired with a non damascened grip, would allow these things to be used with little to no fear of wearing away the gold with careful use
Gracias por conservar en USA estas piezas de la industria armera Española. Aquí en España, la inmensa mayoría de estas piezas acaban destruidas. Ojalá mi país valorara el patrimonio armero como lo hace el vuestro. Gracias de nuevo porque si no, estas extraordinarias armas, se perderían para siempre.
This is unbelievable. As someone who makes a lot of things with his hands, and did a lot of drawing and painting when younger, this literally makes my brain hurt. The guns at 20:30 and 22:00 are freaking masterpieces. It is truly hard to believe that a human did that with his hands. Those two guns were created by absolute masters. I would love to watch someone in the process of doing this. Those patterns would be hard to draw with a pencil, much less in damascene. My mind is so blown I may have to just turn off my computer and go to sleep.
Question: Should I Damascene a Hi-Point?
Hell yeah!
Yes
I don't think it would work with the magnesium slide lol
Yes , only use the highest quality of firearms.... the YC9
Yes.
LOVE this channel! I live in Toledo, Spain, and you can see a few shops here doing Damascene still, by hand. "TINK! TINK! TINK! TINK! TINK!" all day. What a beautiful meditation. To combine it with firearms is heaven!
tuer tuer tuer
As an artist with a lifelong C&R fascination, I was literally drooling through this entire video. The amount of time it must take for someone to acquire the necessary skill to produce best-quality damascening is just staggering.
I've always wondered where Bond villains get their guns. Well, today I learned
Gun Jesus reaches the Renaissance Man level: Engineer, Historian, Man of Action, and now Art Critic. My hat is once more doffed ...
Just curious, in what way is he a Man of Action? I'm not saying he *isn't*, I'm just not aware of any ways in which he is (although I don't follow him much beyond this particular YT channel).
@@nmotschidontwannagivemyrea8932 Action as in 2AGC, I do not think he is conducting a double life ;-)
@@scipio10000 What's 2AGC? I can't easily find specifics as to what it is from Google searching.
@@nmotschidontwannagivemyrea8932 Sorry the acronym is 2GAC two gun action challenge
That Astra 902 is a thing of beauty. It reminds me of an Oscar Wilde quote:
"Beauty is a form of Genius"
I mean holy shit you can see the shadows in the pictures
That powder horn is amazing man, Ian is so fortunate he gets to hold and touch beautiful pieces of history like that👍🏽. Love your channel man
The best part is he shows them to us up close and personal, both the beauty *and* the warts.
Me before video: "What's this gaudy mess?"
Me after video: "That.... is....amazing".
my reaction exactly
Similar for me. I'm generally not a fan of gold as it is probably the most tackily used precious metal and I still find these too decorative but I can appreciate the skill and artistry required for this. They aren't tacky in the way that a solid all over gold plate is, I just have pretty plain tastes and prefer the understated.
Sums it up pretty much 😀
nearly 40 minutes of Fancy Damascened Guns on F.W
is this heaven?
XLightningStormL not Damascus
Yeah :p
It is what Gun Jesus hath promised us
It didn't even feel like forty minutes I was enjoying myself so much.
XLightningStormL Heaven can't be that nice. I'd take this over 72 virgins any day.
"...really provides the gold standard- no pun intended..."
Ian, you're not fooling any of us.
"it's a nice gun, ill give you that, but the damascene gives you no tactical advantage whatsoever"
You can blind them with the gold plating and make them jealous of your wealth and fine taste on guns xD
@@josemitakodachirecruit2004 and if you are planing to assasinate a president, you might as well choose something that will look nice in a museum.
I got gun' s my favorite is a 24k
44 mag. Gun porn 🤠
But that was some fancy shooting, you're pretty good.
When you have a gun like that, I don’t think you will be somewhere in the middle of war, trying to fight off bad guys. Or if you in Saudi Arabia it will blend with just about anything or everything.
This is the video that got me started on Forgotten Weapons and into buying guns. A year ago it was a passing curiosity, today I own two pistols and a rifle and I watch almost every new Forgotten Weapons video when it comes out. Good stuff.
I can barely draw a straight line
The dude lmao I can't draw one with a ruler.....
so become famous for drawing squiggly lines?
You're a poet man don't take it too hard.
Hobo Jesus There's a guy who makes money drawing on cars with a sharpie.
I read about a squiggly line drawer who became emperor of a large chunk of Europe!
Boggles my mind sometimes what a man and a hammer can accomplish....its kind of sad art forms like this are so rare nowadays.
"When all you have is a hammer, everything looks like it needs to be Damascened"
There's not a problem too large that a larger hammer cannot solve.
@@angeleaterstudios1004
A cute misbehaving puppy.
@@damianrehbein3992 small plastic hammer
@@angeleaterstudios1004
I set up for chew toy hammer, but acceptable nonetheless.
Doing jewellery as a hobby and seeing this makes me just want to give up.
The workmanship is beyond incredible.
If it was ever re-created Palladium alloy would be more difficult to apply but would not tarnish as silver does.
Considering the skill and single minded dedication to create these masterpieces 10 X the value of the original gun is a hands down "bargain"
Best vid on your site I have yet seen.
You really do your homework.
Congrats in order. Inspiring stuff.
BTW are there any examples of Japanese inlay work (love its quality & zen simplicity) on firearms
or indian. The early stuff from there would match the Spanish in skill and ornate complexity. Would be an interesting comparison to see.
@@avae5343 So what makes you think I'm not @ mine?
@@avae5343 What if I'm that good doing it @ "hobby" level? I'm sorry pesumption is greatest folly. Peace out end of conversation
Artists in general have to be careful about comparing output. This is many thousands of hours of work condensed into a 40 minute presentation. It may be very impressive now, but remember they were created one punch strike at a time. Take inspiration from their techniques, to be like the old masters, you must simply improve steadily over time. To have dedication when you lack motivation, and to compete only with your former self. You may be prolific, but you'll never be as productive compared to multiple people, let alone multiple artists portfolios.
@@Leadvest My skill is design NOT inlay or engraving that are specialist fields. In my line of work we hire specialists like that
I just refuse the grovelling worm reality that most live in. I KNOW I'm good as a designer and not burdened with hypocryte false modesty BS.
" If believing in yourself is evil. Its time we all did the sinister"
Infectious grooves
If that bothers people its because they NEED to be bothered
The end .Goodbye!
@@avae5343 Gods are always viewed as nothing by insects because to insects Gods "dont" and "cant" exist. Rembrant? Yup fair comparison. I know but thanks.
And what can you be but worm when you "attack" me while telling me not to the very same thing
Proving yourself to have no self awareness just like a WORM.
Your own hypocrisy condemns you.
Bye Worm
Que exquisitez de trabajo Español. Preciosas piezas de historia y arte.
ive been watching Ians videos for a while now, never really looking at tbe comments. "Gun Jesus" might be the best TH-camr nickname ever.
Hello Ian, I saw your presentation about clips and magazines and now this one... I was wondering if you could do something similar about the developement of the Iron sight? In your videos you talk a lot aboutall different sorts of them so I thought that it might be interesting ... PS Love your channel!
bennie11bos. this needs more likes that would be a great video
+Forgotten Weapons This would be a great idea considering all the various sights we have seen over the years in your videos.
Maybe start with the first basic sights on early muzzle loaders and then the progress to cartridge guns, (I think you had nice examples of different sight options in your videos about the Winchester leverguns). And maybe you could touch on subjects like when/how they became adjustable for elevation and windage.
Another topic you mentioned quite a lot, is the style of ironsights of the US military in relation to competition shooting, it would be interesting to see on how this compares to other major powers of the time. Other topics to include could be the shift in ranges that the sights were adjustable for, smokeless powder conversions in for example your recent Swedish Mauser carbines, shift to backup sights nowadays and maybe oddballs like the Arisaka anti-aircraft sight.
It will probably a very long video but it is just a suggestion...
Great idea!
The developments and changes in mentality of iron sights in military and consumer firearms would definitely be a video or series of them I'd love to see. And again holy shit this was a great video.
Some of these guns are just mind boggling in how stunning the decorations are. Just seeing how fine the detail is compared to the size of his finger tip is nuts. I couldn't achieve that degree of symmetry and evenness if my life depended on it.
That star mms is absolutely beautiful the craftsmanship is incredible.
true, i really really wish i could get this done in the US but i don't think these kinds of artisans even exist here. I'd love to have this done to an American or any very high quality 1911, nothing against Star's 1911, it's just I'd want top gun craftsmanship if i was gonna have this done, which i absolutely do. I'd legit pay top dollar to have one of my 1911s or have this done to like a Cabot 1911, maybe even a Beretta 92fs, all would look immaculate i'd think. Unfortunately i think that's just a fantasy since I've never seen someone doing this kind of work in a non-Spanish country.
A 38 minute Forgotten Weapons video? It this what heaven looks like?
Englewood Frank21 You must REALLY love the bridges of Madison County since that's all there is...
And only 3 ads, i know youtubers who would put one every 3 minutes
Idk but I do see gun Jesus
Nah this is just the finest gun porn around
The artistry on display here is utterly breathtaking. This special was totally out of the blue, but could not be more welcome.
What reason could anyone have to downvote this video?
Thank you for the interesting and informative video, sir.
Absolutely beautiful weapons!
The amount of detail on these items is absolutely staggering !
I can just picture a british lord with moustache monocle and highhat: 'James! Hand me the velvet gloves, I intend to fire my golden astra.'
"Hey guys, thanks for tuning in..."
And he's standing in front of a massive wall of golden guns.
I need to change my pants.
I never cared for decorated guns, but you managed to make the topic interesting and easy to understand. Thank you very much.
Maaaaaaaan! This was an amazing episode. I wish you shot it in 8K! Hell 4K would have been phenomenal!
They look absolutely gorgeous.
21:14 Having seen just over half of this video, I spontaneously grew a beret, mirrored aviator sunglasses, and a '70s porn mustache, and became the dictator of a vaguely middle eastern country.
Lmao same buddy same
Lets hope your goals of complete domination and control over your imagined Country come to fruition.
You forgot the beret or military cap.
“Fractally gorgeous” is my new favorite compliment, thanks Ian! As always, your work is top notch and highly informative and I hope you keep it up forever.
I've watched this a couple times and it's simply stunning. The art, the skill, the time... amazing.
"You blue the whole gun". I'm afraid I just blue myself.
HahnsB2 Tobias you blowhard
@@Wafflepudding bluehard
Damascened guns - The Fabergé eggs of the firearms world! Fancy!
Documentary quality videos, as always. Almost 40 minutes of a fascinating subject. Amazing, Ian! I really appreciate what you do. Greetings from Argentina
Incredible, beautiful craftsmanship. Thanks for showing and highlighting it.
I spot a potential BF1 skin
Asian Bundle of Sticks YES PLEASE. Oh gosh.
Jesse well in rdrd 2 there is a special c92 gun that you can collect when you kill one of the gun slinger
It looks almost like the c92 in this video with the same kind of gold ingraves:P
BFV definitely has it
And they did have those skins lol
Or CS:GO. (Do I hear GabeN cackling?)
My mental mouth was slightly open the entirety of the video, but at 19:43 the word *magnificent* just started reverberating in my skull. It is not often that one can see an object wherein so many man-hours of careful, painstaking, artistry are immediately apparent.
I mean, DANG. A painter can render a landscape in an hour, a machine can stamp a gun in a minute, but there is no shortcutting that stippling!!! Is it even possible to _not_ picture the craftsman in his workshop sitting over this one thing as the sun does jumping jacks outside his window?
My jaw physically dropped when that gun came into frame. Cant remember the last time that happened in my life.
DANGascene
I actually got to use a damascened Astra Lux in the enlisted game. As a twitch rewars.
Glorious
Thanks, Ian - this shows a huge breadth of knowledge on your part, with all the detail very cogently explained. What craftsmanship!
I need my Taurus Judge damascened now.
One of the many reasons I love FW. Always interesting, always educational and always presented brilliantly 👍
One of the last few real quality content channels!
Damascene M2 heavy machine gun. That's what I wanna see.
A walther ppk or beretta 92 in this would be nice
I say someone should Damascene a M1 Abrams tank!
that might get overheated and pop off the gold or melt it
This is like visiting a museum with a knowledgeable guide. Loving it!
Mind-blowing level of craftsmanship! Superbly presented, as always!
The beauty of that artwork is hypnotising. One could stare and examine the fine details of each line for hours.
Even the details have details!
"Fractally gorgeous" is a perfect way to describe this work.
I have a hard time wrapping my head around the fact that ANYONE EVER was capable of such fine metal engraving BY HAND at any point in human history.
Dwarves comrade.
Dwarves alone.
Outstanding presentation of works of great beauty that we could never see without your help! Thank you!
Pimps everywhere will be scrambling to get these guns now Ian...
They already knew. The real pimps anyway.
God no 😱.
We all know the real pimps been had the Llama done up like that.
LOL reminds me of a quote from the movie Patton. A reporter asked him about his pearl handled revolvers and he said " They are ivory. Only a pimp from a cheap New Orleans whorehouse would carry a pearl handled gun"
Instantly read this in katt williams voice
Woah. I have never seen this before and I'm typically not a fan of stylizing or embellishing guns but goddamn these are some pieces of art. Absolutely breathtaking. Thank you so much for presenting these.
Absolutely fascinating & informative.
Thanks Ian, for taking the time to do this.
I think what impressed me most was the use of a slightly darker gold to represent the shadows thrown by the pillars in the Alhambra Palace panels - talk about attention to detail!
Such beautiful and amazing craftsmanship, I've carved small and this just blows me away, late to the party Ian but I'm so glad I found this forgotten episode in '22. Would have been an extra treat to see some close-up detail on the ebony grips, a stunning work of lethal art.
Yet another youtube masterpiece of gun culture. The Zuloaga family are paramount to undertand XIXth and XXth century spanish decorative arts, not limited to guns. They experimented in ceramics, painting, metalurgy, etc. They used to have a museum open in Segovia, central Spain. My grandfather collected some of their art work. There are a some gun related museums in Portugal and Spain worth visiting, not many, unfortunately.
Beautiful gold on Spanish Steel! Doesn't get much better than this!
The level of detail on those is simply incredible. What an amazing process and finished work.
Thanks friend, loved it. The beauty, the work and your perfect background information.
even "crappy" is frigging stunning. am i the only one that would rather have one of these than a painting by any of the renaissance masters?
You might want the painting. You could sell it and then be able to afford several of these guns.
A golden mona lisa on a m1911 doesn't sounds bad
If you had any knowledge of renaissance masters, I doubt you'd say the same. These have no where near the amount amount of depth, complexity, or skill the true masters put into their paintings.
@@spiff2268 that's for sure lol
28:30 damn that thing is stunning, having more black show through is really effective imo
the personal handgun of Billy midnight
‘Fractally gorgeous’ ! A brilliant presentation, thank you.
This is why I tell people that some of the most beautiful and valuable revolvers I have ever seen are from Spain.
I prefer the toledo style as well. I like the stylish simplicity of the geometric patterns and When yo go to Spain and see some of the architecture that the moors left behind there's some amazing stuff.
That views of Sierra Nevada from "La Alhambra" are awesome...Yes those palace and architecture is amazing,it totally worth to came and see...But Ian miss a point into the Eibar style, is not so Cristian,Basque country is more on the mythological things,more related to the orography of the environment ( mountains and huge forest,very green...)
That’s some amazing work. I’m totally fascinated by all these pieces.
Super video mate! Very cool to see such amazing work. Really enjoyed the educational aspects and examples
I think there's another difference In the comparison of the three pistols with different "qualities" of Damascene between the first "stunning" pistol and the second one and it's the fact that in the first also moving parts like trigger, safety and srews are covered with gold while in the second these parts are left in their original form
That's gun porn.
Is always a pleasure and super informative. Thanks for doing what you do.
Thank you Ian. Those examples were amazing. I'm blown away. Rare thing for me.
"Engravings, give you no tactical advantage whatsoever." - Revolver Ocelot
*Gesturing towards standard and damascene pistols*
"This is brilliant. But *𝓘* like *𝓣𝓱𝓲𝓼* " - Some old guy who did a car show or something.
Absolutely beautiful items! Can you imagine the concentration and art that went into these?
What an amazing collection, some of the most beautiful objects I’ve ever seen.
Definitely one of the coolest videos i've ever seen on the subject of firearms
"poor damascening"
Still world's nicer than a boring grey pistol..
"oh, my pistol only has a weeks worth of gold punched onto it, not a month"
@Piss Muffin I've always found gold & super embellished guns to be extremely tacky.
@@Simp44 That is because we live in a time where machines can replicate top artisan work with ease. It is rather sad to see such beautiful works of art become tacky, and is indicative of the sad times we live in.
@@T1ddlywinks Naw it's just because they're tacky. It's a tool not a piece of jewelry. Just my opinion though, I wouldn't turn one down as a gift.
@@Simp44 I certainly wouldn't buy one, but that is why they were typically gifts from master craftsman. It's a real shame such a piece can be easily replicated by modern technology.
"It's a nice gun I'll give you that, but the engravings give you no tactical advantage whatsoever; unless you were planning to auction it off as a collectors item. This is a high class weapon, it's not meant for shooting people"
Got one of these from a battlepack just this morning
megusta505 which one? I love bf1.
Now that’s true craftsmanship, just stunning work, thanks for a great vid
Your regular content is amazing. I love the technical inspections but this was pretty awesome! Good job Ian!
The Tiffany Colts just look so *bad* in comparison.
They look tacky as shit compared to this
Some of these are just so ornate they becomes overwhelming, I honestly wouldn't want one I'd be too afraid to touch it
wow these guns and the technique is absolutely insane.. the level of detail is simply stunning, im in awe at some of these pieces
What an amazing episode of beautiful weapons. Well done Ian
Quite a lot learned. Thanks Ian!
To get tarnished silver back to shine - just let it react with liquid soap (real soap). That helps.
ian seems to really know his stuff & nice demeanour & speaking tones. addition to any manhattan dinner party.
Never knew this sort of thing even existed that's why i like your vids more than most others you really give exquisite details and info on everything
Absolutely gorgeous and very informative as usual. Thank you.
I thought this would not keep me interested for 40 minutes. I was wrong.
I thought this would sure keep me interested for 40 minutes. I was wrong, i watched it twice...
@@brudibrudi992 swear?
Is it just me or is the coolest one the one with the holster wear? I can imagine if I was presented with one back in the day, I'd carry and shoot the thing any chance I got
I realise this video has been out for a couple of years now but I found it to be amazing, a very informative piece. Thanks for the effort. 👍
I've watched this video multiple times and every single time these pieces just blow me away