M3 Mokume Gane & Damascus Steel

Mokume-Gane (pronounced Moe-koo-may Gah-nay and translates to “wood grain metal”) is the ancient Japanese metal working technique where layers of contrasting color metals such as copper, brass, nickel, silver and gold are fusion welded with very high heat and pressure into one solid block of metal. The block or billet is then twisted and pulled to make various patterns that are quite beautiful.

Damascus steel is hot forged steel used in Middle Eastern sword making from about 1100 to 1700 AD. The general term "Damascus" refers to metal with a visible grain pattern, sometimes with a texture.

Today there is still a small community of talented metal workers that carry on these age old traditions. "M3 Mokume Gane" is a modern interpretation of these ancient metal arts. Today's engineers and scientists use these "Mokume" patterns and M3 technology to create the new "super alloys" and composites that are making, among other things the exploration of space a beautiful reality.

The M3 R&D engineers discovered a proprietary process that allows them to layer contrasting M3 metals while still in a liquid state. This process together with the natural interplay of the metals during the resulting exothermic reaction creates beautiful random patterns akin to Mokume Gane and Damascus.

While we have some control over the overall patterns the end result is like a snowflake or fingerprint, no two are alike. It is the random nature of the patterns that make our M3 Mokume Gane and Damascus so desirable.