Most Damascus barrels in the old days were made from rods of steel and iron twisted together. It was the different ways the steel and iron reacted to the heating that gave the result a color. Case hardening (the color was incidental) was used to harden iron frames and other parts, since iron cannot be hardened like steel can.
Needless to say, making "Damascus" made with stainless steel or treating with liquid nitrogen are modern techniques used primarily by knife makers; maybe I am ignorant, but I don't know of anyone making "Damascus" gun barrels today.
Jim
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