Here's the newest result of a process I've been using lately for twisting my Damascus billets in the forge. That way, I'm never fighting the steel while it's cooling off and I can take my time with the steel, since it is always at a forging heat.
Anyway, I did a 324 layer billet and twisted.
Not only did I get some pretty radical chatoyance from my power hammer and my press, but I also got these unexplained lateral striations in the steel as well. I can best describe it as "wisps" in the steel.
They are so dramatic, that the camera had nearly an impossible time focusing on the steel.
This was about the best I could do.
Then I cleaned it off and got it dry for the photo outside.