Except that late medieval and early modern smiths didn’t know that the pattern welding methods they were using weren’t the same as the crucible methods being used in India to make the metal that Damascus smiths used for their blades. So for a couple centuries now, at least,.pattern welded steel has been referred to by smiths as Damascus steel.
You’ll find scads of smithcraft videos on Youtube labeled “making a damascus knife” or some such that use the pattern welding techniques.
At this point I think pedantically enforcing the purity of the term to apply only to the old crucible style forging method is a lost cause. Damascus steel can refer either to a crucible forged steel, or to a pattern welded steel, both of which yield similar groovy looking patterns in the metal. THis video is about the more modern method, and @AndreaJames is incorrect in saying it’s the same as the ancient method named after the city in modern Syria.
eta: Here’s a video of someone making a knife with (one modern reconstruction of) the crucible method.
