Anyone interested in a Damascus knife build?

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  • bldsmith
    Bloodstained
    • Apr 2017
    • 66

    Anyone interested in a Damascus knife build?

    Anyone interested in a Damascus knife build?

    Starting with this.
    A. C. Richards OTAC USN RET

    ABS Journeyman Smith

    http://acrichardscustomknives.com/
  • rabiddawg
    Chieftain
    • Feb 2013
    • 1664

    #2
    You betcha!

    Now get to work
    Knowing everthing isnt as important as knowing where to find it.

    Mark Twain

    http://www.65grendel.com/forum/showt...2-Yd-Whitetail

    Comment

    • howl
      Warrior
      • Nov 2015
      • 236

      #3
      I'm most interested in the kind of build where someone else does all the work.

      Comment

      • bldsmith
        Bloodstained
        • Apr 2017
        • 66

        #4
        Ok then we'll get started. This is going to be as I make this project. It may take a few weeks but I will get it finished. I will be working on several projects so when I do the heat treat it is worth the effort.

        So I started with 2 of those billets. I weld them to a piece of rebar as a handle. I did not think about doing this until after I had done the first 2 welds. So I will pick it up from there.

        You can see the initial billet has 47 layers. In the next picture i have re welded twice. First was combining the 2 billets making 94 layers. Then I tripled it here.


        Back in the Forge to wait while it comes up to heat. Between heats I keep an eye on Forged in Fire re-runs.

        Almost there.


        I run about 2300f with a 2250f min. I drew this bar out the split it down the center. I am trying a new pattern here. A variation on the feather. This is what i ended with today.

        That's about 3/4 thick by
        1.25 wide. About 20" long. I have lost about 1/3 of the material due to scale, surface prep between welds and cut offs.

        In for more tomorrow.
        Last edited by bldsmith; 06-14-2017, 05:40 AM.
        A. C. Richards OTAC USN RET

        ABS Journeyman Smith

        http://acrichardscustomknives.com/

        Comment

        • 37L1
          Warrior
          • Jan 2015
          • 273

          #5
          Pretty cool thread.

          Comment

          • Drift
            Warrior
            • Nov 2014
            • 509

            #6
            [I] love this stuff.

            Comment

            • wheelguner
              Warrior
              • Oct 2011
              • 407

              #7
              I hear the theme to the twilight zone in mind. An episode of Forged in Fire that I had recorded is playing while I checked in here during a commercial. EERIE? I kinda think so.

              Comment

              • bldsmith
                Bloodstained
                • Apr 2017
                • 66

                #8
                Back at it. I forged yesterday but did not have time to post. I took that last bar and cut it into 4 pieces. Since this will be the last weld I want fusion to be perfect. I surface grind the faces in order to get intimate contact.




                Then weld back up and into the forge.


                I do several welding heats and light presses to set the weld. I also leave the weld on as the next step is very stressing.
                Last edited by bldsmith; 06-15-2017, 07:47 PM.
                A. C. Richards OTAC USN RET

                ABS Journeyman Smith

                http://acrichardscustomknives.com/

                Comment

                • bldsmith
                  Bloodstained
                  • Apr 2017
                  • 66

                  #9
                  Now the part that creates the feather. I literally drive a wedge down the center of the billet. This drives the layers toward the base.


                  I then clean out the center removing all the scale.

                  Then get it just hot enough to push it back together. And forge weld again.
                  A. C. Richards OTAC USN RET

                  ABS Journeyman Smith

                  http://acrichardscustomknives.com/

                  Comment

                  • bldsmith
                    Bloodstained
                    • Apr 2017
                    • 66

                    #10
                    Before I welded the handle on the final billet I weighed it. It weighed 6lbs. I lost 4lbs of steel in the process so far. Here is what I forged out of half the final billet.


                    Next I do a bird's beak cut into the tip.

                    Then heat and push back together.





                    You can see I to welded the tip. I do this to ensure a better weld.
                    Last edited by bldsmith; 06-15-2017, 09:00 PM.
                    A. C. Richards OTAC USN RET

                    ABS Journeyman Smith

                    http://acrichardscustomknives.com/

                    Comment

                    • bldsmith
                      Bloodstained
                      • Apr 2017
                      • 66

                      #11
                      This is what I had left after splitting the billet.



                      The top block weighs 1.5lbs. Due to the cutoffs and grinding I had to do on this I have lost 70% of the material. I have enough to get 2 good size bowies out of it though. I could make 4 or 5 smaller knives but I had bowies in mind for this build.

                      I forged 2 profiles out of this billet. I also did 2 different type of points on these. As shown above I, birds beaked and welded up the seams on one. This brings the layers together and makes it flow better. The other I forged the tip fully. When I etch you will be able to see the difference.

                      Here are the 2 blades. Top one is the birds beak blank. Bottom was fully forged.



                      This is all for a bit. I am going to be unable to work in the shop for the next week. The Boss (wife) has other things in mind. Will post again next week.
                      Last edited by bldsmith; 06-15-2017, 09:40 PM.
                      A. C. Richards OTAC USN RET

                      ABS Journeyman Smith

                      http://acrichardscustomknives.com/

                      Comment

                      • howl
                        Warrior
                        • Nov 2015
                        • 236

                        #12
                        That's craftsmanship!

                        Comment

                        • bldsmith
                          Bloodstained
                          • Apr 2017
                          • 66

                          #13
                          Just a bit of clarification. The welds on the tip and when I restack the billet are not meant to be full depth weld. I only do that to seal the joint and prevent o2 from entering during forge welding. The weldment needs to ground off or a pattern interuption could occure. It takes a bit more time and I lose some more material due to the grinding and such. However when I do this I get clean near perfect welds. When I surface grind and forge weld you cannot see the weld line on the finished blade. Just one way of accomplishing the task.
                          Last edited by bldsmith; 06-15-2017, 11:13 PM.
                          A. C. Richards OTAC USN RET

                          ABS Journeyman Smith

                          http://acrichardscustomknives.com/

                          Comment

                          • customcutter
                            Warrior
                            • Dec 2014
                            • 452

                            #14
                            Just curious what steels you used for your alternating pattern? About 20 years ago I helped a bladesmith forge 2 blades for folders. He told me to strike the metal with a 12# sledge where he tapped it with a 2# hammer. I remember 1 blade had over 500 layers and the other over 1000 layers, and we started with 5 layers welded together. Several gallons of propane and 5# of borax later, I was a tired fella. I had been making knives by the stock removal process for about a year and continued to after that day. I still think about building a forge and a power hammer though.....

                            Comment

                            • bldsmith
                              Bloodstained
                              • Apr 2017
                              • 66

                              #15
                              This is 1080 and 15n20. This billet is over 3000 conventional layers. However because of the final orientation of the billet it looks like about a 500 layer count. This was a test. I wanted to try a new patterning process. I actually feathered the billet twice. We will see how it looks. From the preliminary etchings it will be interesting to say the least.

                              You were a "striker". Swinging a 12lb sledge is not easy. I started with 47 layers 1/16" each. It adds up quick when you do a 4 stack weld. If you had to get only one forging tool get a press. A hammer is great and can heal imperfections in a billet. But a press is much faster and easier to use. Easier to find too. Just make sure it is over 20 ton.
                              A. C. Richards OTAC USN RET

                              ABS Journeyman Smith

                              http://acrichardscustomknives.com/

                              Comment

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