Damascus

Roger

Well-Known Member
I have some damascus but I don't know that much about it. I know who made it, Ironarm but as far as working it and what is 'supposed' to be done with it nothing. I took some of the end and went over it with the wire wheel and it seems that some sort of slag or scale came off and left very very shallow impressions between where the layers are. It has a texture now more than a smooth finish that I really like. I think it looks awesome and hope I don't have to sand it smooth all over. What I would like to do is leave about 1/2" along the top of the blade like that and taper the blade down from there. Will leaving that small portion as forged cause any problems later with etching or maybe rusting? Can anyone figure out what I'm thinking?
 
Roger, a picture of what you're dealing with would be good. Just a question, did Ironarm etch it for you?

Doug Lester
 
Someone more knowledgeable that me will come along and give you a more informed opinion, but I believe you will be fine. You are basically wanting to leave a protion of the blade "as forged". If it were me, I would just make the blade as I wanted it and etch as normal and treat the forged flats as the rest of the blade when adding a protectant (oil, wax, etc.) when done.
 
Looks like there might be about 3 different types of steel in that damascus...overall it looks like it's suppose to...but is a bit over etched for my tastes. In order for damascus to etch well, it will need to be finely finished. If you leave an area "as forged" it will show little or no pattern...and if it does, it will look "rough".
 
No etching yet, also no sanding or smoothing. All I did was wire wheel it. After looking and thinking all I did was remove any scale left after forging. Probably normal.
I like the roughness and will leave it on in one area. If, after final etching, I come to my senses and find out I should have listened can I polish it again and re-etch? Or, will I have paid for another semester in Knife Makers School?
 
Can I assume that this blade has not been heat treated yet? If that's the case then your going to want to grind it down to at least 120 girt finish prior to heat treat...otherwise you run a big risk of stress risers (cracks) from the depth of the current topography. In general you want to treat damascus just like a piece of straight steel throughout the process. The etching is the very last step in the process. I might be wrong, but to get rid of that topography, it looks like you're going to have to grind a lot off, which means it's going to get thinner and thinner, which can lead to a high risk of serious warping during heat treat.

OK, now, if it has been heat treated, it doesn't seem right to me......unless whomever built the billet used mild steel in it....those very low "valleys" in the topography indicate "soft" material to me. In that one photo it appears that due to the steel brushing it "ate" a lot of the softer material out of the topography.
 
It hasen't been etched or heat treated. All I have done is wire brush it and do the basic shaping. The wire wheel I used was not very aggressive and didn't seem to remove any base material just the scale that was left. I've thought of having it surface ground but that might make the piece too thin for what I wanted. How about I do my blade grinding and leave the 1/2" across the top that I like then just do an edge hardening? What step in the process would I do the etching? Also, I am in no way criticizing the billet, I love that piece of steel and want more, but I also want to treat it correctly.
 
The only difference between making a blade from straight steel and damascus is in the finishing. Here's my method after the damascus is forged to shape: (excluding the heating/cooling cycles that I use)

1. grind off the scale

2. finish out the profile

3. Rough grind the blade to 120 grit, leaving it overly thick to help avoid warpage

4. heat treat

5. Finish grind to 400 grit

6. Fit the guard/bolsters etc.

7. Hand sand the blade to a 600 grit finish, making sure that ALL scratches from previous grits are removed.

8. Put on latex gloves and clean the blade well with acetone, followed by windex, and then completely dry it.

9. Etch in a 3 to 1 solution of 3 part distilled water to 1 part ferric chloride. (time of etch will depend on your tastes)

10. Neutralize in a saturated TSP (TriSodium Phosphate) solution for about a minute.

11. "Scrub" off the etching "sludge" with soapy water and #0000 steel wool

12. Scrub the blade with "flitz" and #0000 steel wool

13. Put on a good coat of paste wax........the blade is now done. From that point I am very careful to protect the blade throughout the rest of the process of installing the guard and handles, then finishing everything out.
 
After looking at some of your work I'm an idiot if I don't follow your instructions. Thank you sir.
 
Roger, I will throw my two cents in here also. If it were me, I'd do as your currently thinking and finish the whole blade nicely. IMO, damascus is not steel that benefits from the Brut-de-forge look. Even if it looks good to you (as in, you like the look that way) I'm thinking it would mostly be perceived as 'unfinished'. You don't want to have a blade out there that looks like you just called it good enough and were too tired or lazy (not saying you are any of that at all) to finish the damascus out to the end. I'm thinking the wire wheel brush and forge finish might make the damascus look muddy or cloudy like cheap over seas crap.

If you take the time and finish the blade out nice and flat and follow Ed's steps, that blade should be a very nice professional looking blade that you will be much happier with in the end. That's my bet. But remember, this is just my opinion.

Good luck with it and keep us posted of your progress. I'd like to see how it comes along.

John
 
Thanks for the input John. I'm tossing stuff on the balance scale here......

Something I've never done ^ Professional knowledge and experience

Pretty much a no brainer. Thanks all, I think I'll just do what is proven, try to get good at it, and leave experimentation as something to try someday.
 
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