A big thanks to Ed Caffery

T

Tom Lewis

Well-Known Member
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About a year ago I asked for advice concerning San-mai blades. Ed Caffery took the time to write a long post with some very good advice on the making of San-mai blades. This saved me hours and hours of frustration. I was planning on fluxing a SS billet with a 0-1 core and weld it like Damascus. I know now that would have just made a mess. I followed Ed's advice on making a dry weld, etc. and the results have been very good.
The knife in the above picture is what I call a Cinco-mai blade. It has five layers. 410 SS on the outside, 15N20 on the inside, with a core of 0-1. The handle is stabilized Malee burl.
Thanks, Ed.
 
WOW! That blade turned out SUPER! Glad I could be of help..... heck, I might have to take lessons from you now! :)
 
Thanks, every one. If you like, I could do a WIP on how I did it. Let me know if you would like to see it.
 
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Ok, I start with five pieces of steel. two 1/4" pieces of 410 SS, two 1/8" of 15N20, and one 1/4" 0-1. I grind off all scale and stack, the SS on the outside, next is the 15N20, then the O-1 in the center.
 
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Then I stack them up and using my wire welder I weld all the seams shut. After welding on a handle I put it in the forge which has been running and is over 2200 degrees. I leave in the forge for maybe 10 minutes to be sure it is up to heat, then go to my press.
 
This is what the billet looks like after the press. The pieces for the billet are 3" long and 1" wide. This will make a billet of 9" x 1/4" x 1 1/2".
Next I go to my 100lb little giant power hammer and draw the billet out. I hit the flat and also the edge of the billet.
 
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This what the billet looks like after being drawn out by the power hammer. Next I put the billet back in the forge and put 1" round dies in the press.
 
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This is what the billet looks like after the round dies in the press. I will make a full tang knife, so I don't use the round dies the whole length of the billet.
Next I put the billet back in the forge to prepare for forging flat under the 100lb power hammer. I know in a Damascus ladder pattrern the top of the ridges are ground off before forging, but I don't do this. I just flatten the billet under the power hammer.
 
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This is the billet after the power hammer flattens it.
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Following Ed's advice, I put the billet in my paragon with large pieces of steel and heat to 1350 degrees for two hours and then let it slowly cool overnight.
Then I pretty much do stock removal with the billet.

Any questions, let me know.
 
Looks great, good job. I always like to see a WIP

Ed is one of those guys who goes the extra mile to promote the craft of Knifemaking, we are lucky to have his input here
 
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