Welding Damascus

wmhammond

wmhammond

Well-Known Member
Afternoon. I have a short piece if 1 1/2" wide Damasteel and a couple of short pieces of Alabama Damascus. The Damasteel is about 4" long and I could make a decent Fixed Blade Hidden Tang (or, I guess, a full tang) knife outta it if I could weld a piece of CPM-154 stainless to it. If I did that would the weld hold up and would the knife be as strong as if it was a full piece of steel? I guess I know it wouldn't be "as strong" but it be strong enough to perform well? Same question with the Alabame Damascus. Could I weld a piece of high carbon to it and have it be as strong? I understand all the moral issues here and rest assured I would never sell a knife for something it isn't. Thanks,

Wallace
 
By "welding" I assume you are talking stick, or mig welding? The short answer is no...it won't work...at least not dependably. What you'd be doing is using two dissimilar materials, and then introducing a third dissimilar material with the welding rod/wire. Proper pre-heating, post heating, and then annealing MIGHT allow things to hold for the short term..... but if the joints did weld, and if heat treated, there are high probability of the weld(s) failing. Long story short, when it comes to stick or mig welding dissimilar materials together..... it's usually a matter of WHEN the weld will fail, versus IF it will.
 
I agree with what Ed said. A welded joint at a critical junction is just not a good idea. 4" is a nice size for a folder blade though.
 
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