1st Damascus Billet

K

Ken H>

Joined
Dec 31, 2011
Messages
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I finally did it! My first Damascus billet. It is low 10 layer count. I welded up one billet using 6 layers, alternating 1.125" wide by 4" long of 15N20 and 1075 with .003" nickel between layers. I ground clean both sides of steel, clamped tight in vise and welded the end corners with a rod welded to one end. Soaked stack edge with WD40 (just sounded good), put in forge and heated to a dull red, put small amount of anhydrous borax on edges to cover good, put back in forge and let soak for a few minutes until it looked really hot (about 2100F per indicator), pulled out and used my "Baking Soda" (arm & hammer) power to forge. Repeated a couple of times and it's looking pretty good.

It welded up about 1"X1"X3", then drawn out to 1-1/2" X 7" and about .150" thick. After grinding on SGA it wound up being .115". Here it is with a small bevel and lightly etched in FC to show layers.
Damascus-Billet.jpg

While it was in a square billet I thought about forging a slight rounded shape, then doing a twist. Would the nickel between the layers of steel increase a chance of delamination with the twist?
 
A billet only a mother can love. It just gets crazier from here.

Looks like it’s solid.

Twisting is an easy one to start with and a hard one to master. If you are twisting without a machine, there’s not much chance to mess it up.

Hoss
 
Looks solid and sounds like you are off to a decent start.
I’d swap in charcoal lighter fluid for the wd40 if you want to keep that step included.
When you go for a twist, get it somewhat square then knock in the corners a little bit and get after it.
 
Thanks to all for comments - is there an advantage to charcoal lighter fluid over WD40? Cost? The amount of WD40 used is so small the cost would be a real factor.
DevinT said:
A billet only a mother can love.
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What a nice way of saying "ugly as sin" :). Yes, I agree that billet doesn't look near like I wanted. From the side the layers just don't show up at all. I think all that shiny portion is the nickel showing between layers of steel.
DevinT said:
Looks like it’s solid.
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As best I can tell it's very solid with no delams that I've been able to find. Only a couple along the edges that ground out easy.
DevinT said:
Twisting is an easy one to start with and a hard one to master. If you are twisting without a machine, there’s not much chance to mess it up.
Hoss
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Could someone elaborate on the "hard to master". Seems like the twisting part would be like twisting a RR spike when making a RR spike knife. No machines here other than my "arm & hammer" power.

A question here, when a square billet is forged, can it be drawn out on the edge so all the layers would be visible on the side of finished billet rather than the edge?
 
Hey people are actually selling VERY low layer count damascus kitchen knives these days.
 
Congrats Ken, you're off to the races!
 
Not sure if any advantage of lighter fluid, it’s just what the guy who taught me did when working dry welds.

I recently saw a damascus hatchet, I believe it was on this forum, that showed the “side view” of the layers. It was stunning.

Twisting depends on the size of the stock you are working and the effort you put into it. If it’s railroad spike size 3-4 twists in a heat is fairly easy to do. I’ve done 1.5” square by hand and could get about a twist and a half per heat.
 
OK, no point in starting a new thread so I'll tack to this existing thread I started a month or so ago.

I finally got around to finishing the first Damascus billet into a knife for the wife. This is a low layer count, 11 layers of 1095 and 15N20 with a .003" thick layer of pure nickel between each layer of carbon. I drew it out flat and I think I lost a couple of layers due to scale build up. I can't see as many layers as I put in it. Final thickness on blade is .100" at bolster with a distal taper to point.

This is my very first Wa type handle. Not sure the blade is the proper shape for a Wa handle, - just wanted to try one. Wood is stabilized curly maple with African Blackwood. The wife wanted brass bolster and spacer, so that's what she got. I drilled a 5/16" hole thru the Blackwood, brass spacer, and into maple and epoxied a wooden dowel to provide some strength. With the tang going thru I suspect the wooden dowel isn't needed.

Right-Side.jpg


Left-Side-b.jpg
 
Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith said:
Nice knife. The handle looks a tad oversize, but not grealty so.
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Thank you for comment Stacy. On the handle I found a site that gave dimensions for a Wa handle as follows
Blade length: (recommended 8” to 10”) (measures 6.5")
Handle length: (recommended 5.4”) (measures 4.1", so it's a tad short, what wife wanted for her hand)
Ferrule end width: (recommended 0.7”) ( measures 0.675”)
Ferrule end height: (recommended 0.9”) (measures 0.879”)
Butt end width: (recommended 0.78”) (measures 0.717”)
Butt end height: (recommended 1.0”) (measures 0.900”)

My question is are those recommended dimensions too large? Or, perhaps my handle looks larger due to smaller blade size?

I've never made a Wa type handle before but am finding I sorta like it - and more importantly the wife seems to like it. Said something about "will next knife should have a Wa handle?)

Ken H>
 
A photo is a bit hard to tell on a WA handle. The sizes you list are standard for a 8-10" Japanese knife used by a man.

The handle balances the knife in a Japanese blade and as the blade gets longer, the handle gets longer. On very large blades, to avoid being ridiculously long, the handle is make thicker.

A knife for a woman is usually a tad smaller in height and width ( maybe 10%).

I usually go somewhere around .5X.75".at the front on a 6.5" blade.

Some women like a larger handle that gives a firm grip.

The main thing is that the user likes the feel and balance, and can control the knife.
 
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Stacy, Thanks for your comments and sharing of knowledge. For sure you're one of the real gurus on this site who have helped me (and others) LOTS in my journey of knifemaking.
 
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