Wrought iron nails?

J

Jason Fry

Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
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Jun 5, 2008
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I've got some wrought iron nails coming from a super special place. I need to figure out how to incorporate them into a super special knife.

What would happen if I put wrought iron in the mix with Damascus 15n20/1084? Say two or three nails in an 1836 layer billet? Would the thinness of the layers effectively deal with the metallurgical problems of wrought iron?

Bowie-sized knife, if that makes a difference.
 
Man I think a San Mai would be outstanding, if the nail can still be recognized.
I’d try to forge a couple of them relatively flat and clean up one side then forge weld one to each side.
 
3fifty7 said:
Man I think a San Mai would be outstanding, if the nail can still be recognized.
I’d try to forge a couple of them relatively flat and clean up one side then forge weld one to each side.
Click to expand...
If you could tig weld them together you could do a awesome san mai.
 
I would be nervous about voids I've run into them when grinding fittings. What about using a small square tube to make some canister Damascus for a frame handle and another can for your other fittings. Another thought could you sort of inlay one in your handle like a smashed over nail in a piece of wood.
Gilbert
 
I’ve thought about hammering round for pin stock also. IDK the size yet. They’re promised, but not in hand.
 
They're now in hand. Pin stock is going to be tough, as most of them have rusted away to less than 1/8" of solid metal. He sent probably 20 of them though. I soaked them in vinegar, took 3 days to start making much difference, but last night I was able to scotch-brite them down to metal. Probably be a while before I get around to working on this project again, unless I get excited and put it ahead of other projects :)
 
Could you do a small canister of just the nails & powder, then make a guard out of it? It doesn't sound like you have enough material to do a san-mai, unless it's a really tiny blade.
 
Plan is nails and powder, then put that into a billet of other steel. Guard is a good idea too.
 
Jason Fry said:
Plan is nails and powder, then put that into a billet of other steel. Guard is a good idea too.
Click to expand...
Jason , you could buy some clean wrought Iron & hammer it out for Sai Mai etc?———- Hoss’s comment, “If they aren’t two dirty”is one to listen to. Perhaps PM some pics and see what he thinks about them?? Good Luck!
 
I have done Wrought iron San mai with other material before. These nails are from a historic location, as will be some Of the other materials for this project.
 
So what I did... I put about 1/2” of space between two pieces of 1/4” 1084. I used some 1/8 mild to make a canoe, then filled it up with the nails and 1095 powder. Figured that smashing all in one direction on purpose might give me better welds on the power hammer.

it worked. From that point it’s just a lot of weld, draw, restack, weld. This is the San Jacinto nails billet stacked. Ended up 19 layers.

8df1f31d2843c97826034805c1b2cd0c.jpg
 
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