Yes Ken I made the San Mai.Those are very clean and well made. Congrats the knives - did you make the San Mai?
I'm not sure what the deal is with San Mai, and some Damascus being so hard to drill and cut after forging. I got a 20 gal metal garbage can about 3/4 full of (what's that stuff call?) to put a billet in after forging on last heat. Something clamp between a larger chunk of metal to help slow cooling. This tends to allow a VERY slow cool giving a pretty good anneal so it's then easy to saw 'n drill.Yes Ken I made the San Mai.
It is easy to make but a pain to work with cutting and drilling are a real challenge when you use 52100 for the core.