Damascus steel question ?

ive never forged welded
my question is i think its call san mie with to steel would show best on a taco style forge weld the mild steel raped over carbon steel to make a visible line
 
The term is "San-Mai". Personally I would recommend against the "taco weld" thing.... it usually ends in failure. A far better choice would be to simply have 3 individual pieces, flat and clean on the mating faces..... it will give you a far better chance of success.

Most folks who are just starting/trying the San-Mai technique, will generally use 1080, 1084, or 1095 for the core, and 15N20 for the exterior layers, simply because that combo is super easy to forge weld.
 
The term is "San-Mai". Personally I would recommend against the "taco weld" thing.... it usually ends in failure. A far better choice would be to simply have 3 individual pieces, flat and clean on the mating faces..... it will give you a far better chance of success.

Most folks who are just starting/trying the San-Mai technique, will generally use 1080, 1084, or 1095 for the core, and 15N20 for the exterior layers, simply because that combo is super easy to forge weld.

ive done hamons i want a very visible line like these blades ? what would be my best way to get these ?
 

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Unless you're well versed in forge welding..... I'd wait on that.

Those are carbon steel core, with Stainless laminates. Those are something you won't do with a hand hammer, unless you've got a lot of experience under your belt. The way those are made..... the core is surface ground to 220-400 grit, the mating faces on the stainless (either 416 or 316) are done the same. They are then cleaned with something like acetone (usually when assembled the maker is wearing latex or nitrile gloves). The pieces are then stacked, clamped, and MIG welded all the way around the exterior seam, sealing and creating an air tight billet.

NO flux is used..... into the forge at 2650-2700F, and once the billet reaches temp, about a 7-9 min soak. Out and into the press..... it's important to press the entire billet at once.....otherwise it will usually NOT weld. Another trip through the forge and press to ensure all is welded..... then anneal, and stock remove from there. Those who are VERY experienced at the process/materials can usually do at least some forging to shape.

In this case I would HIGHLY encourage you to learn to walk before you run. Try a few of what I mentioned in my first reply, and learn the process. I'm assuming you're new to San-Mai..... so learn, and get a few successes with the 10xx laminated with 15N20...... that will give you some guidelines before trying the Stainless over carbon.

Here are some examples that I've done of Damascus cores with Stainless laminate...

mosaic416laminatehunter.jpg


2017laminatedpironwoodb.jpg


Mosaic-Folderall1-zps614471f2.jpg


There is a pretty steep learning curve when mixing/forge welding carbon and stainless steels. As I said above..... start with the carbon steel laminates (10nn/15N20) and learn all you can...... then you won't get so frustrated when you have failures with carbon/stainless. (although even those who regularly do carbon/stainless mixes have a fairly high failure rate....just the nature of that beast)
 
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