Damascus

Vance C.

Vance C.

Well-Known Member
i recently purchased some large pieces of 1095 from admiral steel, and i got the damascus bug, i was wondering if there were any other metals besides 15n20 that 1- are cheaper and 2- create a high contrast? Also, i have a lot of elevator cable that my neighbor donated to me to make damascus, but it has a nylon core, which makes it difficult to get all the air gaps out. any suggestions for either of these?:confused2:
 
Nothing cheaper than 15N20 that will give you higher contrast. About the only thing you could go with if super high contrast is the intent, is pure nickel....usually found labeled as "Nickel 200"...but it's going to be a great deal more expensive than 15N20. The big down side is that nickel is not hardenable, so while you will produce a billet/blade with great contrast, it will be lacking as a cutting tool.

On the cable....take it to the scrap yard and get what you can for it as scrap! If you stick that in your forge, all you'll get is a BIG mess.
 
ok thanks ed, what mess are you talking about? the only problem i have so far is getting it to weld properly, since there is a huge gap in the center when i pull out the nylon. i know its possible because my buddy and i did it once, but after that time, i have had no such luck
 
I assumed you were trying to burn out the center, then weld it....that might sound crazy, but folks try to do it more often than you would think. I get calls or emails fairly often from folks who have tried it, and basically wrecked their forge(s).

I'm not a big fan of cable, simply because it is one of the most difficult things to weld correctly. What you have to understand about cable is that the diameter or the individual wires is what makes a good or bad blade....the larger the individual wires, the better. The smaller, the worse. When I used to produce a lot of cable blades, the best always came from cable that was at least 2" diameter, with individual wires that where approx. 1/8". I would separate the lays, weld then individually, and then re-stack them. It generally takes 7-10 layers to achieve a billet without cold shuts, or voids, or flaws.
 
no, the process i heard about was to take out the center, then in a seperate fire, just logs or what have you, burn off all the oil, then with a low heat, twist the cables tighter, so there are less air gaps to fowl up the process, then bring it up to a forging heat and flux and hammer, hammering 360 degrees of the metal, rather than just the top and bottom, i have tried 4 or 5 times, and only succeeded once. and i have not really tried to make a billett, i have just been trying to forge weld, to see if i could. but it sounds like the pieces i have are about half the size you recommend.
 
I am with Ed on this 15N20 is fairly cheap and I find it gives a fairly bright line, I also often will double the 15N20 up to make it similar thickness of the carbon steel I am using.

Cable is tough like Ed has said, if you can weld proficiently with straight laid up damascus then you should have no trouble. On the center nylon rope problem I would take another piece of cable and take a strand out and straighten it and slip it in the center and when you twist it up tight you should take up any slack on the center piece. You also could put a piece of drill rod in the center.
 
I have used 1 1/4" wide bandsaw blades with 1095 and had good results. Alot of folks say don't use "junk" metal in your damascus but I would much rather have used saw blades in a billet than nickel as it will not harden.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top