My first damascus knifes

J.Leclair

J.Leclair

Well-Known Member
My first damascus knives

Hi all. this weekend I got to make my first damascus Knives. I started with a 14" X about 1 3/16" X 3/16" 1084 /15N20 random pattern bar from Dan Seaver. I wound up (on the recomendation of Bladsmth on BF) cutting the bar in 2 peices and had some 1018 barstock welded on to make my full tang handles from. viola now have enough to make 2 knives just in case I screwed somthing up.
Knife # 1 is a boning style knife for my mom's fiance.
CCF17042011_00003.jpg

CCF17042011_00002.jpg

10.5" OAL with a 5 3/4" BL hollow ground on the 10"wheel with a nice distal taper
Knife # 2 is a hunter/camp Knife
CCF17042011_00005.jpg

CCF17042011_00004.jpg

8"OAL 3.5"BL. Also hollow ground on the 10"wheel with a distal taper.
my big drill bit kinda gave up wanting to cut for me so I wound up with 2 thro holes and 2 deep divots for weight reduction along with mt one pin and a thong tube hole
I was comtemplating trying a tapered tang on this one but I wussed out. I only have the contact wheel grinder and I wasnt confident I could keep it flat while tapering it
will be sending out for HT asap thanks for looking
 
Last edited:
Some really nice profiles there... And I have a blade right now that has some VERY similar divots... :) Time to invest in some better drill bits.
 
Dan Seaver said:
Both are very nice but that that top one is gonna be sweet! What do you have planned for scales and pins?
Click to expand...

The top one will be getting some stabilized redwood Burl with stainless pins.
The hunter will be getting either some sheoak or York gum Burl with stainless pin and tubes
 
Looking really nice. Can't wait to see them completed.
Do It Best hardware stores have cobalt drill bits and that is what I have been buying to replace my old HSS bits.
I've been buying a couple of bits at a time till I get a nice set built up.
Quite by accident, I found out that they are unconditionally guaranteed, much like Craftsman hand tools.
The cobalt bits can be rather pricey when you get above 7/16" but I think the unconditional guarantee makes them worth the extra money....but that's just me...although I have yet to snap one to test how "unconditional" the guarantee is, the salesman told me that if one snapped, just bring it back for a replacement.....I've known him for quite some time and he has yet to lead me astray...time will tell, I guess...
 
Well another weekend and made some progress. got them both up to a 400 rough machine finish. I'll leave them here for HT. My bad luck, the fine folks at Knifemaker.ca are gone to a show in Kamloops (my old stompin' grounds) and wont be back untill may 9 so I'll mail it off around the first and they should get done and back to me quick.

Wanted to take a bunch of weight off the butt end of the boning knife so I joined 3 of the 4 large weight reduction holes with hack saw and files and I then filed closer to the front hole. brought the balance point right to the ricasso area. so once the handles are put on it should be decent.
CCF24042011_00003.jpg

CCF24042011_00002.jpg

went ahead and did a simple zig-zag filework pattern from the butt right up to about 1.5" from the tip.
CCF24042011_00001.jpg

CCF24042011_00000.jpg
 
Knives are away getting HT'd right now expect them back any day now. I'll be sure to keep y'all up to date on my progress. The handle wood arrived awhile ago and boy oh boy is it ever some nice stuff!!
 
Got the knives back from HT today. Can see the pattern in the minor amount of decarb. I gotta give props to Rob at Knifemaker.ca for a super quick turn around and my blades always come back so nice and clean I have alot less sanding ahead of me than I normaly would sending to anyone else Ive tried. the end is in sight. I'll be finishing up the boning knife first as my deadline on it is june 5 the other dosnt have a timeline on it so I can concentrate on one at a time.
thanks for everyone's comments.
 
I'm about to start the finish work. my problem is Ive called every radioshack in town and none of them carry ferric chloride. is there anything else I can use to etch the damascus that might be easier to source?
please help.
 
thank you for the prompt response, but I need to have this knife done and in the customer's hands by the 5th of june so I've barely got time to finish it make the sheath and mail it off. I need somthing I can get localy
 
would vinegar or lemon juice work? I have a small bit of extra from these knives mabye I'll do some experimenting....
 
they told me the same thing, they just dont know it by that name. what they have is PCB Etchent Solution it contains Ferric Chloride. I used it to etch some ATS34. hope this helpsFerric Chloride.jpg
 
Last edited:
Yeah pcb solution is what was on the website but they don't have it. I'm using vinegar and it seems to be working just slowly.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top