A Damascus Custom Knife start to finish: Work In Progress by Eduardo Berardo JS

Mr. Bernardo, excellent WIP Sir.
Do you think a simple ball peen hammer would work as a straightening hammer? Do you straighten the blade while cold or hot?
Thanks for your time and efforts here. Dozier


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another question about the straightening hammer, is the face of the hammer hardened or is it soft (annealed) ? thank you.
 
wdtorque said:
Mr. Bernardo, excellent WIP Sir.
Do you think a simple ball peen hammer would work as a straightening hammer? Do you straighten the blade while cold or hot?
Thanks for your time and efforts here. Dozier


Sent from my iPad using Tapatalk
Click to expand...

Hi Dozier. To make a straightening blade, you can use any type of hummer, but the surface of impact need to be small. I make a straightening cold!
 
woodster said:
another question about the straightening hammer, is the face of the hammer hardened or is it soft (annealed) ? thank you.
Click to expand...

Hi John, I recommend you to make a hardening of your straightening hammer, and make a aneeling for fifteen minutes. Example: If you aneeling O1 steel for 1 hour at 480°F, make only the same temperature for 15 minutes! Regards!
 
Making the handle!

The first thing I do is set the face of the cutting angle I'll embed the tang. To save time, use a model where design profile handle model I'll do.


Cutting the face of the contact of bolster.


Sanding to leave totally flat.


Now I risk only the upper limit of the handle.


Position the knife and risk profile of the tang, of course, respecting the upper limit that chalked, lined the back of the knife.


Tang placement and superior handle limit.


With a caliper, I take the measure of the diagonal of the cross section of the tang.


Choose a drill with 2 mm smaller than the measurement of the previous picture. Position the drill at the same angle of the risk of tang.


Making the hole. Soft materials, high rotation. Hard materials, low rotation!


Hold the knife with leather on vise and heats the entire length of the tang with a blowtorch to the cooking gas.
 
I put hot tang in the block. Remember to keep the edge aligned with the center of the block width. Attention, some woods do not support this heat and crack. In these cases I open the hole with a hand tool.


Looking against light search spaces.


Sanding the block to remove all spaces.


Blade perfectly adjusted.


Marking the profile of the bolster.


Marking the profile of handle.


Profile marked.


Cutting the handle.


Taking excess profile material.


Tapering the block near the bolster.
 
Excellent pictures and descriptions. I enjoy seeing different approaches that other bladesmiths use to get the same end result. :thumbup:
 
J. Doyle said:
Excellent pictures and descriptions. I enjoy seeing different approaches that other bladesmiths use to get the same end result. :thumbup:
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Yes John, it's very cool to change informations between knife makers. Regards brother!
 
I've been lurking and following this thread. As a relatively new knife maker I find it very, very interesting and informative. I have really enjoyed this and will continue to follow it! Thanks for posting!
 
snubbie said:
I've been lurking and following this thread. As a relatively new knife maker I find it very, very interesting and informative. I have really enjoyed this and will continue to follow it! Thanks for posting!
Click to expand...

It's really cool can help you brother. All the best!
 
Giving three-dimensional shape to the handle.


With the sanding corner 50, do some grooves to the glue attach the cable without the need for pins.


Grooves for glue.


Mixing two-component epoxy.


On cold days, I heat a little glue with a heat fan, so to leave it less dense, so that drain better.


Using a template to adjust the handle and not have to be holding his hand until the glue dries.


Cleaning the excess glue with an old cloth.


With a wet toothbrush in alcohol fuel, I remove the glue dregs that remained.


Finishing with a 400 grit sandbelt, flexible and without support vertical table.


For the handle finish, do a "shoeshine" with a flexible sanding and oil to wood (anyone will do). Thus the knife is ready to damascus treatment!
 
Quite an incredible WIP. I appreciate the emphasis on safety as well as the very detailed steps. Great photos as well.
 
I like to do the damascus treatment with mounted knife.*I've done with it removed, to paste the cable after treatment, as well as a lot of my friends bladesmiths. But I adapted well to it riding and I preferred this way. For this it is necessary to protect the handle with enamel or nail base. To clear handles as ivories, avoid colored enamels, preferring the nail bases, because the former can stain the material that is very clear and absorbs dyes. Just spend carefully and allow it to dry well.


After that, wash the metal parts with water and detergent.


Immerse the knife in the ferric perchlorate, which is a salt and will "reveal" the drawings damascus. To the solution is homogeneous, use an aquarium puffer to shake it. For the hose go to the deep of the container, tie a stone to the hose. Do not use stainless steel for this. He is tough, but it is also attacked by perchlorate.


I inspect the knife to every 20 minutes, checking how it is evolving attack. At each inspection, I wash the knife under running water, cleaning up the black sludge of the blade with a sandpaper 1200 granature. For inaccessible parts, nooks for example, I use a toothbrush.


Even before being sharp, the knife cuts. This is part of the work unfortunately. As we have to sand all over the knife, often cut myself. Take great care!


That was the exact moment of my life when I chose to leave William Theo career to make knives!



After the perchlorate, let for a manganese phosphate solution, diluted with 10% phosphate, 90% water. Heat the solution between 95°C (203ºF) and 98°C (208ºF) (for the product that I use). Place a steel wool immersed in the solution for one hour and attached to the container edge by a wire. This is what we call "activate the shower." Do this only the first time, when mounting the bath. In the next infusions simply heat the solution and soak the knife. In order to work, the container must be iron, It can not be galvanized or stainless steel. After an hour, remove the remains of the steel wool and dip the knife. Typically the bath takes between 10 and 15 minutes. When the reaction decreases and the bubble formation as champagne reduce, you can remove the knife.


Then remove the nail base with acetone.
 
Wash the handle with soap and water, removing the acetone.


Hold the knife in the jig with leather or rubber, not to mark the handle. Then remove the phosphate surface with a sandpaper 1200, supported an old file.


Sand for all extension.


ATTENTION!!!
After we go to the most dangerous machine a bladesmith workshop, even if most people do not give it due attention: the polisher!
I heard a story of a friend! In 2015, a bladesmith of Alaska, when polishing a knife, had it "taking" of his hands, he turned to the cloth wheel, and it was thrown against it, ending up stuck in the chest, right in the heart! The bladesmith was found dead in the freight polisher, this being still on.


After polished, thoroughly clean the knife with ethanol!


Immediately after, pass lubricating oil, to maintain maximum brightness.


Finished knife.






 
Hello Guys. On my post "A knife start to finish" I show some pictures about a straightening blades technique. Many people liked. So I made a short and very simple video to show it for you. Obviously I'm not here to tay that is a better method. Exist many interesting methods and I respect all of them.
Please sorry about my language. I'm learning speak english and just trying to help. God blesses you all! Hugs!

[video=youtube;04ycHApXO4E]https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=04ycHApXO4E[/video]
 
Excellent material and a very nice finished knife. Thanks for the finishing tips, I have to try that parkerizing soon.
 
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