Best steels for non- blade Damascus

G

Gosolo

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Sep 17, 2020
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What would be the best steels to use for Damascus that won’t be a knife blade?
Parts like pommels, bolsters, and inlays.
 
If I use wrought iron and 15n20 (for a nickel steel)
1) would they forge well?
2) would the wrought iron etch deep?
3) would contrast be sharp?

an idea I am playing with is to get a very deep etch and then scrub out the valleys with steel wool and a wire brush. Then coat the entire surface with black epoxy followed by polishing the surface. The idea is to get a Damascus surface that would actually get better with more handling.
 
Is there a better nickel steel for the purpose?
Think; Damascus knick knacks like rings or bracelets
 
203E is a high nickel steel with very low carbon. It works excellent for ornamental damascus. Use a lower carbon steel at the dark portion. You could probably do fine with 1045.

It should work with WI, as neither need hardening.
 
Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith said:
203E is a high nickel steel with very low carbon. It works excellent for ornamental damascus. Use a lower carbon steel at the dark portion. You could probably do fine with 1045.

It should work with WI, as neither need hardening.
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Thank you for your help and suggestions. I will try to locate some of the suggested steels.
 
203E (more properly called A203E) is available from many steel suppliers and some knife suppliers. The thinnest it comes in is 1/4", usually 1./4"X2", which is fine for making damascus. It is a high tensile steel made for pressure vessel jackets on things like nuclear reactors and steam turbines. - .20% carbon and 2.0-4.0% nickel. I used to get it from Admiral steel.
 
If I were going to be doing alot of non-tool pattern welding where the contrast/how it looks is the only concern, I'd look for the cheapest options that would etch to topography, and then use black then clear Gunkote bake on enamels.
 
Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith said:
203E and O-1/1084/1075 (any one of these) would work well.
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I am looking forward to trying this as soon as I can source the 203e. Probably tomorrow morning I will make some calls.
Thank you for your help.
I have a pretty good stock of 1084, it’s becoming my favorite for my Damascus knives.
 
weo said:
If I were going to be doing alot of non-tool pattern welding where the contrast/how it looks is the only concern, I'd look for the cheapest options that would etch to topography, and then use black then clear Gunkote bake on enamels.
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What steels are you thinking of when you say “cheapest options that would etch…”? I am not familiar with Gunkote enamel and will do some research. One of the requested items I have had is for shifter handles. So that would get lots of wear.
I appreciate your help, thanks.
 
Gosolo said:
What steels are you thinking of when you say “cheapest options that would etch…”?
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I had nothing specific in mind, but if you go the GunKote route, you don't need to harden the steel in order to get the pattern/contrast because it's painted (I'm thinking about experimenting with colored damascus), so I would think mild steel and a nickel steel like the 203 mentioned above might be cheaper than using knife steel. If it welds to mild steel, that is.
 
You can weld 203e to most any other steel. I personally know it welds to1005 (cheap plate steel), A36 (cheap welding steel), 1045, 1075, 1084, 52100, and O-1. Chris and I used all those steel at one time or another.

Doing it with low carbon steel will eliminate the need to harden to get contrast.
 
Do you know if a protracted etch, assuming I use the 203e+mild steel, in Fc would result in deep enough valleys to be filled with something like black epoxy?
And, back to my original post, lol, is there any reason to think about using some of the old wrought iron that I have, or would that be a waste?
 
Gosolo said:
to be filled with something like black epoxy
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This is basically what the GunKote method is/does. You use an airbrush to apply the black paint, then bake it for 1 hr at 300F. When cool, sand the piece with 2000grit paper (or so) to polish off the 'peaks' leaving the 'valleys' black. I follow up with a 2nd coat of clear. But to try to answer your question, I'm not sure what you mean by "protracted" etch, but the stronger the acid, the quicker the etch, so... yes?
 
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This information about the Gunkote is much appreciated. Protracted = drawn out or extended. My normal etch time in Fc, for my Damascus blades is 15 to 18 minutes. For knives though, I don’t want really deep valleys. For the ornamental Damascus stuff I was thinking that an etch time of, up to, 25 minutes might work well for the “filler” type finish like you described with the Gunkote or the black epoxy I was originally thinking of. I have ordered the steel Stacy recommended and am looking forward to experimenting!
 
weo said:
This is basically what the GunKote method is/does. You use an airbrush to apply the black paint, then bake it for 1 hr at 300F. When cool, sand the piece with 2000grit paper (or so) to polish off the 'peaks' leaving the 'valleys' black. I follow up with a 2nd coat of clear. But to try to answer your question, I'm not sure what you mean by "protracted" etch, but the stronger the acid, the quicker the etch, so... yes?
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Do you have a pic of this finish? I'm having a hard time imagining it looking good. Maybe it's just because of the time I put black epoxy in some jimping.
 
Richard338 said:
Do you have a pic of this finish? I'm having a hard time imagining it looking good. Maybe it's just because of the time I put black epoxy in some jimping.
Click to expand...

IMG-5713.jpg
 
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