Cable Damascus

[Peter McCartney]

I was wondering if anyone could explain to me how cable damascus works to produce a pattern. I've always thought that, in order for a pattern to be produced, at least two different steels are needed. Is this not the case? OR, do steel cables contain multiple steels? I have a piece of cable which appears to be made from stainless steel (or it's just very new) and I want to forge some sort of blade from it but I want to understand how cable damascus all works before I start spending money on ferric chloride or whatever you need for the etch.

 

[jdm61]

Decarb?

 

[argel55]

The pattern is from where the wires weld to each other. Some carbon loss so pattern appears. I do not know of anyone welding stainless cable together. It would be hard to get to weld only in an oxygen free atmosphere and if their was any carbon content in the wires.
The other cable is mostly high carbon wire.

 

[Lieblad]

Right, decarburization of the wire surfaces. Heating steel wires to welding temperature essentially changes the steel alloy on their surface. Once ground & polished or etched, those differences show up.
Btw, if your wirerope is stainless, Thats not going to happen in Moms basement. Stainless cant be forgewelded outside of a very hitechy process.

 

[Peter McCartney]

Right, decarburization of the wire surfaces. Heating steel wires to welding temperature essentially changes the steel alloy on their surface. Once ground & polished or etched, those differences show up.

Thankyou!

 

[erik markman]

I have cable that has three colors of steel in ot.

 

[JTknives]

Stainless cant be forgewelded outside of a very hitechy process.

That’s not true, stainless just needs more control over atmosphere and tempature. This was made in a forge and it’s 300 series stainless over W2

 

[Peter McCartney]

That’s not true, stainless just needs more control over atmosphere and tempature. This was made in a forge and it’s 300 series stainless over W2

How might one optimise those conditions then?