cheap damascus?...but not for a knife

[marc4fishing]

I figured I'd make the guys I stand watch with some christmas presents. I was thinking some sort of bracelet...I've never made damascus but have access to 304 stainless and mild steel...should I just buy cheap damascus or should I give it a shot?...and if I were to buy some ...where should i look

 

[Augus7us]

For bracelets I think its fine to pick up a few bars of the cheap stuff on eBay or amazon or wherever else you could get it. Truthfully I have no idea. Since these items do not require good edge retention or even heat treated I see no downsides to it unless you get tempted to make a knife out of it.

The stainless / mild Damascus is a much greater challenge. I've never made stainless Damascus. I believe most folks use canisters and argon and require a press and hammer to do it. Very difficult.

For fun you could probably try to make san mai from the 304 and mild. I have seen that done successfully. Stack your billet and tig all the way around the billet and just forge it flat if you do not have a rolling press.

Good Luck

-Clint

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

For bracelets, carbon steel in the mix is a problem with corrosion. Stainless has to be heat treated to be stainless. Steel is also heavy for bracelets unless forged down to .050" (18 gauge).

Making stainless damascus is not a beginner task in both skills as well as equipment. If you wanted to go with stainless damascus bracelets, I would get a couple bars of the stainless suminagashi and forge it down to about .070", and then grind to the final shape and thickness. The material is pretty cheap, about $50 a foot, IIRC.

A better choice would be mokume. It comes in .125" as a standard thickness. It is fairly cheap ( about $50-70 for a bracelet size piece), and draws out and forges well ( anneal often and cold forge). It makes great bracelets with a nice look. 4" should be plenty enough for a bracelet.
Here are some choices:
http://usaknifemaker.com/mokume-2-color-copper-nickel-silver-ladder-pattern-1-8-x-1-x-1.html
http://www.knifemaking.com/product-p/sm731.htm