Crazy Go Mai

You are right bro. San Mai means 3 layers. I didn't really know what else to call it. You are correct about the 3 steels. 416-15n20-W2-15n20-416 is how it goes
 
Ill also add that the 416 and w2 stock was 1/4" thick and the 15n20 was 1/8" thick
And I agree with Brian, laminated blade just didn't have the same ring to it.
 
Brian Ayres said:
It's simple. You just add the 15N20 between the 416 and W2. Well. Kind of simple. Most laminates need to have a similar, or a non conflicting heat treat method.

It's most commonly done like this one with .005 or so nickel tape beteen the three layers.

The term san mai as stated above is used loosely as it ix generally in my limited experience applied to blades of 3 layers and five layers equally. A laminated blade sounds boring..
Click to expand...

Ok, let me get this straight,
In this blade we have two outside layers of 416 then two inner layers of w2 then the 15n20 for the cutting edge?
 
Brian had the answer to san-mai pretty much right.

In making traditional Japanese billets, the soft steel ( jigane - soft metal) and the hard steel (hagane - edge metal) are layered a variety of ways to get different looks and different blade properties. In their very exacting terminology, san-mai is made from three pieces of steel. Every change and varying arrangement has a specific name.
In the proper terminology, this five piece blade would be called go-mai....meaning five layers.

In the modern world, san-mai has become the descriptive term for any blade with soft decorative sides and a hard steel core. It may be layers of damascus on 52100, or wrought iron on 1095. The currently popular commercial kitchen knives have low count stainless damascus on very hard steel cores. This steel type is actually called suminigashi steel (marbled steel), but is still called san-mai in retail.

Most of the time a thin sheet of nickel is placed between the layers to make the weld work better and add a bright stripe that looks like a faux hamon. In the case of Lethal Cutlery's blade, the 15N20 does this task. The blade is still predominantly constructed of three layers ..... soft side, hard core, soft side.

Additionally, even the core itself may be a laminate of hard steels.
I have blades with 1300 layer damascus side and 15 layers of 52100 composing the core....These are still referred to as san-mai blades by most folks ...... sen san-byaku mai ji / ju go mai ha / sen san-byaku mai ji is a little hard to roll off the tongue at a show, so san-mai does the trick.
 
As I recall, a five layer blade is called "go mai" by the Japanese. I'm sure I'll be corrected if this is wrong.

ETA: I hate it when I respond to a post without noticing there is a second page! End up looking like a master of the obvious...
 
Last edited:
Hey guys. Wanted to show y'all this cool pic That was snapped while heating the blade up to fix a scratch In the forge finish.
D6B3DDE3-62C0-471A-9943-F7F7422C060F-25208-00002DD6B1DA20E2_zps3caf6299.jpg
 
Last edited:
Ok guys The heat treat got done and hand sanding started. Its at 400 grit right now and the activity in the blade is just insane. Here it is.
4375D700-C93A-4BB7-B1D6-ACAC5350087C-30017-000034D32A0D70D5_zps1b2890a0.jpg
 
Last edited:
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top