Cu Mai advise.

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Feb 16, 2022
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So I'm planning to do some cu Mai in the future. There are a couple things I'm wondering about before I do.

The first thing, is how much forging to shape can be pulled off after the copper has been forge brazed (or whatever you would call it). Is there an issue with the copper being much softer?

If not, should I grind all the material to close to the final thickness I want before hand?

Or if it can be forged after, how hot am I going to be able to get it when doing this?
 
I guess we can call it dou-mai-gane (copper layered metal).

It can be forged but be very careful when forging not to get it too hot or the copper will squirt out when the hammer hits. Be gentle when forging and avoid hard blows. Experiment on an extra piece or on the tang end to get the feel of how it moves under the hammer and temperature control down before moving to the bevels.
 
Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith said:
I guess we can call it dou-mai-gane (copper layered metal).

It can be forged but be very careful when forging not to get it too hot or the copper will squirt out when the hammer hits. Be gentle when forging and avoid hard blows. Experiment on an extra piece or on the tang end to get the feel of how it moves under the hammer and temperature control down before moving to the bevels.
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Ok good to know. I'm going to give it a shot today. I went around and welded the billet shut so I can avoid having the the copper shoot out or anything while drawing it out. I kept seeing people doing that in videos so I thought I might as well try that.

Afterwards, I'll cut that off and see about getting the knife shaped.
 
I have another question for anyone that can answer.

I'm wanting to make a soft Damascus, that could be used as cladding for a San Mai blade. What would I want to use if I went about doing this? Mild steel, and 15n20 or something similar? Is there a lower carbon steel that could have a similar reaction to etching as 15n20, that's not hard to get?
 
Blankblank said:
I have another question for anyone that can answer.

I'm wanting to make a soft Damascus, that could be used as cladding for a San Mai blade. What would I want to use if I went about doing this? Mild steel, and 15n20 or something similar? Is there a lower carbon steel that could have a similar reaction to etching as 15n20, that's not hard to get?
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You can use a203e in place of 15n20 it’s basically mild steel with about 3% nickel Admiral steel sells it and I’m sure you could source it from other places as well.
 
I've got a follow up question about this...

I know these steels won't harden, but do you need to "harden" them with a water quench or something to increase the contrast?
 
Not with 203e and a low carbon steel. They will etch just fine right after forging. The HT won't affect it at all.
Technically, the 1018 (or whatever low carbon steel you use) will harden a little, but it is insignificant compared to the core material and doesn't change the look.
 
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