damascus balisong

batangueno

batangueno

Joined
Aug 17, 2000
Messages
493
Hi there,

I'm about to order a damascus bar stock in the States. I plan to bring this to batangas and have someone there make a balisong out of it for me.

Actually I'm going to get the damascus bar stock from Raymond Coon at damascusknife.com. He told me that there's no difference working with damascus until the etching part. Does anybody have any details about this?

Are all of these worth my time and money? Would really love to have a damascus balisong at a quarter of the price.
smile.gif


Thanks,
Paul


[This message has been edited by batangueno (edited 09-10-2000).]
 
>>Are all of these worth my time and money? Would really love to have a damascus balisong at a quarter of the price.
smile.gif


I don't know that much about it, but I have been told that damascus steel, is two different colors of steel hammered together into one, and that is what forms the pattern. Usually here in the USA they have some sort of machine to pound on the steel and that saves them a lot of work, but the pattern is going to look different from one that was hammered on by hand. If you want, I can get a phone number for you of a knife maker in Batangas, and you can call them up there to talk to them about it, before you go over there. Sometimes that way you can have the knife made and waiting for you when you get there. Otherwise, you know how slow things are in the Philippines, and if you order a knife, it would mean two trips to Batangas. One to order it, and one to go back to pick it up. Thanks, JohnR7
 
Hi John,

The raw material i'm getting from the states is a damascus bar stock with raindrop pattern. What they'll do in Batangas is just to grind and polish it to make a balisong blade. I will then do the etch part so that the pattern will appear. Then return the blade back to them to fit the handles.

I don't have any problems going back and forth to Batangas since the town of Balisong is on the way to our farmland which my Father frequents.

Maybe you can email me the number of your friend in Batangas so I can talk to them.

Thanks,
Paul
 
You might want to check with your steel supplier about the heat treatment of the Damascus prior to buying it and sending it the Phillipines.

Since almost all bar stock from any steel supplier comes annealed, (IE soft) so it can be cut and worked.

After working and making the blade it needs to be heat treated, tempered and then etched.

Most of the Philipines made balisongs are made from what ever steel is lying around at the time. Some can be good, some can be not so good.

Heat treating Damascus is a learned art and not everyone can do it properly.

Regards

ChuckG



[This message has been edited by ChuckG (edited 09-11-2000).]
 
Our good friend and a bladesmith himself, ChuckG, is exactly correct. Modern damascus is very different from ancient damascus. The process for making original damascus was a closely guarded secret, unfortunately to closely guarded. It's been lost. Modern damascus, while it looks very similar, is, we know, a very different product made using materials and methods that could never have been used in the original.

Modern damascus can be quite wonderful and elaborate. I am reminded of a folder that once graced the cover of one of the major magazines. The blade's damascus had pictures of dolphins in it and they appeared to be riding the waves in the steel. Those dolphins were not etched or stamped or inked on later; they are part of the steel. Amazing what can be done today.

But, as Mr. G pointed out, modern damascus required very carefully controlled heat treating. From what I have seen of the facilities in the Filipino shops, I suspect that they will ruin the damascus.

My advice would be to have the blade made here in the US. You can use any Filipino handmade as a pattern. Take the completed blade to a local shop and have elaborate handles put on it.



------------------
Chuck
Balisongs -- because it don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing!
http://www.balisongcollector.com
 
I think that chain saw damascus would look pretty darn sharp on a balisong. I'm going to make some chain saw damascus as soon as the forge is fixed. I will try to post a picture of a damascus knife my dad made.
 
Wow. Maybe Mr. Insl8r can make the blade for Mr. Batangueno. It would be an interesting project.



------------------
Chuck
Balisongs -- because it don't mean a thing if it ain't got that swing!
http://www.balisongcollector.com
 
I'm game
smile.gif


Insl8r, You can ship me two damascus balisong blades. I'll have them fitted with handles of your choice (inlay, like wood, bone or water buffalo horn) in batangas. I'll keep one and then ship to you the other one.

Is that fair enough
biggrin.gif
 
>> Most of the Philipines made balisongs are made from what ever steel is lying around at the time. Some can be good, some can be not so good.

There is so much industry here in Ohio, that we have a lot of scrap metal here. I was thinking about maybe going out to the scrap yard and getting some aluminun and sending it over to batangas to have them make it into some balisong knife handles for me.
I just never got around to checking into it, to see if that was something they could do over there with what they have to work with.
Thanks, JohnR7
 
Replying to Mr. Gollnick's post about the ancient Damascus being lost- Al Pendray, Knife Makers Guild President and ABS Master Bladesmith, re-created the original Wootz or watered-steel about 15 years ago. His steel has been extensively tested by Dr.Veerhoven, head of the Metalurgy Department, at the University of Iowa. Howard Clark and Daryl Meier, two of the finest bladesmiths in the world, worked with Al and the good doctor on the testing. I have a knife Al made about 10 years ago with a Wootz steel blade. It looks very different from 'modern' damascus. The book by Louis Fiegel on Damascus steel has a section devoted to Al's Wootz in the front pages and thanks him for 're-discovering' Persian watered-steel..............
wink.gif


[This message has been edited by Dawkind (edited 09-13-2000).]
 
don;t they have a similar damascus type material back home in Mindanao when they make moro blades? maybe you can check that out.. as you know sending stuff to the philippines is risky and takes forever. then again no matter how greedyand crooked those bastards are. I dont think they'd stoop so low as to steal a piece of steel.

and yeah john maybe whn I go home one of these days I can ask you for that custom maker's #. Everyone I talk to don't knwo where they get their blades from and I always wanted to talk to a maker.

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<A HREF="http://www.contrib.andrew.cmu.edu/~soo/balisong/balisong.html" TARGET=_blank>http://www.contrib.andrew.cmu.edu/~soo/balisong/balisong.html
</A> If you play with love you will be heartbroken; if you play with knives you will [bleed]


 
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