damascus

G

GaryFlorida

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Sep 30, 2014
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To make a long story short, I need to add a section of steel on a piece of Damascus to make it long enough for use. I have the Damascus. I need to know what type of steel is used that will turn black when treated with ferric chloride. I want the new addition to be dark (black), not silver.
thanks
 
Weld on a section of the same steel ( or close to it) as the dark part of the damascus mix . If the mix was 1080 and 15N20, use 1080 or 1084.
If you don't know the damascus mix, you could just use 1070, 1084, or 1095 as a general rule.
 
I am moving in on recipe 'mix' and thanks Stacy. Looking like 1084 carbon steel is used with 15N20 on the piece I have. It is difficult to contact the designer so every little tid bit is helpful.
I like your terminology of Damascus 'mix' by the way.
I am going to silver braze this new addition to an existing Damascus section in order to make it large enough to function as a blade in a folder format. It will be a shelf 'queen' like most of my stuff so durability takes second to looks. Otherwise it would be cut up for bolsters and that is not an option in my eyes.
 
Silver brazing will be an issue with HT. I usaually MIG weld the tang extension on a blade. That way it will HT just fine.
 
Good point. Tell me as an example please Stacy, if I butt two pieces of 3/16 1084 steel together, tight joint and mig weld them together, after I clean the joint up, how much of this weld will show? How wide would the connection appear to be?
 
I wouldn't do the weld in any place that will be seen. It will show as a ugly line. It will also etch different that the steels.
Generally, I do an addition to extend a piece of damascus to create a hidden tang for a fixed blade knife. I have the damascus go 3/4" to 1" up the tang, and then the plain steel the rest of the way.

What specifically are you planning on doing - blade type/shape/etc?
 
Update -
Gary sent me some photos and a sketch. What he wants to do is take a small piece of mosaic damascus and make it the blade of a small necker style knife. The ricasso and tang would be the 1084.

Here is my reply to him:
If I was making a knife that I would sell .... I wouldn't do it at all. The joint will show to some amount, and the joint could be possibly a weak spot.
If you are making yourself a knife, then those aren't fatal flaws.

I would grind the two mating surfaces to meet square and take it to a person skilled at TIG welding. The filler wire should be 1080.
I would then grind the pieces flat on both sides, do the preliminary bevels, and shape the profile. Then I would do the HT. The final shaping and bevels I would do after HT. The joint may show, but should etch dark. With TIG and 1080 filler, it should be strong enough and will likely etch good.
 
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