Hi rueffwt. Welcome to the forums! I've only been making knives for about 3 years(forging for 2), and have never worked with camel bone, but here's my 2 cents' worth - working with damascus can be trickier than working with regular carbon steel. How it works is going to depend on what it's made of. I've only made damascus out of 1084 and 15n20, and 1084, O1 and 15n20 and both of these were a different experience than 1084 or O1 by themselves. The combinations were much stiffer under the hammer. Also - I had to anneal my damascus after forging it to shape, in order to drill it or work it effectively with a file. Damascus also seems to show any flaws in the finish more easily than plain carbon, at least that's been my experience - so don't "cheat" on the finish. Just take your time with the sanding, and move up gradually through different grits and it should come out looking good. When it comes time to etch it, use a 50/50 mix of white vinegar and PCB etch (get it at Radio Shack), and check it every 5 minutes or so to make sure you don't over-etch (got this advice from Darrel Ralph here on the forums, and he was right - that mixture REALLY makes damascus jump!). Have your blade finished to it's final grit before etching, and afterward, use a popsicle stick or similar, and your highest grit paper, to sand the highlights in the damascus (makes those nice, shiny silver lines...). It's important to keep in mind, that the etch is liable to make any imperfections in the finish stand out (personal experience), so be thorough with the sanding. As far as camel bone - cow bone is the only thing I've worked with, but if it's anything similar you'll want to be careful about getting it too hot when working it. That about does it with my 2 cents worth... Again, these musings are the result of my experience, and I'd encourage you to get advice from some of the more experience bladesmiths here on the forums. This is the best place on the internet for advice - hands down! Good luck with your dad's knife, dude!:thumbup:
