First Damascus

Whit

Whit

Joined
Dec 27, 2001
Messages
729
Well slowly but surely, my first damascus billet is coming along. I really just got to work on it tonight. Does anyone else do this by hand?? It's nuts, but fun. Anyways, I'm wondering what is the minimum number of layers for a good pattern? I'm only up to 24 and my arm is in bad shape! Thanks.
 
Whit, I think You are crazy or really determined to make damascus by hand. I use a hydraulic press and one finger.

I only have 7 or 8 layers in my pistol/folder. High layer counts are not always impressive.
 
ah hell whit its good exercise and as for me i do my heavy iron smashing with a 10lb sledge with a 16 inch handle.:) keep pounding.
but as soon as i can afford it i will build a hydrualic press
 
I did all mine by hand with a short handled 6 pound hammer for years.Now I have a power hammer .But it was just as much fun before doing it by hand.Besides look at the muscles you will be building swinging that hammer all day..
Bruce
 
VERY determined, and yes, a little crazy. I figure it's a good learning experience. I think I'll do it one more time, get it to 48 layers and see if there is enough left to make a knife! Wish me luck!
 
I think doing it by hand for a while is a great thing. It's very very hard work, but it's a great learning experience.

A lot of folks think a big hammer is the key. When you're talking a power hammer it sure is, but by hand... I have a hammer I made for drawing and quickly putting distal taper in a blade. That is key.

If you can move the metal in length with very little increase in width, it goes MUCH faster.

I hear so many guys talking about welding by hand being hard. The welding is the easy part (time and temperature). It's the drawing out of the billet that will keep you at the anvil all day :D

Best of luck!
Nick
 
I also have to agree with Nick .I also believe that learning to make Damascus by hand first is the best way.That way you will always know how if something was to happen to your machines later on and it will take a Damascus blade to get the money to fix the machine.
I use a 3 pound hammer to weld with and then I would use the 6 pounder to stretch the billet.I also have to agree that the welding is the easy part and that the stretching is what is the most time consuming.
Bruce
 
My hat is off and I do wish I were there to see it but, no please, do not pass me the hammer.

Roger
 
I only got a lend of a roller about 6 weeks ago. all the rest has been hammer. I think my welding hammer is 3 lb may be less. I have a 4 lb hammer for drawing out.
However I hardly ever did it that way mostly I went to a mates house
and we took turns on the 6 and 10 lb sledge hamers. we even got a third guy a couple of times to have double strickers.

I started at 35y/o. I went to help old Lloyd one weekend he was 75y/o
has always hand filled and hamered at that stage. Old Lloyd was hitting 2 to my 1 He would do a bit each day that kept him fit. he is still going at 82. I just hope I do aswell.

Try a couple of chainsaw chains aswell you can make a billet in a couple of hours. I work it into a lump and fold it once to make sure no slag is trapped and that is it. The chain does the work of making a pattern for you.
This rolling mill is a bit one finger aswell I love it I am not looking forward to giving it back.
Keep up the good work.
 
I have a few laying around, I was thinking I'd try that next. I'm not sure how to get started though. How do I secure them together? Do you have a handle welded on to them before you start or what?
 
Here's a link for the chainsaw damascus. I haven't tried it yet but it's on my list for after the first of the year. I just started making damascus and am still doing it all by hand until I decide what type of machine to get hydro, roller, or power hammer. I just finished my first true damascus and cable knives yesterday (neck knives). I hope to post pixs in a couple days. The idea of hammering hot metal is what got me into this, remember the opening to Conan?:D

http://www.customknifedirectory.com/CKD_TutorialFrameset.htm?CKD_Tutorials.htm~tmain
 
I usually start buy cleanning in petrol to make sure all the wood is out of the gaps.

I lay it back and foward so that you have about 6 inch billet I just tie it in a couple of places with steel wire about 1/16 thick.

I find heat is the trick let the chain soak in the heat until all is up to welding heat. You will need to get the feel of that is you have not done it before. I usually make a couple of rough blades for letter openers for about 20 min while the whole forge is worming up.

Remember if you hit the chain and it welds keep going. If you hit it and it is not stiching or is starting tyo split apart again STOP hitting and re heat. Hitting it harder will not make a weld the correct heat makes the weld.

I have a couple of photos if you or anyone else wants a copy of the
initial stages of the process. Get the heat up to a lemon yellow or nearly white just red or orange does not work at all for me.

Tap the sides in fairly early to fill in the holes.

The more times you fold chain the more stringie it looks. I like to fold only once or twice.
reg_ellery@optusnet.com.au note between the g and e is _ not a blank.

Edit tongs or handle work with tongs you need to revers the way it goes in the forge to keep both ends the same. Or weld a handle on works fine.
 
Lots of cool replies on this thread! :)

I have a 10 lb. sledge, but I don't use it very much...especially since I got the press. I don't have a 6 lb. but I think that would be a pretty good size if a guy's in good shape and strong. Quite honestly though, a lot of guys aren't strong enough to swing the bigger ones with CONTROL ;)

The drawing hammer I made is really simple. I took a 3 lb. Engineer's hammer and ground a 45 degree peen on one side. This way, you can lock your tong hand down fairly close to your body, and then the hammer will come down PERPENDICULAR to the billet. I can really move metal with this and do it for a fairly long time.

A good anvil with a very solid base makes a WORLD of difference!

My friend Joss has a really big Japanese style blade forging hammer in which all of the weight is forward and down. It really cuts down on any lateral deviation when you're hammering...and oh can it move metal. If you look on Don Fogg's site under the sword class notes, there are a couple pictures of them.

Nick
 
Well it didn't work! Damn! I thought it was good and then as I was finishing forging it into a blade...it opened right up! I think the last wekd was bad. I appreciate the help I got on here, I'll get the hang of it!
 
Don't be put off by what went wrong think about what went right it is a step in the right direction. I have had a number of disapointing events with damascus. But you will get better. I Had one billet that i ground to shape and was heat treating. It split down the center as i quenched it.

I have been doing fine lately it is all part of it. Keep going the grin on your face will be twice as big when you get it to work.

Its hard to know what whent wrong not being there so the only advice I can give is if things start to come appart stop check the heat of the forge, re flux.

The other thing I have done is made minatures from the smaler sections of the faulty billet.
 
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