grinder seeks guidance from bashers

[Rob!]

A friend gave me the barrels off of an old damascus twist steel side by side shotgun. He thought they might be useful as a knife steel. Has anyone tried this before or know anything about the alloy content of old barrel steels?

 

[ddavelarsen]

I've heard elsewhere they won't harden. You could make some fine bolsters etc, though.

Dave

 

[Mike Hull]

You could also use them for the blade sides, using a regular hardenable piece of steel as the core. A laminate, or sandwich, if you know what I mean.

 

[Kalindras]

While I bet that'd look SWEET, can you really laminate Damascus?

I mean, at what point do you get too much pattern, and it just looks like a mish-mash of steel and grain? Like in paint...mix too many colours, and you get that lovely grey-brown glop...mix too many patterns in steel, and it all just gets lost, it's so busy.

If it's possible, I say, GO FER IT! I'd love to see before and after pics, too!!



Kal

 

[Bruce Evans]

I would cut a small piece and see if it will harden,If so just flatten it out and make a knife,If not,It is still usable for a blade.All you will have to do is cut a length of the barrel off then split it into two halves,Then heat and flatten them.Now slide a 1/8 inch thick piece of high carbon known steel like 1095 or O1 or something like that inbetween the two layers and weld this together making a San-Mai blade.You might want to use thinner stock of the high carbon bepending upon how close to shape you want to forge it or how much of the carbon layer you want to show in the bevels 1/6 inch will work also...
Now you can grind and heat treat it and make a knife from it and use any scrap pieces for bolsters or guards and buttcaps..
Good luck,show us some pictures when you are finished..
Bruce

 

[C L Wilkins]

Regardless if it will harden another thought on a use is for fittings such as ferrels, guards or butt caps.

Just an idea...

C Wilkins