Heat treatment of stainless damascus

Depending on how you want to etch it you will have to fine sand only or go all the way to mirror or anything in between.

I mirror polish and etch with muriatic acid.
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This leaves the hard layers full mirror and lightly frosts the soft layers.


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george
www.tichbourneknives.com
sales@tichbourneknives.com


 
I do the same thing Mr. Tichbourne does.

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Most of my work is done before heat treat. That leaves little "clean up" after I get it back from Paul Bos.

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Tom Anderson
Hand Crafted Knives
 
Thanks for the info. I wasn't quite clear about what I was asking, here, but I was going to need info on finishing, anyway. What I'm trying to find out, right now, is how much material I need to remove after I get it back from heat-treat, so I know how much extra to leave, since I need fairly close tolerances, and the closer I can get it to its final shape before heat-treat, the less hardened steel I have to remove.

--JB

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e_utopia@hotmail.com
 
JB - This is a tough one. If you're shooting for "close tolerances" one could suppose you're either building a folder or you already have some of the handle components made for a fixed blade knife.

I suppose the thing you're really worried about is how much the blade will warp during heat treat - and that's almost impossible to answer not knowing how long the blade is, if it has been chisel ground, how straight it is before you send it out for heat treat, how thick the blade is, etc. All these things can affect warpage.

Send it to someone who has vast experience with heat treating custom knife blades (such as Paul Bos). Then, you could call ahead and ask the heat treater for recommendations.
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Tom Anderson
Hand Crafted Knives
 
Okay, I guess I should really just explain. I plan on putting Damasteel (or other stainless damascus) bolsters on a Benchmade Axis lock knife. The tolerances in that area are pretty tight. Unless I've missed something in the past, steel gets a bit of 'residue' on it during heat treat. This outer layer must be removed. I'm wondering how thick this will be, so I know how much extra steel I need to leave when I mill the parts, so I can remove the damaged steel, without making the part smaller than it should be.

--JB

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e_utopia@hotmail.com
 
If you send the Damasteel bolsters to Paul Bos, the amount of "residue" will be very light. My Damasteel comes back a dull grey (not rust red) and can easily be cleaned up with fine sand paper (500 grit or finer) and a buffer.

The only metal you might lose is from etching, so just don't leave it in the acid or ferric chloride too long. If you're still concerned about it, mask off the surfaces (that will be hidden when the bolsters are assembled) before you dip the bolsters in the etchant.

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Tom Anderson
Hand Crafted Knives

[This message has been edited by Tom Anderson (edited 02-20-2001).]
 
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