I made my own steel today! Well, sort of...

If you don't have tube, make some. I make my cans by welding up a tube with my 1084 flat bar. I weld all four seams tight, and weld a bottom on it. Then I pack it full and weld a top on it. This also gives you a high carbon box all the way around which will hold an edge if you decide to leave the thin layer of 1084. Most of it is gone by the time you work it all the way down. Sometimes I leave the little frame look that it causes, and sometimes I grind it off before forging out the knife. Depends on how it looks and how I feel at the time.
 
scottickes said:
If you don't have tube, make some. I make my cans by welding up a tube with my 1084 flat bar. I weld all four seams tight, and weld a bottom on it. Then I pack it full and weld a top on it. This also gives you a high carbon box all the way around which will hold an edge if you decide to leave the thin layer of 1084. Most of it is gone by the time you work it all the way down. Sometimes I leave the little frame look that it causes, and sometimes I grind it off before forging out the knife. Depends on how it looks and how I feel at the time.
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That's a good idea. In this case though, I wanted all the tubing ground off.
Which took me a couple hours. I got the billet welded and drawn out in like 5 heats, which didn't give the tube time to scale off. I was really disappointed.
I hate grinding....
 
You guys with big forges and power hammers have waaaaaaaay too much fun. Nice looking steel :thumbup:
 
Phillip Patton said:
.....
I hate grinding....
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You poor guy, my heart bleeds. :p :D

Try coating the inside of your can with a light clay slurry next time and let it dry before you load it. Acts like a mold release agent. Sometimes you can peel it off hot after slicing down one side with a angle grinder.
 
fitzo said:
You poor guy, my heart bleeds. :p :D

Try coating the inside of your can with a light clay slurry next time and let it dry before you load it. Acts like a mold release agent. Sometimes you can peel it off hot after slicing down one side with a angle grinder.
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Hmmm, I just might try that. Do you think satanite would work?
Do you forge, or grind? Seems like you forge, but I can't remember...
 
Phillip Patton said:
Do you forge, or grind? Seems like you forge, but I can't remember...
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Yeah, Satanite will work I believe. Not certain.

Last I was doing any real work, I did both. Last damascus billet I made was a 10 pounder. But, that was 2 seasons back. I've been too gimped up to do much of anything for awhile.
If I can't work in the smithy after this season, there's going to be a yard sale.
 
I've made a couple of those:

artpiecelg.jpg


7620lg.jpg


7830lg.jpg


You can get an interesting effect if you ladder the bar. Particularly if you are careful to lay your scraps in the box with the pattern in the steel oriented all the same way. Hard to explain. :o Haven't tried to raindrop a bar yet, but I imagine that might be cool, too. Could do a criss-cross ladder. Don't bother with Twist. All you end up with is Twist.
 
R.Coon-Knives said:
I've made a couple of those:

You can get an interesting effect if you ladder the bar. Particularly if you are careful to lay your scraps in the box with the pattern in the steel oriented all the same way. Hard to explain. :o Haven't tried to raindrop a bar yet, but I imagine that might be cool, too. Could do a criss-cross ladder. Don't bother with Twist. All you end up with is Twist.
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Very nice! I think I know what you talking about. I did have all the layers running the same way, but I think things got jumbled up when I forged it. I don't mind, though. I'll have to make a bigger billet and try laddering it.
 
I've been collecting scraps to make some "damesscus". One of these days...

Good looking stuff!

-d
 
Phillip,
Looks like you have some serious competition there! Wow!:eek:
R.Coon those blades are friggin fantastic! Leatherwork is too!:thumbup:
Matt
 
Phillip Patton said:
Very nice! I think I know what you talking about. I did have all the layers running the same way, but I think things got jumbled up when I forged it. I don't mind, though. I'll have to make a bigger billet and try laddering it.
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When I make the "can" to put it in I use the thinest walled square tube I can find (usually a little less than 1/8 inch). Pack it as full of Damascus scraps as I can, fill it with steel powder, and then spend a lot of time tapping it on the side to make the steel powder settle into the voids as tightly as possible. The end that I weld the handle to is heavier steel. Having a hydraulic forging press makes it a lot easier easy.
 
I bought some 1095 powder off of ebay a couple weeks ago, and it just came in the mail today. It's REALLY fine. It'll be nice to have something that's "clean"

BTW,I got the billet mostly forged into a blade. Pics to follow soon, hopefully.
 
Any suggestions on where to find powdered steel?

I appreciate all replies, but specifically desire
industrial suppliers.

Canada if possible.

Steve
 
R-Coon

That is some very beautiful work.

Can you answer some questions on the process?

I have seen a couple of different variation in the method and am wondering if you have any recommendations about how to approach it.

Alternatively, can you recommend where to find a good description of the method?

I have seen descriptions with hole & flux.
Hole and oil.
No hole and oil.
No hole and no oil.


Do you put a hole in the steel box?

Do you add oil, paper..., doesn’t this contaminate the weld?

Do you flux?

My understanding is that the advantage of the box is the non-oxidizing atmosphere, which requires no flux.
Therefore adding the oil is a way of getting a neutral atmosphere in the box with a hole.

Then the hole makes no sense to me.

Grinding and cleaning all parts first to obtain absolute clean steel makes sense to me.




RE: the grooved oval guard on the dagger in photo 2-
How did you get such a consistent groove in the eccentric oval guard? It’s such a nice touch.
 
Steven Penner said:
Any suggestions on where to find powdered steel?

I appreciate all replies, but specifically desire
industrial suppliers.

Canada if possible.

Steve
Click to expand...

I searched web for that, I need some also for my next project. The sintering companies have a lot, I'll contact with some of them in my country, may be I'll be lucky enough and they will send me a couple of pounds...
 
This is cool...My Frontier Damascus was done by stacking on a piece of scrap then flux and weld by hand then add another piece and just keep going and stretching it and folding it and keep adding more scrap untill you get enough metal to make what you want....The canister and press would have been allot easier..

Bruce
 
Here's a piece of 52100 ball bearings and 1084 powder damascus. Stuffed a can full of bearings and shook powder in around it pressed it tight and sealed. 3x3x6" sq tube.
eddies%20001.preview.jpg

I also used shot peen (1080), ball bearings and 5% nickle powder.
 
I have welded cans with and without holes. I have tried all the different purging methods, wd40, kerosene, paper and nothing at all. I like the nothing at all best. There is enough crap left on the material even if it is clean to burn out all the O2. As far as the hole goes, My welding is bad enough that the can is not fully sealed anyhow but a very small hole drilled close to one end does allow fer a little safety net. A fully sealed box can expand when heated and I have heard of some even popping (with a bang). The hole is small enough and when heated the gasses are expanding so decarb will only occur when cooling. Once the box is pressed and welded the hole makes no difference. The box will need to be removed anyhow unless you do like Scott and make it out of HC.
 
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