I need help with a damascus billet

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perfectpitman

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Mar 6, 2017
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I was watching a knife making video and decided I wanted to make one so I ordered a cheap damascus billet and some handle scales off of eBay before I realized I have no clue how to actually make a knife. I guess my main question is do I need to do anything to the billet before I start shaping it? Do I need to anneal it? And after I get it shape, do I need to harden and temper it? Any other advice you could offer would be greatly appreciated. Thank you in advance!
 
Billet?
A billet is a round or square bar that is 32 square inches or less. Billets in knife making are large blocks of steel that are forged down into blades or bar stock. If you have a billet of Damascus then your going to need help getting it down to a usable size.
 
Look in the stickys. They are at the top of the Shop Talk page. There is one called, "How To Instructions for Making a Knife". That will walk you through almost everything.

As to being a billet - JT is right that one definition of a billet is a short bar of round or square metal. And you are right, as another definition is any short piece of wood or metal cut off a longer piece. Many knifemakers call the flat bar they make a knife from a "billet". In either case the meaning is from the original use, which refers to ones portion of something divided up. It can be lodging, food, firewood, or materials ( like steel).
 
Hi Pitman, You might want to practice a couple of knives with less expensive steel. When you are ready, the damascus will make a beautiful knife. I am pretty new to this and it's really easy to screw things up and really hard to make a knife without any obvious flaws. Have Fun!
 
The cheap eBay Damascus billets tend to only harden to about Rc45 or so at best. Nothing wasted using this steel for a first knife.
 
Sounds like you are staring the same way I did... with a piece of damascus and a desire to do something special.

So here are a few tips from one who walked that road.

Step away from the bench grinder. Beyond knocking out the basic shape, it isn't the right tool for knifemaking.

Stock up on files and sandpaper. I know, you're probably impatient and will quickly tire of using files and sandpaper, and they you'll start looking at belt sanders. If you're wise, you'll just look, but not attempt to use them yet. Sadly, most of us aren't that wise. So we throw away money on cheap tools, like 1 x 30 belt sanders... which are underpowered and not designed to do what we need to do. Save your money... you'll need it for more files and sandpaper.

And once you get the basic shape knocked out, you'll probably want to do a "scandi grind". Yeah, doing a full flat grind takes a lot longer and is SO boring while you're still in the files and sandpaper stage... but trust me, that quarter inch scandi grind you're thinking of is not going to generate anything useful.

And then once you get it ground you'll want to skip the heat treatment. With that cheap eBay damascus that may not be such a bad idea, but if you had a real piece of knife steel it would be a really bad idea.

And you might even think about breaking out the Ferric Chloride and etching the blade before heat treatment, just because you're anxious to see the pattern again. Slow your roll... the pattern will still be there, and if you etch before HT, you'll just have to sand it down again.

Believe me, you're going to need a lot more sandpaper and files than you think... so stock up. And look carefully at what you're buying. Is the sandpaper appropriate for use on metal?

I got by for a long time using cheap files from Harbor Freight. I never did find a reliable source for really good files, so I still use the cheap ones... the work okay, but they do wear down fast. I have found that the cheap needle files from HF are indispensable. I have about 6 sets of them now. They are great for the detail work, cleaning up mistakes you make with the bigger files. I also use them a lot for carving metal.

That's probably enough for now... but really, avoid the power tools until you've done some work with the files. You'll be glad you did.
 
Willie71 said:
The cheap eBay Damascus billets tend to only harden to about Rc45 or so at best. Nothing wasted using this steel for a first knife.
Click to expand...

That really depends on who made it. Alabama damascus will harden just fine. Most of the USA makers make reasonable damascus. Some of the stuff from Pakistan and India is made from manhole covers and tin cans, and won't harden much at all.
 
Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith said:
That really depends on who made it. Alabama damascus will harden just fine. Most of the USA makers make reasonable damascus. Some of the stuff from Pakistan and India is made from manhole covers and tin cans, and won't harden much at all.
Click to expand...

I agree. I wouldn't call them "cheap" at three times the price of the Pakistani Damascus. I bought from four sources a few years back. One bar hardened to Rc55 out of quench, but the rest never cracked 45.
 
Somewhat of a tangent here, but having looked recently at Alabama Damascus prices on their site, I must say that for quality US mascus their prices are VERY reasonable! That's what I'd use for sure, getting into it if not making my own...
 
I have some Alabama Damascus drops and they are good quality. I use them for guards and such. I have a few pieces set aside for small folders too. There is no comparison between Alabama Damascus and Pakistani Damascus.
 
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