Integral Khyber Knife, Pattern Weld and Ironwood. Now with Sheath Vid.

Dang!!! That's a lot of work, Salem!!! it almost looks like it would-be easier to "cheat" and drill and file then squish those chain bars. :D
 
The only word I can think of is Exquisite! I don't remember ever seeing any Damascus better than that. I think it would win best Damascus at any show, any time. Truly a presentation grade piece all around.

Paul
 
I saw the progress on Facebook. What a great piece. Always the artist!!!
 
Initial thought was "That's not even fair that you are able to create the masterful blades that you do" but about a half second later I realize it's only fair. Your talent, research, dedication and skill shine brightly in every piece you put fourth.
 
On the third and sixth bar, counting from the bottom.
There looks like divots or voids or something where the round curves don't quite meet.

Is the blade flat, or are there pits ?
Is that a weld problem, or did those spots over etch or

m6FHaB1.jpg



Ok, I just checked the WIP pics
It would be brutal to keep scale out of those spaces

I like this pattern.
I'd see that used all by itself
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Count, that lower pattern is cool indeed... I ripped that bar to use for explosion edges but if anything it should have been welded on after the other bars were welded and profiled, to keep it from being drawn out and thinned as much as it was from being on the edge of the billet, feeling the hammer.
The pattern has areas where carbon content and alloy content do interesting things. For this blade in particular I experimented with a cast iron-bearing flux that's quite aggressive, to both dissolve any trapped scale from the "crimping" of the snake bars and add some high-carbon material to promote welds and solidify areas that might otherwise be scale pockets. The areas where you can see this, i.e. at the meeting points of some of the ends of the folds, etch a bit different than the surrounding 1080 and 15n20. In some spots you can see where the edges of those burnt out a bit and lost some carbon, becoming silver again. These billets are a right bastard though to weld up solid, so when grinding they won't have the perfect monosteel appearance before etch, rather having some flux lines. After a deep etch, it's all parkerized together, which seals the surface well but etches the iron-flux areas a bit different.
I'm going to experiment next with adding these snake bars to canoe type packets and shaking full of 1084 powder on both sides, then welding dry/oxy free to try to get a more perfect steel. But that's after I get my big hammer rebuild and can use those monster flat dies.
 
Salem, what is your layer count when you turn the bar and how many times to you stack for your explosion billet?
 
Joe, for the bar pictured it was 13 layers, crushed sideways, stacked to 12 layers of w's. Pretty coarse, over time I've found that for dramatic effect in small bars, it helps to have just enough layers to get defined w's.
 
Like I said on IG. Ridiculous. I like ridiculous. Amazing work Salem.
 
Very impressive! great blade and nice carving of the handle creating a super package. Long and sleek -- well done.
 
Thanks a ton everyone, for the encouragement. It really means a lot!
I ended up making a sheath for the customer as well, which is nothing super fancy but has some interesting features, so I added it in the original post.
 
Salem... What a great piece of work... and thanks for the WIP picks on your facebook.

You do fantastic work.
Paul
 
I'm very interested in the "scraper" you used to get that T-spine so crisp. Did you make this tool? What is the cutting blade from? You did this after heat treat? Very nice piece indeed!
 
Beard and Blade said:
I'm very interested in the "scraper" you used to get that T-spine so crisp. Did you make this tool? What is the cutting blade from? You did this after heat treat? Very nice piece indeed!
Click to expand...
I did make that scraper. It's a square mild shank, with a slot milled in it so a 1/4" HSS or carbide lathe cutter can pass through- the cutter is locked with a set screw drill and tapped from the end of the bar. An adjustable guide is attached as well, also with a locking set screw - the guide rides on the spine and can be set so the fuller is cut however far away you may wish.
I did not invent this tool- several have been made in various versions by folks over at Blademsith's Forum.
I first thought to shape a carbide lathe bit to suit, but now I find that the best balance of performance comes with using a HSS cutter, on hardened and tempered steel. The back is tempered blue with a torch so it's probably low 50's rockwell at best; the scraper cuts this cleaner and with less chatter than in an unhardened state.
 
Love it, but is the sheath parctical? (Not that it needs to do much more than look good, I doubt anyone could put this thing through its paces)

Everything fits together very well here.
 
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