- Joined
- Nov 17, 1999
- Messages
- 676
Hello folks.
comments on damasteel
1. damasteel is a powdersteel, with a much more solid laminating then regular forged damascus.
2. The lamination lines are not crisp, as they are laminated perfectly, and not only carbon migration occurs, but also migration of other elements.
3. You can get the lines crisp by etching repeatedly in alternating HNo3 mixed with HCL and ferric chloride. Polish with as high grit paper that you can get inbetween. Wash all the time and don't burn your hands on the HNo3-HCL Mix!
4. RWL-34 is not similar to ATS-34. It is much purer, as is 12C27. The steels are simplier purer, so less brittle and a little more edgeholding, a la BG-42 is you ask me.
As to real forged Damascus :
1. all depends on what you mix in and how you heat-treath that. Some people have the equipement to mix in harder to weld stuff such as HSS or D-2. that makes their damascus more edgeholding, but regular 52100 and O-1 isn't bad either or L-6 - O-1.
2. beercaps are nickel coated soft steel things..added for contrast. but you could also use nickel sheeths, but that's a lot more expensive.
As to history:
1. forgwelding is know a long time. Check this out: http://www.schmiede-balbach.de/damast.htm#sutthoo2 .
500-600 after Christ they made that - well almost.
2. the real damascus is Wootz, a cast steel were the damastructure is not the lines between steels, but carbide structures in the steel! They were Cast in india, and shipped to Damascus, where they were forged into knives and swords. They should be extra flexible and very edgeholding - CPM 440 and 420 stuff cut the same way - carbides in the edge! Wootz isn't really that hard to make, just very time consuming and costly to produce. If you wanna know how, E-mail my friend Achim Wirtz. There is an article in the neotribal forum which descibes his proces too.
3. Original, iron ore didn't posses that much carbon. By folding it a lot in a charcoal fire, Carbon can be added..or so I've been told. I know the japanese did it at some point to save the precious highcarbon stuff..so they only needed the high-carbon stuff for the edge and they could use the cheaper lowcarbon stuff for the rest.
hmmm..have I been nagging again? - sorry -
Greetz, bart?
------------------
"If the world wouldn't SUCK, we'd all fall off !
You can E-mail me at bart.weijs@student.kuleuven.ac.be any
time....guaranteed reply !
Member of the BKS
<A HREF="http://www.student.kuleuven.ac.be/~m9710483/index.html" TARGET=_blank>My
knife-page</A>
comments on damasteel
1. damasteel is a powdersteel, with a much more solid laminating then regular forged damascus.
2. The lamination lines are not crisp, as they are laminated perfectly, and not only carbon migration occurs, but also migration of other elements.
3. You can get the lines crisp by etching repeatedly in alternating HNo3 mixed with HCL and ferric chloride. Polish with as high grit paper that you can get inbetween. Wash all the time and don't burn your hands on the HNo3-HCL Mix!
4. RWL-34 is not similar to ATS-34. It is much purer, as is 12C27. The steels are simplier purer, so less brittle and a little more edgeholding, a la BG-42 is you ask me.
As to real forged Damascus :
1. all depends on what you mix in and how you heat-treath that. Some people have the equipement to mix in harder to weld stuff such as HSS or D-2. that makes their damascus more edgeholding, but regular 52100 and O-1 isn't bad either or L-6 - O-1.
2. beercaps are nickel coated soft steel things..added for contrast. but you could also use nickel sheeths, but that's a lot more expensive.
As to history:
1. forgwelding is know a long time. Check this out: http://www.schmiede-balbach.de/damast.htm#sutthoo2 .
500-600 after Christ they made that - well almost.
2. the real damascus is Wootz, a cast steel were the damastructure is not the lines between steels, but carbide structures in the steel! They were Cast in india, and shipped to Damascus, where they were forged into knives and swords. They should be extra flexible and very edgeholding - CPM 440 and 420 stuff cut the same way - carbides in the edge! Wootz isn't really that hard to make, just very time consuming and costly to produce. If you wanna know how, E-mail my friend Achim Wirtz. There is an article in the neotribal forum which descibes his proces too.
3. Original, iron ore didn't posses that much carbon. By folding it a lot in a charcoal fire, Carbon can be added..or so I've been told. I know the japanese did it at some point to save the precious highcarbon stuff..so they only needed the high-carbon stuff for the edge and they could use the cheaper lowcarbon stuff for the rest.
hmmm..have I been nagging again? - sorry -
Greetz, bart?
------------------
"If the world wouldn't SUCK, we'd all fall off !
You can E-mail me at bart.weijs@student.kuleuven.ac.be any
time....guaranteed reply !
Member of the BKS
<A HREF="http://www.student.kuleuven.ac.be/~m9710483/index.html" TARGET=_blank>My
knife-page</A>
