Ladder pattern Damascus?

[David Loukides]

Thanks Brion,
I intend to improve dramaticly on the pattern. The next try will be around 300 layers with preforming.
My work is slow but steady. Joe Szilaski encouraged me to learn how to Perfect my welds before going on to making patterns. That was over a year ago. Now I have plenty of time left in my career in perfecting patterns.
Sincerely,
Dave

 

[M.Griffin]

This is my first (and only so far) crack at ladder pattern damascus. I love a good ladder and when I got to handle one of Mike Quesenberry's knives and knew I had to try it. I ground in the pattern and forged to shape. I didn't use a preform and laddered it as a billet. I used around 340 layers or so, and was pretty happy with how it worked out.

-Mike

 

[David Loukides]

This is the one I forged the grooves in than forged it flat again.
I now know it was the Wrong way to do it but I wanted to finish it up to Learn from my mistakes.
It made a random pattern.
I am itching to get back to forging to improve on this patterns but I won't be forging till the first week in May.

More layers and ground grooves are coming!!!
Sincerely,
Dave

 

[Fred.Rowe]

David,

Whats the wood on this knife?

Thanks Fred

 

[jdm61]

With pressed ladders, you do NOT need to go by the 1/3 rule. You can press them shallower than that and they will turn out fine. Also,if properly done, even shallow pressed ladder will not "fade" as you grind into it.

 

[tryppyr]

This is the first one to show a ladder pattern.
It is 159 layers of 1084 and 15n20.
The pattern is ground in with a disk grinder. I will try to find a more accurate way of putting the pattern in.
Forging to shape can really distort the pattern on the point.
I will try a second one with forging the grooves in and grinding clean later.
Thank You all who had Helped out.
Sincerely,
Dave

David,

I have to say I really like the way this knife came out. I know you think of the tip pattern as being distorted... but I like it this way. It gives the whole thing a sense of fluid motion.

 

[David Loukides]

Hi Fred,
I bought a 1" thick slab of Brazilian Rose wood burl 2 years ago at The Blade Show.
I am now just starting to use it. It has a really rich color and is hard to take pictures of.

Hi Tryppyr.
I like it too. I think it looks like window drapes
Some time you can get nice results when you don't know what you are doing.
I will be going to try to get a more conventional ladder pattern.
Sincerely,
Dave

 

[David Loukides]

Here is my First attempt at a preformed ladder pattern dagger with the grooves machined in. After this I have reforged the Bevels and tang area and is cooling off now. Latter I will grind the Daggers profile and bevels. The next one I do I will leave it a tad thicker.

 

[jdm61]

When making a big knife, I will get to the desired layer count and then actually forge the "blank" to the general shape of the blade BEFORE I press the ladders in. You have to account for the blank growing a bit in length and a tiny bit in width from the pressing. 10% in length is probably a good number. This saves a fair bit of very spendy steel, especially if you are making a hidden tang blade! You still have to grind off the tops of the ladders and then essneitally "stock remove" the blade, but you lose that steel no matter what method you choose other than just purely forging random, pattern steel to shape.