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Ladder pattern damascus?
- Thread starter Joss
- Start date
- Joined
- Jul 8, 2002
- Messages
- 1,240
You "carve" the billet when it is in a rectangle. Leave your billet at least 25% thicker than you want for final dimension. Grind your "slots" into the billet not more than 1/3 the thickness deep. The groves should be misaligned. So the space on one side lines up with a grove on the other.
After you get all the grooves in, bring her up to welding heat, flux, and hammer it flat. Be somewhat careful not to grind too much off the blade or you could erase the pattern since the ladder pattern is only surface manipulation.
Edited to add:
Here is one I did a year ago. It is 1095 and pure nickel. The "bubbles" on the surface is oil. I think there are 198 layers, but I cant remember. The thicker bands of 1095 are from shims that had to be inserted to get the billet to reweld after stacking. Nickel wont stick to nickel, so after a couple restacks, I hade to shim it. I ground out the slots with a cutoff wheel mounted to my grinder drive shaft. Dangerous, but effective.
My Ladder
After you get all the grooves in, bring her up to welding heat, flux, and hammer it flat. Be somewhat careful not to grind too much off the blade or you could erase the pattern since the ladder pattern is only surface manipulation.
Edited to add:
Here is one I did a year ago. It is 1095 and pure nickel. The "bubbles" on the surface is oil. I think there are 198 layers, but I cant remember. The thicker bands of 1095 are from shims that had to be inserted to get the billet to reweld after stacking. Nickel wont stick to nickel, so after a couple restacks, I hade to shim it. I ground out the slots with a cutoff wheel mounted to my grinder drive shaft. Dangerous, but effective.
My Ladder
- Joined
- Jul 8, 2002
- Messages
- 1,240
The cutting wheel I used was almost 1/4 inch thick. The thinner the groove and the closer they are together will make the rungs of the ladder closer.
There are many ways to groove the billet. Dremmel, mill, die grinder, file, etc. On Dr. Jim Hrisoulas' Video, he just simply adjusts the belt of his grinder to track over the edge of the flat platten and grinds the slots that way.
There are many ways to groove the billet. Dremmel, mill, die grinder, file, etc. On Dr. Jim Hrisoulas' Video, he just simply adjusts the belt of his grinder to track over the edge of the flat platten and grinds the slots that way.
- Joined
- Dec 3, 1999
- Messages
- 9,437
Hey Joss-
I was thinking I showed you the blade here that I cut the ladder into after forging the preform for the blade...?
I like the effect you get with that method. Forge the point down and get the cutting edge flat on the anvil (just like I start all of my blades) and then cut the ladder groves in. When you forge the bevels in it smooths everything out and keeps the pattern in without worry of grinding it out.
When I get that motor set-up with the double cut-off wheels it will work very well for grinding the ladder grooves in whether into a rectangular billet or a blade.
Nick
I was thinking I showed you the blade here that I cut the ladder into after forging the preform for the blade...?
I like the effect you get with that method. Forge the point down and get the cutting edge flat on the anvil (just like I start all of my blades) and then cut the ladder groves in. When you forge the bevels in it smooths everything out and keeps the pattern in without worry of grinding it out.
When I get that motor set-up with the double cut-off wheels it will work very well for grinding the ladder grooves in whether into a rectangular billet or a blade.
Nick