making san mai damascus questions

Knifemaker87

Knifemaker87

Joined
Jan 2, 2006
Messages
1,073
hey everybody.. i think i am going to try a cable/1095/cable sam mai billet..
since i am very new at making damascus and doing forge welding.. what should i look out for and or make sure i do? how is the best way to do it? what i am working with is some 1 1/2" dia cable i have welded and forged into about 15" by 1" by 3/8" stock... and some 1 1/2" by 1/4" 1095 (or 1080/1075)

recomendations? warnings? what size should i weld together? how long should it be? what thickness? (i am going to grind all the scale off before welding, and tack together with my MIG welder)

would it be better to wait till i have done more welding? perhaps just weld the two billets of cable together? what are your recomendations?

thanks so much!
~Chris
 
Chris,
San mai is no harder than making damascus. If you can forge weld a billet, you can forge weld san mai.
The place where it is easy to go wrong is to have the core too thick. It is there to make the edge, not to make the blade. Also, when you forge out the san mai the side laminates will forge out thinner than the core, especially if they are something like cable. This is usually due to not fully heating the billet on each forging heat. The core will be colder and not move under the hammer as easily.Also, the softer material used for the sides forges easier, usually.The sizes you list would work, but I would use a 1/8" core of 1095 and 1/4" cable sides. The resulting billet will be easy to weld up and forge out to make a pretty knife. Soak a little longer between heats than you would for a bar of monosteel.
As far as making the billet, have everything flat and ground clean. Set up the billet just like a three bar fold. Once you get the billet up to welding heat, fluxed well and ready, just set the weld gently but firmly ,working from the end back to the handle rod. Re-weld several times to make sure the fusion is good. Each re-weld can be done with heavier blows, but you really don't want to be smashing hard on 2400F steel. Once it is solid, draw it out as you wish.
Stacy
 
thanks!
i think i may be going for something slightly larger (if not just a billet) i was goping to be making this as an order.. but the orderee dropped off the face of the earth. so.. i have it all ready.. might as well go with it.. muight make a larger blade or sword out of it. it will depend on how it turns out.
thanks for the guidance it is alot of help!
~Chris
 
Go for it Chris. With larger billets, just make sure it is heated fully throughout the bar.
Stacy
 
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