Material suitability for damascus

C

CDH

Joined
Jun 8, 2007
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I have been saving some scraps in the event I want to try and hammer out some damascus blades. Will it be useful or should I clean it out...

Broken/worn out drill bits, mostly HSS and some cobalt steel
old blades from my bandsaw, 1/4"-1/2" wide and fairly thin
old radial saw blades, some HSS and some carbide tipped

Okay, I'm a pack rat and can't throw stuff away.:D

The bandsaw blades in particular I was thinking about using first, but thought that they might be so narrow that the pattern just disappears. I probably have 100' of it in total. Most of it is bi-metal, so would the strip of cobalt steel in the teeth do anything weird?
 
Take all of that out to the dumpster right now. Don't argue, just do it !!!
Now, Get some 1080 and some 5160 and some L-6 (15N20) and some O-1. Make all the damascus you want with any desired mix of these.Three feet of each will make you a batch of good damascus for only a few bucks. They will save you a lot of heartache from using unmatched and improper steels. A good starter mix is 1080 and 15N20. They both have about the same carbon content and the nickel in the 15N20 make a bright contrast layer. They weld together well.
Stacy
 
Looks like I am also making a trip to the dumpster with my band saw blade:o
Thanks for your posts Guys.:thumbup:
 
So explain something to me then? What would the difference be between starting with a piece of high carbon cable vs. starting with a stack of thin bandsaw blade pieces?

Yeah I can see that the drill bits and circular saw blades might be a bit much...
 
Damascus can be a complicated process, starting with known steels can make the difference between a knife and a cracked/split/delaminated waste of time.

Not knowing what steel you are dealing with means you do not know their relative resistance to the hammer, if one moves much faster than the other it can pull a weld apart. If you do nit know what the proper temperatures, then you will have problems with normalizing, and anealing, not to mention which steel will harden, and to what degree. if you have different enough steels, they can actually tear themselves apart when hardened. And lastly, some specialty steels have alloying that makes forge welding difficult, if not impossible without a press/power hammer.

the last few billets I have welded up were made from 1/8"thick 1080, and 1/16" thick 15n20. I have been able to get 21 layers on the first weld. I know that these two steels are compatible forthe entire process. I am not worried ablut a blade coming apart on me after I have put in all the time, fuel and electricity to make my billet.

All in all, good steel is cheap, time is expensive, especially if you have a pile of junk at the end of it.

Ken
 
CDH,
The main difference is that the high-carbon cable will be a consistant material to weld. The bi-metal bandsaw blades are made from a low-carbon steel with a narrow band of a high-carbon cobalt alloy that is troublesome to weld.
You asked for advice on welding damascus, I agree with Stacy and Ken, this is advice based on experience, which means you could benefit in major time-savings.
It is still your choice, please feel free to do as you wish.
Thanks,
Del
 
I appreciate the replies and I am not trying to argue with anyone...I just like to understand the concept behind the advice as well. It greatly expands the usefulness to me. Thanks!
 
IronWolf said:
the last few billets I have welded up were made from 1/8"thick 1080, and 1/16" thick 15n20.

Ken
Click to expand...

I see your 15n20 to 1080 ratio is half.

I was wondering if this is or if there is a perfect ratio in 1080(1084) and 15n20 Damascus. And if less 15n20 or more will affect more than the blades looks.
 
With 1080 and 15N20 there is no carbon difference, so the steel will be the same regardless of the mix (more or less) the LOOK will be different, though. The more 1080 the farther the stripes will be apart. The more 15N20 the finer the stripping. 50-50 works well.
 
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