Natural Gas forge for pattern welded steel

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krause95

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Jan 27, 2015
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Hello, I will be making pattern welded knives in my class in college. It is an independent study course so I will be learning as I go but after discussing it with the school they would like me to use the natural gas/oxygen torch (I believe its oxygen, not sure but its a separate line) they have to save money. I did some research on this site and couldn't come up with much for a natural gas forge. As of right now I was just going to construct the forge out of soft brick. I would like to make up to a chef knife size (so about 12" in total).

Any pointers mainly how to construct the forge but also on the process of making pattern welded knifes?

Thanks much!!!
 
Natural Gas does not burn hot enough to forge weld steel I Believe. Torch? are you talking a torch fed forge?
Propane does
 
yeah torch fed forge and if natural gas won't get the steel hot enough (planning on using tool steel and tool steel with nickel in it) I do have access to a oxy acetylene torch that I could use to fuze the steels together. Would a natural gas forge get the billet hot enough to work with though after the steel is fuzed together?
 
Natural gas will absolutely get hot enough to forge weld. The problem most have with it is that supply line pressures tend to be quite low, so that some engineering beyond normal LP thinking is needed to make it work. Eric Fleming is the natural gas forge whisperer, has a great welding forge that runs IIRC on low supply pressure. I'd talk to him for sure to get a plan together. He's a member here, or just google "Eric Fleming Knives."
 
If I read the OP question right, he wants to use a NG/Oxygen torch. That won't work as the heart source for pattern welding damascus.

Also, building a forge is a bigger task than I believe he knows.



The OP dos not mention an experience in knifemaking. I would suggest he use damascus from a supplier...after he has learned how to make a good knife from regular blade steel.
 
^^^^:thumbup:
Cooler heads have prevailed... Stacy's right, this is a huge can of worms to get into for making a first knife!
As far as the natural gas, I'd thought that the NG supply to the torch, not the torch itself, could be fed to a constructed burner.
Building a forge and just hammering out a monosteel knife would be more than enough to chew for a class. How long is the class? A semester? A year? More? To make a good pattern welded chef's knife it will take you more than a year of hard work to accomplish as a self-study course.
 
You're going to have to figure out the supply pressure before you can even begin to start a design on the venturi burner. Then figure out where you need to be. Burner will have to operate on pressure regulator and Bernoulli principal to increase pressure. From experience, it can be a lot of work to build a gas forge and burners but easily doable for someone with little experience and much mechanical inclination. It took about 5x longer to do the research than the build and I had to start from scratch on the burner after the first attempt... Have fun with it and prepare prepare prepare before you start a build or you will find yourself spending money correcting your mistakes.
 
John Katt said:
Just for fun... This is a college shop with natural gas piped inside so I would think the pressure problem has been solved, so why wouldn't this type of burner work, instead of oxygen it uses compressed air, its a college shop so I would think they have compressed air ;0)

http://www.belchfire.com/torch-products/Pages/TubeBurner.aspx
Click to expand...

Well, there you go. A little research reveals a pathway... I don't see any reason that wouldn't work....
 
You folks must have better vision than me....I see a bunch of problems using that for a damascus forge.
 
Cajun Kamikaze said:
I wasn't proposing to use that for dam forge but rather to forge Dam blank...

I wouldn't do my own Damascus without a power hammer anyway....
Click to expand...

^That. I did all my damascus for years with a coal forge, BIG anvil and a 6-1/2 lb straight peen with an 18" handle.
By the time a high/low carbon steel billet had 180 layers it was about 1045 equivalent from the carbon loss. Had to do everything san mai.
I bought one of Clay Spencers tire hammers, and a two burner gas forge. Life's too short and I'm too old for that nonsense.
 
I burn natural gas in my welding forges; no need for O2. I hit 2350 with ease on these blown forges. As Stacy states, this is not a project for the timid especially without prior knowledge.

Best of luck, Fred
 
J W Bensinger said:
^That. I did all my damascus for years with a coal forge, BIG anvil and a 6-1/2 lb straight peen with an 18" handle.
By the time a high/low carbon steel billet had 180 layers it was about 1045 equivalent from the carbon loss. Had to do everything san mai.
I bought one of Clay Spencers tire hammers, and a two burner gas forge. Life's too short and I'm too old for that nonsense.
Click to expand...

Amen to that :)
 
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