Ready to start my first Damascus blade. A Second try at etching (Vinegar)

Col Defender

Col Defender

Joined
Nov 11, 2011
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A friend of mine asked me if I made Damascus knives and of course I had not. But he wanted one and we cut a deal that should work for both of us. Here's a picture of the steel and the design I plan to use.



This steel is beautiful stuff but really expensive; sure hope I don't make any major errors along the way.:rolleyes:

Comments, advice etc are of course most welcome!

Steve
 
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If you want to make a hidden tang, you could save a lot of that billet if you just make the tang two inches long and then weld an extension on. Just a thought.
 
Very nice design. Simple, clean and practical. Looks like you'll have plenty of steel left. How did you decide on cutting out the blank?
 
David Stifle said:
If you want to make a hidden tang, you could save a lot of that billet if you just make the tang two inches long and then weld an extension on. Just a thought.
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Great idea -- Would 1084 work for the extension? Probably I will not try it on this go around. My welding skills are not great and I would rather give up the billet material than risk a disaster if my welding did not work out so well. But in the future maybe....Thanks!
 
Horsewright said:
Very nice design. Simple, clean and practical. Looks like you'll have plenty of steel left. How did you decide on cutting out the blank?
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Thanks! For now, I will use a thin cutting blade on my angle grinder. I have practiced with it and am doing fairly well - it sure beats destroying steel by using a grinding wheel on the angle grinder. But who knows, there may be a band saw or portaband in my future.
 
Good deal. Best of luck to ya on this project. Keep us posted on your progress. What are the plans for handle material?
 
Horsewright said:
Good deal. Best of luck to ya on this project. Keep us posted on your progress. What are the plans for handle material?
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Cocobolo - I like that stuff and the guy who will get the knife does too. I should have mentioned that as I make it I will actually make two the same - one is for me (at least for now) and the other goes to my friend. That way, if I keep my knife one step ahead of my friend's as I go through this process I can make all the mistakes on mine, not his. And who knows, maybe they will both be OK.
 
Col Defender said:
Great idea -- Would 1084 work for the extension? Probably I will not try it on this go around. My welding skills are not great and I would rather give up the billet material than risk a disaster if my welding did not work out so well. But in the future maybe....Thanks!
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I'd weld a all round thread extension to it, and if your skills aren't that good, you could take it to any welding shop and have it done for a few bucks.
 
Good deal on the coco. One of my favorites too. Thats a pretty good plan.
 
looks good, very similar to the ones I am doing, just a bit bigger. Make sure the pins are lined up. I tend to scribe along the top edge of the spine and it makes it look like they're lined up. What type of grind are you doing?
7AE2738D-47BE-43F6-93B8-8090A98D3C65_zpszkpdehjk.jpg
 
Sandeggo said:
looks good, very similar to the ones I am doing, just a bit bigger. Make sure the pins are lined up. I tend to scribe along the top edge of the spine and it makes it look like they're lined up. What type of grind are you doing?
7AE2738D-47BE-43F6-93B8-8090A98D3C65_zpszkpdehjk.jpg
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Convex - it's all I have done so far.
 
That should be a cool knife, great design, although I would have to disagree with the hidden tang idea on a combat/tactical knife, you cant argue with the laws of physics...less steel less strength
 
If it looks all shiny try etching it in ferric, to see what the pattern looks like. Sometimes its hard to tell what the pattern will be at higher grits before it's etched.
 
Not Sure if serious, But the pattern is still there. Etching in acid is what reveals the pattern. Finish it up and hand sand to about 600 grit and etch in feric chloride or vinegar and voila, the pattern appears.

Here are 2 pics. First is post grind, heat treat and sanding. The second is after 2 minutes in hot vinegar.
20141126_230839_zpstszkm070.jpg


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OK I'm a dummy! Just 2 minutes in hot vinegar. I can do that? What kind of vinegar? How hot? Wipe dry or air dry or does I even matter?
 
Col. Degrease the blade thoroughly. For large blades I put a pan in the oven with plain white vinegar. set oven to about 200 deg. The heat speeds up the process by alot. put blade in vinegar and flip with a fork half way through. If the temp is correct there will be lots of bubbling comming off the balde. I etch about 5 min, then pull out and use steel wool to remove the oxides. 75% of the pattern color will wipe off. Then repeat that process till I'm happy. Each cycle will get darker and deeper. Usually 4-6 cycles in the vinegar will give a good etch. deep enough to feel with your finger nail. You can also use a double boiler and a glass jar on smaller blades. With vinegar the acid is weak enough you don't have to worry about neutralizing it, just rinse it off and wash with some dawn detergent. You tube is your friend, lots of videos there about etching damascus. I use vinegar for damascus and feric Chloride for hamons on 1084 or 1095.
 
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