San mai.....no saving this one.

And the other side.....no saving this one. Frustrating. I etched it a few times to check for center, thought I was good, but not even close. Another one for the scrap bin. San mai is really hard to pull off and get everything right.
 

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Never worked with San mai so I could be wrong, but it seems like maybe if you grind the “pretty” side a bit more you could give it a random pattern similar to the other side…?

Just a thought - sorry it didn’t go to plan.
 
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Live and learn, I could make something of it, but nothing I'd be happy with. It's a good blade, I may just put rough 400 grit finish on it, put a micarta handle on it and give it away.
 
I think it looks alright and would be a one-of-a-kind!

You’ll never really know until you have the whole package together. :)
 
True enough...nobody would do that on purpose so it's safe to say it's unique.
It's pretty deflating to pull that out of the etch though. I got one going that's looking pretty good and a damascus blade that's looking pretty okay too. Damascus is way easier than San mai!
 
I hear ya.

If it was mine…I’d feel the same way. I’d probably finish it out with some basic handle material but still do a good job. Maybe a liner and some micarta. I wouldn’t use high end handle material though.

Some people really like asymmetrical designs. Shows it was hand made.

The REAL question is, is the edge still the proper steel for good retention?
 
It's 15n20 and 1084 so it's all good steel, the edge will all be 1084....though I question why I did it that way other than looks. I'd rather have the 15n20 for the edge. I won't toss it, but it's going to be tough to motivate to finish it.....already working on a different one. It'll likely sit in my shop the way it is for the next 20 years if I'm not kidding myself.
 
Don't get too discouraged. My attempt at damascus produced more forging flaws than any Japanese shinsa could make up names to give them !
But, I put a decent handle on it, ground an edge (sort of) and it cut like a razor (a very old one).
 
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