silly damascus ?

D

Dakota 11

Joined
Apr 14, 2006
Messages
252
so i have been playing with making billets for awhile now and fell i have it down pretty good at this point. im using Aldos 1084 and 15n20. so i made this billet at 300ish layers and did a raindrop pattern. everything is good but here is wer emy question comes in. i have never handled a damscus blade so im not sure if mine feels right. its smooth but i can feel the layers on the tip of my fingers. i took it to a 600 grit finish and then etched in Fc for 15 mintues x2 and cleaned of the oxides between soaking. the etch is 4 to 1 ratio. The layers like arent real high its just that i can feel them every so slightly? is this normal and if not whats going on ? thanks pete
 
The main thing I try to go for is good contrast and clean definition. Some steels/blades take different etching times or respond better to different concentrations of etchant. A little relief is not uncommon to see in damascus, and some steel combinations rely more on relief than alloy content for definition. (Low contrast steels, cable steels). My .02 worth, anyway...
 
Yup, that's normal. What you're feeling is the difference in height of the layers created by the etching process. What brings out the pattern is the fact that the different steels in your billet etch at different rates. The 1084 etches more quickly in the acid and as it does the 1084 layers become the "lows". the 15n20 resists the etching due to the nickel present in it and remains "high".

Personally, this is one of the things I love about pattern welded steel. It doesn't just LOOK different, it FEELS different.

Now, where are those pics? :)

-d
 
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