Stainless Damascus

[peter nap]

I forgot how damned old I was today. It's about 98 degrees here and 100% humidity. Well I decided I was going to make stainless Damascus if it killed me. Near did. I took an old chisel, hacksaw blades and some low grade stainless that the hospitals use for splints and came up with a plan. First I ground everything clean then I pulled a Bump and welded a cap on a piece of square tubing the right size. I got in the end of the world stuff and got my tank of nitrogen. Stuck the hose in and let it blow gently in the tube. (had all the steel in the tube. I stuck the tube in a 5 gallon bucket and covered it with saran wrap. Waited an hour and pulled the hose out of the tube. I sealed the tube with a little furnace cement and covered the bucket again.

After the cement had set, I welded a cap on that end. Off to the forge. I have spent the last 6 hours folding and hammering and I just ground the edge. It looks like it took. I won't know for sure until I forge the shape and grind it but so far it looks good except for the 1/4" on either end. I never get them right anyway. I'll let you know how it comes out.

 

[Guy Thomas]

"I got in the end of the world stuff and got my tank of nitrogen. Stuck the hose in and let it blow gently in the tube. (had all the steel in the tube. I stuck the tube in a 5 gallon bucket and covered it with saran wrap. Waited an hour and pulled the hose out of the tube. I sealed the tube with a little furnace cement and covered the bucket again."

Hey Peter, I'm a little confused on the above process. Could you explain a little more. I think what you did was pack the tube with the different steels you wanted to use and flushed all of the air out of the tube with the nitrogen in order to insure a scale free weld. I guess the 5 gallon bucket fills up with nitrogen gas also. What keeps oxygen from getting back in the bucket? (Is nitrogen gas heavier than air?) I'm assuming the bucket fills up with nitrogen allowing you to cap off the tube with the cement (an analogy I guess be submerging a jar in a bucket of water and then screwing the lid on while keeping the jar and lid under the surface of the water?)

 

[peter nap]

That's a pretty good analogy Guy. I pack rice and beans the same way (In 5 gallon buckets). I expect that nitrogen is heavier than air but the saran wrap I put on top plus the positive pressure from the nitrogen, keep the O2 out. The cement was just a good way to seal it while it was in the bucket. I did do it to keep all the scale off. It was always my understanding that scale is what keeps the SS from bonding. It must work though because I couldn't resist looking. I forged it to rough shape and then profiled. I ground a rough 45 degree bevel and haven't seen any sign of delamenatition yet. I'll just have to withhold opinion until the knife is finished to see what happens. Never know, it may be another of Peters Duds!

 

[Guy Thomas]

Looking forward to seeing it! My first (and only) damascus billet is still sitting in the corner, waiting patiently for me to decide whether it's o.k. blade material or whether I made a whole bunch of pattern welded bolsters!

 

[peter nap]

OK, I haven't had time to do much more on the thing but this morning I had to look a little closer. I ground some more and etched some and now I'm puzzled. I can see the grain very well. Matter of fact it's not bad looking at all except....There are spots (larger than flecks) that are mych brighter. Can't figure tht one out yet. The weld looks good though. It's solid and tight. Any ideas on why some of the stainless is brighter than others?