Stone-washed Damascus?

S

Strong-Dog

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Mar 1, 2014
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I had an interesting thought last night, and a quick search told me that someone asked this a while ago, but got no replies. I'm very curious, so I'll ask again. Has anyone stonewashed a damascus blade? I'm not an expert on damascus by any means, but I think either heating or etching gives it it's pattern and color. If the blade was stone-washed before heat treatment or etching, then it wouldn't take away any of the pattern or beauty, correct?

Maybe I have this all wrong, but I've never seen a stone-washed damascus blade before. Can a blade even be stone-washed before it is hardened? Would this be a plausible idea at all?

Thanks
 
Fake Damascus is etched. Real Damascus is folded steel.

True Damascus is a lost art.
 
Stonewashing will most likely take the pattern of Damascus, or most of the pattern off. Real Damascus is still etched, kind of. With the different steels folded together, the pattern is accentuated by some type of finishing, frequently an acid bath. Because different steels react differently, the colors of the layers are different.

Damascus can be polished, and it kills the pattern, making it really subtle. Stonewashing would be pretty similar. Damascus is mostly good for looks, because modern steels no longer need to be purified through folding.
 
If you stone washed a damascus blade that'd already been etched, I think it would get rid of a lot of the contrast between the two types of steel by wearing away much of the oxidation, sort of ruining the look of the pattern. If you stone washed it beforehand, I think the etching would get rid of most of the stone washing marks. I could be totally wrong, but based upon my limited experience with stone washing and acid etching my own blades, both these scenarios seem likely. :confused:
 
I have one Damascus yanagi and there is no etching, only folded steel. It is barely noticeable and was never advertised as Damascus.

Often, the carbon part will develop patina and not the other steel (I'm assuming it hhas more stainless properties).
 
Yes, one steel will have some element that prevents it from becoming oxidized as easily. For example, you'll see lots of American damascus that's 1080/1095/whatever and 15N20. 15N20 has a lot of nickel in it (~2%) so it stays shinier, while the other steel turns gray/black when exposed to the etchant.
 
I have some high end damascus knives that have either Hitachi white steel or 52100 as the core and i don't know why some one would want to stone wash them. IMO it would diminish the effect of the hard work it took to forge the damascus. True damascus that alot of ppl refer to as a "lost technique" is a hoax. Anything they were able to do years ago, could be easily reproduced today through modern equipment.
 
I personally like the more subtle patterns. But I don't have a stone washed damascus blade, only polished san mai.
 
rpnp said:
True damascus that alot of ppl refer to as a "lost technique" is a hoax. Anything they were able to do years ago, could be easily reproduced today through modern equipment.
Click to expand...

I wouldn't call it a hoax. While many people today are using various methods to produce "wootz" (the original "Damascus" steel), nobody knows how they did it back in the day, hence the "lost technique" people often talk about. Here's a pretty good read (at least to me, not being a metallurgist) on the subject: http://www.academia.edu/397355/Crucible_Damascus_Steel_A_Fascination_for_Almost_2_000_Years
 
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