Two hamons, or not too hamon, that is the question

Fred.Rowe

Fred.Rowe

Knifemaker / Craftsman / Service Provider
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May 2, 2004
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A friend stopped by the forge this morning and we got to talking about hamons on knife blades. He said he liked them on carbon blades but not so much on damascus blades. He thought it interupted the pattern in the damascus and took away from the overall look of the knife. I countered with; it added to the overall look of a damascus knife because it added "flow" and you saw the knife as a whole and not as a pretty pattern with a handle attached. I don't do clay hardening for the look so much as I do it for the steels benifit.

What is your thinking on this?
Fred <-Bethel Ridge Forge->

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I like hamons period.:thumbup: :thumbup: :D
PS: I didn't know that you could count over one.:jerkit: :eek: :D
 
I do not believe they detract from the pattern, I agree with IG they are always great. Steven
 
I like em all! 99% of the time, the HT of a knife is hidden. I like most the aspect of semi-control you can have while at the same time the aspect of mystery as to the final outcome
 
I normally quench the whole blade with damascus because I dont like the hamon. If the blade will see serious use I edge quench and polish out the hamon. The hardened steel looks better I think. The etched soft back doesnt take the polish as well.
 
i dont like it on damascus...it looks like a bad etch....other then that i think they are awsome!!
 
I agree that I typically dont like the look on damascus, though I have seen a few that did look nice. In general however i like the plain polished look on Damascus, and a nice hammon on plain steel. I think it really just comes down to whatever the person the knife is being made for prefers.
 
To me the utility value of the knife comes first. An edge quench makes so much sense in a knife, especially a big knife and it is something I've never seen in a factory knife (though I don't follow factory knives very much). The hamon is visible proof that the edge is hard and the spine is spring hard. To someone who knows knives, I find this a selling point. You can tone down the visibility if you hot salt blue the blade. The hamon is still visible - but not as much.

This knife was edge quenched, blued and then lightly polished with 1500 grit sandpaper. You can't see the hamon in the photo but you can if you hold the knife just right in the light.

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Preferably the hamon and the pattern of the steel are consistent.

To illustrate what I mean, if this blade by Gustaffson were differentially hardened so that the boundary between the patterns and the hamon were the same, that would be very nice.

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In the case where there is a homogeneous pattern in the steel, then my vote would be with Bruce, Jim, and Justin in that it is distracting.
 
Ok... And I thought that Ed Caffrey's mosaic folder from the 2006 Montana Knifemaker's Show was the nicest folder that I had seen... but I think that blade right there has dethroned it in my own personal scale. That is gorgeous... and one for the inspiration image folder on my HD.
 
I like putting a hamon on damascus blades. So long as the materials do not overpower one after heat treat. Here's one I did while back
 
I normally don't like it...but I think it has to do with the polishing. If you do a fairly deep etch and then polish it out, the line will still show without the blade looking "foggy" where it's soft.

Those of you that are doing it this way...can you share your process?
 
One thing I try to keep in mind, when etching a blade, is that the hardened part of the blade is attacked more vigorously by the acid than the unhardened areas. The difference is substantial if you go for a deep etch. If you could look at a crossection of a deeply etched blade it should be obvious to the eye.

If I am looking for clarity, no smudged spots, I clean, soak in pure vineger for 12 hours, clean, flat hand sand with 600-800, Look at the surface in sunlight to make sure there are no imperfections, flash dip in Fe3, place blade in oven for the last part of the temper, 2 hours. This gives a clear patina with a gold hue. It works well with the style of knives I make.

Oh, stay away from the buffer, it can ruin good damascus.:thumbdn:


Fred
 
Given a choice between a single steel knife with a good temper line or a damascus knife, I would go for the temper line because I love them. That said, on a damascus knife, I like better without the temper line.
 
When I see a blade with a nice hamon, I stop and admire the hamon. When I see a blade of nice damascus, I stop and admire the damascus. When I see a damascus blade with a hamon, I stop and wonder what is wrong with the damascus first, before I realise that it is a hamon.

I know that you can do a nice hamon, it does not show on damascus.

However, if you say that you are doing it purely for the sake of performance, then you have no choice other than to carry on.
 
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