what to do with a broken damascus blade?

S

spacecouchx

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Sep 2, 2006
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I am a maker, and I recently had a experience i won't soon forget. in a rush of stupidity, i broke the tang off a twist damascus blade. now i'm left with a approx. 6 1/4inch blade with no ricasso, the blade is double beveled and the bevels run up to the broken end

any clever ideas of what to do? i can't think of any

thanks, Brook
 
Forge it into a small knife. Maybe about a 3.5 to 4" blade. The 2+ inches that are at the back end can be used to create a new ricasso and stub tang.

The reason that I know this can work, is because I've done it myself. You just have to mess up a large enough knife to pull it off, which is what it soiunds like you did.
 
thanks for the advice, but i don't have access to a forge for another couple months, and i'm pretty good at fabrication of odd ideas. i thought of making a smaller blade though, but i guess that's kinda a default :D

thanks, Brook
 
about 3/16 at the thickest, (spine between bevels) and it tapers from there on

and i have threads to fit many sizes, so that helps.

thanks, Brook
 
There's always the "hang it on the shop wall so you never forget what you did wrong" angle. I know we all have those pieces around. I'm curious though, how did you break it?

-d
 
turn it into "furniture" :) . A guard, spacer, insert, etc. ;) I had the same thing happen once by waiting a few seconds too long to try and straighten a small warp in a quenced damascus blade :grumpy: SNAP !!
 
I would put it up on the trophy wall to remind me of things I do not want to do again. The time can be better spent on a new project where the outcome
is more predictable.
Minor alterations are one thing; but a total remake is another.

Fred
 
Make it into a spear head. Flatten a bit of it then notch and attach to a suitable shaft. Wall piece
 
Throw it away or have fun testing it to destruction:thumbup: Let me explain why I am not being flip when I say this, especially if you made the steel yourself. I believe one of the most important things a damascus maker can do is to get in the proper mindset that even though it is folded and welded it is just another piece of steel. If we begin to think of damscus like gold, or even risk thinking it is different than any other steel in our shop then we could become too attached to it and not be willing to scrap it if it is not the best we can make. If we find a big void or inclusion in a piece of 1084 or 5160, we do not hesitate to toss that chunk in the dumpster, yet in pattern welding we will use it anyway if we believe it is any different.

I have advised people with a little sign to look for when shopping for a guy to make damscus for you. If he treats the material as something magical, really special or precious, run the other way! If you go to his shop and there are piles of the stuff laying around like so much refuse and he could care less if that bar in the corner is 1095 or several hundred layers of multi-bar twists, this is the guy you want to do business with. He has made enough to get quite realistic about things, thus has lots of practical experience and time welding, but more importantly he will also not hesitate for a second to throw a bad piece away.

All that being said, it is not the time or process that has me mashing all of my damascus scraps up into fittings stock these days, IT IS THE FREAKING STEEL PRICES:eek: I try to save every little end of O1 as well and use it in some way since the price of the stuff has tripled :mad:
 
I would use it as a blade for a gunstock warclub (remember the last of the mohegans)!!! It requires no ricasso, just grind the broken end down to a stub tang that you can insert and pin in place.. Just my .02 cts :D
 
If after all this good advice you still want to save it:
Weld a new tang on with a wire welder. Temper the new assembly at 500F (to remove the brittleness from the weld joint). Regrind the blade to attain a new ricasso and shoulder with the weld about 3/4" back up the tang. Proceed as usual through a new HT and make a nice hidden tang knife.

The real thing you want to ask yourself is:
WHY DID IT BREAK
The answer to that is the main thing you will learn from this experience.
Stacy
 
oh, i KNOW why it broke. i was being stupid and rushing too much. i noticed that when i was hand-rubbing the blade, the point where the tang met the blade was a bit crooked. i was telling myself the whole time "don't do it, it's gonna snap!!" and....it did. stupid huh?

i guess it's just another lesson i learned in the great journet of knifemaking

thanks for all the tips and advice,
Brook
 
i think i know what to do now, i think with the remaining material, i'll make a partial tang design (like a japanese handle construction) and use a pin to connect them. i don't want to scrap the project because i'm a fairly new maker (about 4 years) and i don't get to use a lot of the material.

thanks for the advice, Brook
 
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