Wrought iron in complex billets: quench problems?

L

Leon Husock

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Jul 17, 2019
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I'd like to make a multi-bar billet with several different bars twisted together, including a wrought iron one. My concern is that it's going to end up tearing itself apart in the quench. Does anyone have any experience with this?
 
You didn't tell us the steels you plan on using, so it is a bit hard to give a good answer.

If the welds are truly solid, you should be OK. Use the lowest quench temperature that will work, a sufficient soak time, and the slowest quenchant that will still harden the edge steel.

If really worried, then try a clay coated spine as you would for a hamon.
 
Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith said:
You didn't tell us the steels you plan on using, so it is a bit hard to give a good answer.
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Ah, sorry! It's because it's a very hypothetical idea in my mind so far. Off the top of my head I was thinking one bar of 52100 ball-bearing canister damascus with 2% nickel 1080 powder, one bar of medium to high-layer random pattern in 15n20/1084, one bar of wrought, and one bar of low layer twist damascus. Stack them up four ways like a checker board with a thin piece of pure nickel sheet between them and twist. The goal would be a barber pole type pattern with each stripe being one of the four bars separated from each other by the nickel. My concern is mostly that the wrought being so integrated into the billet, as opposed to cladding or a bar that's only on the spine, will cause problems.
 
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