How To Make Damascus Steel Patterns

How to make basic patterns. Take a look at these finished pieces below to see how the reptilian pattern transforms.

Claudio Sobral CAS Fighter 8.5" Damascus Feather blade

16 inches custom hand made damascus steel integral khukri knife.

How to make damascus steel patterns. Both types of damascened steel show complex patterns on the surface, which are the result of internal structural elements in the steel. Feathering is created by welding several pieces of steel together creating a single billet, making sure to weld the edges to form the important “w” in the steel layers. Top of herringbone stainless damascus block.

Usually i start with bars 12 to 18 inches long and 1 inch wide and thicknesses range from 1/32 to 1/4 inches thick depending on various factors. Damascus steel was originally a unique forging technique utilized by middle eastern and near east swordsmiths. It looks like it’s been carved intentionally so that it’ll create a significant pattern, but actually it’s a natural phenomenon that happens when two or more different types of metals are forged together.

However, only when acid etching or laser etching is done exclusively on cheaper blades, such as stainless steel or carbon steel, without the layering or smelting of steel, is the damascus knife considered fake. The steel can be drawn out using ﬂat or drawing dies and taking “bites” at the billet. If the pattern names sound too delicate for the nature of the business, there are other options too.

The heating treatment for damascus steel involves a preset temperature between 1,500f and 2,000f, depending on the banding, and a mixture of both cementite and austerntite. It’s a forging procedure where several irons and metals are cast together by hammering them at high temperatures, producing the famous watery effects on the modern damascus steel. Essentially you forge weld 2 contrasting types of steel (i used 15n20 and 75ni8) then manipulate it to make a pattern.

Damasteel has patterns called thor, odins eye, loki, bifrost and bluetongue. Aside from being beautiful, damascus steel was valued because it maintained a keen edge, yet was hard and flexible. Damascus steel is a famed type of steel recognizable by the watery or wavy light and dark pattern of the metal.

In specialized damascus patterns, such as radials or jellyrolls, far fewer layers are needed. My billet layers are 6x1x3/4 this equals 12 square inches per layer, multiply this by 5 and you get 60. Using two alternating types of stainless steel, our master craftsman heat, bond, twist and fold the metal layers together to produce vivid patterns.

This combination is heated to a spacific shade of red,then hammered until the two steels are melded together.then the resultant bar is folded,heated and hammered again,this heating and folding process goes on until there maybe several hundred layers. Heat through its cycle to its starting temperature. Swords made of damascus steel soon became popular legends that spread throughout the world.

For a pattern welded damascus blade, you simply need two pieces of steel that contrast each other strongly when etched, yet heat treat pretty similarly. Damascus steel’s patterns vary depending on how an artisan works with the billet. The first thing i want to say is this is what works in my shop for me.

Subtract 24 for the two outer surfaces and i have 48 square inches of surface to prep on my billets. I'm not going to cover how to make damascus steel, there's lots of information online and it's pretty simple. Set metal block in the furnace.

As the name suggest, vegas forge’s reptilian damascus patterns resemble scaley, rippling reptile skin. You will recognize damascus steel by its beautiful swirling patterns on the blade. The layer counts are only a starting point and you may find that you prefer more or less.

Notes on pattern welded steel by matt walker i want to give here an over view of how i make damascus steel along with some opinions and ideas. I grind the edges clean and free from mill scale, to improve the bond when welding, and then stack the steels alternating color type to about 1 1/4 inches tall. Here we have a custom hand made damascus steel integral khukri knife with different kind of shape.over all length is 16 inches blade length is 10.00 inches and the handle length is 06.00 inches,handle is made of rose wood block, blade with a fire pattern.

While there are numerous patterns made in a variety of ways, here are five of the distinctive patterns commonly seen in damascus steel: Damascus steel is made from several types of steel welded together to form a billet. Pattern welded damascus steel is produced by combining alternating lengths of high carbon steel with mild tool steel.

The damascus billet is extended and folded until the desired number of layers is formed. We make damascus steel rings by hand, mimicking ancient metalsmithing techniques originally used to make samurai swords. Or consider snakeskin, razor wire and fireball from devin thomas.

This is not true, as both authentic wootz steel and real pattern welded damascus steel blades undergo acid etching treatment after polishing to make the damascus folds and patterns more visible. How to make damascus steel one of the many reasons why people love having damascus steel is the uniqueness of its design. Click the images to enlarge.

Depending on the way you work up your project, that resemblance can be magnified or diminished. Making damascus is almost a faith based pursuit and some people may disagree with my methods. One of the most distinctive and intricate patterns of damascus steel is the feathered pattern.

What they all have in common is a quality of beauty. Using a press is a very practical way to make damascus although not the fastest. The most common pair of steels is 1085 and 15n20, these steels will create a pretty good knife with a nice visible pattern.

This also equates to lesser surface area to be contaminated or decarburized before the first weld. I did a simple twist as i like the way it looks. Then etch it to make the pattern visible.

See more ideas about damascus, damascus steel, knife making. Weapons made from damascus steel were vastly superior to weapons formed from iron!

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