gearhartironwerks

Looks like a bruiser. Glad I'm not on the receiving end. Can't even imagine what its like to be in the zone and Have to use that blade. John

Really nice looking blade. Careful, it's a slippery slope to the dark side. John

No SS here. We have Pacific Machine and Tool Steel Co. in Portland that deals with O1, 5160, 1095, and 1065, and a host of other tool steels. A 9' piece of 3/16 x 1.5 of 1095 is $38.16. 1/4 x 1.5 x 20 of 1065 hr plow is $31.90 ea.

Good thing I don't live close to Aldo. My bank account would be lower than it is, and I'd have to make up some stories to she-who-writes-the checks. John

Ok, so step it up! We're all primed. No teasing... :) John

Ok, so here's my take on the process, and anyone, please feel free to add/subtract to it: I assume you are using a gas forge, and if so, you should have control of the heat. That being said, a thermocouple and a pid reader to manually control your forge will give you the welding temps needed to be successful. If you are using wrought iron for the cladding and a piece of carbon steel (1095) for your center, forge the wrought san mai at about 2325 deg. As the billet comes up to temp, rotate frequently, let it soak for 5-10 mins at that temp, then make your first pass with the hammer, either on the anvil, or under the power hammer. Reheat, then hammer again a little harder. Reheat, and draw out as a normal billet. Forge heat control is paramount to be consistent for welding. A few simple steps will pretty much guarantee success for all forge welding most damascus. Btw, you won't need flux for most welds. Mill scale is ok to not grind. Forge scale should be ground to shiny, but not necessarily every bit of it. Control your forge for success. John

I'm kind of on the fence when it comes to laser cutting blades. I fully understand the economic benefits for production runs. I use laser cutting in the shop for architectural, furniture, lighting etc whenever possible. I tend to think of knives though as a little more personal, and favor forging individual blades. I do wish you the best in your endeavor and will be anxious to see/hear the outcome. Thanks, John www.gearhartironwerks.com

I'm ok with the look either way. Both are appealing to me. My only concern would be the longevity of the oxide treatment unless it's baked on. There is a company in Portland,Or that does spray and baked on finishes for some of the big, high volume production makers. I haven't taken the owner up on his offer to try it but will one of these days. Question: I assume you are doing your oxide treatment in your shop? If so, will you please explain how you do it? thanks, John

Yep, that happens. If you order VSM belts (good deal) make sure they are going the direction of the arrow. Breaking belts test your heart rate. Grind on. John

I think Wayne Coe in Tenn may have described best as saying that if you don't want to make damascus, then don't make the first one. John

The handle and blade really hang well together. It's a beautiful piece. John

Greetings from the great Northwest, This is a short synopsis of some of my experience in welding damascus billets without the use of flux. Please feel free to add to, disagree with, or at least chime in and share your experience. Thanks for looking. John Emmerling Gearhart Ironwerks Gearhart, Oregon ---------------------------- Recently, there has been some discussion regarding flux-less Damascus welding. I thought I’d share some of my experience in doing so for the past several years. I first heard about the process from Tom Ferry, ABSMS, at an NWBA conference about 5-6 years ago. He said he hadn’t been using flux for the past 6 months or so at that time. I didn’t believe him, but thought if he could do it, so could I. I came home and tried to weld as usual, but had no luck after several tries. Frustrated, I went back to flux. Several years later I watched ABSMS, Bob Kramer weld without flux at a conference in a forge that no one thought could get hot enough to weld in, much less without flux. Bob had no thermocouple or pid reader to control the forge. It was amazing and I was hooked. I then began to research the process on-line and absorb everything I could find to have consistent results welding. What I have found is that forge temperature control is paramount to eliminating guesswork and will pretty much guarantee success in making clean welds. There is some expense involved, but not much. A pid reader and K type thermocouple capable of handling about 2375 deg F are the main components. Both can be had for under $80, less if you shop them around (ebay). MS John White used a hand held battery operated reader and a thermocouple at a demo at the Batson symposium last year. Mine is 120v. It would be best to stay away from the point and shoot infrared guns as they are not accurate when used in a forge. The type of forge, whether blown or venturi, doesn’t matter. What is important is that it has enough insulation and a good burner to get it up to welding temperature. I use a blown forge with a ribbon burner and a needle valve for gas control, which works well for me. I guesstimated a welding temp at 2325. John White welded at 2315. I don’t know what the lower end welding temp is as I haven’t taken the time to experiment. Obviously, lower would be better for the steel as grain growth is a product of temperature more so than time. Some smiths prefer to grind the mill scale and start with clean steel in the initial stack. I have done it both clean and without grinding and haven’t noticed a difference in the weld. Small amounts of rust don’t seem to make a difference either. Bob Kramer soaked his clean ground billet in kerosene (light viscosity) prior to putting it in the forge. The theory is that after the flash burns off, enough carbon is left between the layers to prevent oxidation thus making the weld easier. I use a power hammer rather than the hydraulic press as I seem to have a better feel for the steel. Also, the hammer creates heat thru friction as opposed to the press dies sucking out the heat from the billet. It’s just a matter of what one gets used to and what’s involved in the design. To start, I run the forge up to 2325 (with a rich atmosphere that has flames coming out the front) and let it stabilize at that temp, then put the billet in. You will notice a temp drop of over 100+ degrees immediately when the billet is inserted When the billet gets to temp after rotating every several minutes, I like to soak it for a few more minutes at temp, then go straight to the hammer to tap it together lightly on both sides. Then back into the forge to soak a few more minutes, and out to hammer a little harder. On the third pass, I hammer as normal to draw out the billet. My method is to ‘massage’ the pieces together at first rather than to use hard blows. I’ve read that some smiths simply hammer it out on the first pass at temp. Not liking to waste steel, I just take it easy at first. After watching Kramer, and not always using clean steel, I give it a little more forge time. That extra soak time may not be necessary, but it makes me feel good, and there aren’t many failures because of it. After the billet is drawn out, it’s important to clean off the forge scale prior to restacking and welding. The steel doesn’t need to be perfectly clean, but pretty much so. I cut my pieces to length and use a magnet to hold them against the platen of the belt grinder. A surface grinder is a great tool for this as well. The idea is to have little or no air space between the pieces for oxidation to take place. Another important factor is to never remove the billet from the forge once you start the welding process as oxidation will ruin the billet. In other words, don’t answer the phone. This is a somewhat abbreviated version of my methodology, but it’s fairly simple to achieve success in welding billets from flat stock without inclusions. John Emmerling Gearhart Ironwerks Gearhart,Or. www.gearhartironwerks.com fluxless welding 1.pdf

This reminds me of the song "Windmills of Your Mind" from the the movie "Thomas Crown Affair". Ok, I'm a little older... Great movie though. John

Great answer rhitee. Enough said. Btw, that's a terrific knife. Flux is a contaminant, ie, possible inclusions. If you have a controlled forge, there is no need for flux when welding flat bars. Welding cable is a different monster. You can get a clean and better weld with out flux, and it's a simple process. Research fluxless damascus welding. If you are having problems after having tried it, just post a request. John

I've found that either make great hammers...if you quench them in water. Should you quench with oil, you will be disappointed and end up with a beater hammer. I stopped tempering as well as both materials just don't get very hard. Our local welding shop used to straighten bent shafts as loggers are notorious for equipment abuse. They wouldn't do Cat shafts as they were too hard and wouldn't bend under the 100t press. The guys used to stand way off to the side when attempting to do so. My Saymak dies are 4140 and I've surface ground and re-hardened them twice in water with no temper and they still developed a saddle. Saymak went cheap and should've used s7 or h13. I went a few rounds with Grant Sarver and he finally admitted that larger sections of 4140 should be quenched in water. John

Awesome! I like the molten salt bath and the quench/straighten near the end. John

There is a marine grade clear coat used on brass fittings to prevent oxidation. Might be worth looking in to. John

Maybe it's time to make some ribbon burners and use a thermocouple/pid reader to control the heat. Seems kike you're spending a lot of time guesstimating. Fwiw. john

Michael, I have your book and understand the simplicity of your venturi burners for those beginning the process of forge building. However, the most efficient, economical burner is a blown ribbon burner...also home made. I have no vested interest in this type of burner and the design is available on the NWBA website tutorials or thru ABANA for free. That being said, I still use 2 venturi burners for my salt pot to ht treat knives. You did a good job on the book and I congratulate you on helping the smithing community. John www.gearhartironwerks.com

The average man in America lives to be 76-78 yrs old. Hook a tape measure on the end of a table and draw it out. Then, point to your age on the tape. Look at the numbers where you've been and then ask yourself how many Saturdays you have left, and how you want to spend them. It's sobering. John

Canada...It's cold up there. The Oregon coast is much better, even in winter. Book the flight. I'll put you up. John

FTC, You're in deep doo doo now. Welcome to the dark side! You should've never made the first damascus blade...Addiction ++++ Also, we expect more. Not to put any pressure on, but... john

Really nice looking blade and damascus. John

That's a really nice knife. I'm not a great fan of Bowies, but you did a terrific job. Rustic forged work appeals to me. Thanks, John

It's a nice video, but why use flux? With a controlled forge running at 2315-2325 deg, there is no need for flux. Flux is a contaminant that often results in inclusions later on. Just my opinion. Fwiw. John