Julian A-L

Thank you very much Steve, that's exactly what I wanted to know. I'd considerd 15n20, but discounted it for exactly the reason thomas stated. I'll start hunting for some A203E immediately.

Ah, sorry. That was a typo. Not sure how I managed to confuse those. I'll definitely look at getting some wrought iron then. Is there a specific nickle steel alloy that I could pair with it, or does it contrast enough with mild steel that i can just use that?

Ah, I misunderstood. I thought you were saying you could get premade billets of welded nickel/blades/strapping. I'll definitely look into Real Wrought Iron Co. Do I need to treat cast iron differently from steel during the welding process?

And I could source that kind of billet from a machine shop? Does it have a name I could use to search for it?

Thanks for responding! No I haven't, but it looks like an interesting read. I can look into purchasing pure nickel, but I've never worked with it before, so I don't really know it's quirks. I think I'de prefer to stick with what I know for my first attempt at damascus, so could you suggest any bright steel alloys? Also, if you have the names of any good manganese steel alloys that would be very helpful. When you say "Real wrought iron" do you mean straight non-carbon iron? I'm using ferric chloride and water. Btw, I probably should have mentioned that I'm using a coal forge.

Hi there, forums! This'll be my first post on this site, so please let me know if I'm putting this topic in the wrong place. I'm an aspiring artist blacksmith who's currently studying abroad at the Duncan Of Jordanstone College of Art and Design, in Dundee. I've never made damascus before, but I've decided I'd like to start experimenting with mosaic patterns. Unfortunately, I'm not terribly knowledgable about steel alloys, and I don't know what steels I should be purchasing for low-carbon decorative damascus, since all the information I've found has been in the context of bladesmithing. On top of that, I don't really know any of the metal suppliers in the UK. I'm hoping someone can answer me these questions: 1: What alloys would you recommend for welding with mild steel? I'm new to damascus so I would prefer to work with something forgiving. 2: Who would supply such an alloy in Scotland, preferably via delivery? 3: What kind of flux would you recommend? I currently have access to a bronze soldering flux that does the job, but is it worth purchasing something specifically intended for steel? Thanks in advance to anyone who responds! I'me really excited to get started on this.