Self inflicted Damascus Flaws

[HEAP of JEEP]

I knew when I did it, that it was a lost cause, but I decided to finish it anyways... I was trying some new ideas and techniques, and ground the channels for the dog star pattern to deep.  The blade got to thin to finish grinding them out, so now I've got some nice permanent cracks running down the bevels.  They don't go all the way through the blade, so I don't think it will be a major problem, but it sure is a lousy feeling to know that it was my own fault for creating a pretty major flaw on an otherwise pretty cool knife.  Lesson learned though, so yet another mistake I won't be making again. LOL

 

[JME1149]

That is a shame, I really like the pattern though and overall have to say it looks good, flaws and all

[gearhartironwerks]

I feel for you...it happens. But the good thing is that you learned what not to do. That's a good day.

John

[Charles R. Stevens]

I would agree, the "raw edge" looks interesting, and I image as a kitchen knife it might have a long life. 

[JPH]

Hello:

Hope no one minds... I have a couple years and a bit's worth of experience doing this sorta thing but they do not look like cracks to me...at least not the ones on the bevels..what they look like is either cold shuts or weld shearing..both of which is due to improper working temps. I have found that if you work these two steels at a near welding heat you will prevent the weld shearing problems..just make sure you normalize properly afterwards due to grain growth concerns...

Hope this helps

JPH

[HEAP of JEEP]

12 hours ago, JPH said:

Hello:

Hope no one minds... I have a couple years and a bit's worth of experience doing this sorta thing but they do not look like cracks to me...at least not the ones on the bevels..what they look like is either cold shuts or weld shearing..both of which is due to improper working temps. I have found that if you work these two steels at a near welding heat you will prevent the weld shearing problems..just make sure you normalize properly afterwards due to grain growth concerns...

Hope this helps

JPH

"hope no one minds" lol... Advice from JPH is like liquid gold.  We all crave it.  BUT... I do know how they came about... it was by my own hand, trying to speed up the process of filing in the groves for the dog star pattern.  I usually do it by hand, but this time, me being me, I said, "An angle grinder will speed things up a lot!"  and it sure did... it sped things up so much that i cut them way too deep.  When I went to hammer everything flat, I knew I was in trouble.  I couldn't take the blade any thinner, but some of the grooves were still present, and I'd have to take the blade down, paper thin, to get them completely out.  So, I don't know what the term is, but they aren't weld shearing... maybe "cold shut" would be proper... but the most accurate would be, "Bone headed move by a novice"

[JPH]

The reason why I am saying  this is a weld shear is the fact that the "cracks" extend  around the edge and through to the other side of the blade more of less following a lamination.... At least that it what it looks like from the photo.  If I could see it first had I would be able to tell for sure but going off of the photos that is what it looks like to me. The thinner the cross section the faster you loose heat and you can easily get weld shears once the temp drops and you start to "push" it..

For the record..when I do any of my SM patterns I usually use an angle grinder..it is a lot faster and offers a good deal of control as you can vary the depth of the cut., Nothing wrong with using one..

JPH

[Daswulf]

Well, cool pattern anyway. Mail it to me for proper disposal. 

[gearhartironwerks]

Another suggestion would be to buy a pid reader and thermocouple to manually control your forge temp. Weld at 2315-2330 deg and forge at slightly under those temps. Soak time is also important for consistent results.

John

[Kozzy]

Consider it one of those happy mistakes.  That raw edge look matching with the damascus is really attractive and I think the design would sell at a premium.  Resolve the structural issues in the next one and you've got a gem of a "trademark" (used loosely) to make your knives stand out.

[HEAP of JEEP]

2 hours ago, Kozzy said:

Consider it one of those happy mistakes.  That raw edge look matching with the damascus is really attractive and I think the design would sell at a premium.  Resolve the structural issues in the next one and you've got a gem of a "trademark" (used loosely) to make your knives stand out.

Starting the next one tonight, and think I have all of my issues sorted out.  The person I made this one for originally is paying for his sons wedding so he doesn't actually want it now for a couple of months, so that gives me time to make him a better one.  The one I'm starting tonight, I was given pretty much free range, so I will try this pattern and style again, and hopefully with some minor tweaks to my technique, I should be able to nail it.

[WOLFJOHN]

Actually, I like it! I for one can tell you I've had a dump truck load of "whoops" and mostly inclusions of some sort too. Just keep doing it!! 

[HEAP of JEEP]

3 minutes ago, WOLFJOHN said:

Actually, I like it! I for one can tell you I've had a dump truck load of "whoops" and mostly inclusions of some sort too. Just keep doing it!! 

Thank you, sir.  I get plenty of "whoops" myself... I just really hate the ones that are self inflicted because I was trying to rush things.

[Frosty]

Learning a demanding craft is a long term exercise in failure analysis and you've gotten as good analysis of what went wrong as you're going to. Making mistakes is a GOOD thing, it means you're learning.

Beautiful pattern and profile by the way, the next will blow it away.

Frosty The Lucky.