Rabbits, amid their passion for dietary meat, are becoming more ...
welcome all brain craftsmen! After almost a year of "communication" with a rock and a hard place, I finally acquired the necessary experience and tools to create forged crafts, such as a small "Damascus" knife from this brain articles.
And I started, by the way, with a small sledgehammer as an anvil, which I hit with a small hammer.
Now we are talking about creating a small, forged, not carved, knife with your own hands using a homemade forge, anvil, hammer and determination. I do not pretend to be a professional, and this, of course, is not the only way to get welded damask, this is a story about how I managed to make it.
Damascus steel today is called welded Damascus, obtained from welded metal plates of various brainsteel, subsequently hammered and twisted. It's like sticking together different colors of plasticine and twisting it to create a wavy pattern. After forging, such a workpiece is subjected to pickling, in which the dissimilar metals of the workpiece are eroded unevenly, thereby forming a beautiful contrast. The original Damascus steel is obtained in a different, very specific way (although it looks like modern Damascus), and few people know how to create it, this fact has created a reputation for Damascus as a metal, supposedly endowed with magical powers. And the reason for this "strength", which is similar for samurai swords, is a process that allows you to get more homogeneous, and therefore with the necessary qualities, steel, which cannot be achieved by other methods, and makes it possible to include low-quality and high / low carbon steel in the workpiece. Which gives a much better quality blade.
ATTENTION!! A knife can be dangerous, please do not give it to people with mental disorders !!!
Step 1: materials and tools
- steel plates of two or more grades (preferably high carbon content) that will contrast with each other, I have taken high carbon 1095 steel and 15n20 steel, with a small nickel content, which will add brightness and contrast after etching
- flux (borax, which can be purchased at the hardware store)
- a piece of reinforcement, a long bar (will be welded to the workpiece as a handle)
- wood of your choice for the knife handle
- epoxy resin (hardening in 5 minutes is the very thing)
- brass rivets
- composition for processing wood of the handle, I used linseed oil
- metal hardening oil (vegetable)
- ferric chloride
- an anvil (preferably a real steel anvil, although in the absence of one, some other solid objects will do: a piece of rail, a sledgehammer, a large metal blank, an old mooring post "bollard", or just a large solid, solid and level surface. Remember how it all started with blows with a stone on a large stone)
- hammer (I used a weight of 1.3 kg, with a transverse firing pin)
- ticks
- welding (optional, but desirable for welding the plates to each other and welding the handle, if you do not have welding, then you can tightly wrap the plates with wire)
- forging forge (capable of heating the workpiece to the temperatures required for forging, which is very important for high-quality fusion of the plates with each other, more on this later)
- belt sander or file with a mountain of patience
- oven or other way of hardening
- drill or drilling machine
- vise (very useful thing)
Step 2: Assembling the workpiece
Steel plates are cut to the desired brain size, mine for example 7.6x1.2cm; however, the larger the workpiece, the more difficult it is to shape it with a hammer. Before they are welded into a stack, the plates are cleaned from all sides of rust and scale. Then the plates are stacked in a pile, alternating steel grades, so my workpiece consisted of 7 plates, three of which are 15n20, and four - 1095.
The plates aligned relative to each other are tacked by welding (do not pay much attention to my seam), and then a handle is welded to the stack to make it easier to handle the workpiece during forging. There is nothing wrong, especially after the stack of plates has been welded, in using only pliers. I forged mine anyway.
Step 3: Forge the first stack
A little about my forge: it's made do it yourself from an empty (specially bought a new one for precaution) gas cylinder, inside it is lined with a 5 cm layer of kaolin wool and refractory cement. It is heated with a Ron-Reil burner, about which there are many good brainworms... The forge itself is not very large and heats up to the desired temperature without any problems.
So, the workpiece from the plates is heated to a cherry-red color, the heat for this is not very strong. Heated workpiece homemade brown, which immediately begins to melt and must be allowed to seep between the plates. This will remove the scale and prevent oxidation by preventing oxygen from contacting the metal. This action will keep the workpiece metal clean.
Then the workpiece is reheated in the furnace and the procedure is repeated a couple more times, remembering to clean the scale if necessary. And after that, the workpiece is heated to the forging temperature, how much I cannot say for sure, but I think, somewhere in the region of 1260-1315 degrees Celsius. At this temperature, the workpiece will have a very bright yellow-orange color, roughly like moderate daylight.
To avoid wasting time, make sure that the anvil and hammer are close at hand and there is enough free work space.
Then the workpiece is quickly placed on the anvil and with light, soft blows, evenly over the entire area, the plates begin to squash together. Then the workpiece is again placed in the forge and heated to the forging temperature, and then forged with medium-force blows.
And after that, the workpiece is pulled out so that it can be bent.
Step 4: fold the workpiece
It's time to increase the number brain layers in the workpiece. To do this, the workpiece is forged to a length twice the original, but it is important to stretch it evenly, and not just stretch it. In the middle of the stretched workpiece, a transverse groove 3/4 or 4/5 in thickness is made on a sweep, chisel or other suitable method, along which the workpiece is then folded in half at the edge of the anvil, turned over and forged along its entire length, while making sure that the halves are not moved relative to each other along the side edges.
Then the heating / forging process from the previous step is repeated: flux, heating, cooling, heating, forging, forging. The procedure for increasing the number of layers is repeated until the required number of these layers, so I folded it 4 times and got 112 layers. (If you want more layers, please, the pattern will turn out smaller. The formula for calculating the layers is as follows: the initial number * 2 in the power of the number of folds, that is, 7 * 2 ^ 4 \u003d 112).
Next, the billet heated to the forging temperature homemade is placed in the groove of the anvil, twisted well, and then it is again given a rectangular shape. But before twisting, the workpiece is punched through the corners in order to make its shape more rounded, because when twisting and reverse forging into a rectangular workpiece, inclusions and impurities from the resulting folds can form if the temperature of the workpiece is less than forging.
Thereafter brain preparation it is forged again (I repeated it several times), and is cooled, and to make sure that the forging is uniform, I cleaned one of the ends of the workpiece. During the forging itself, especially at the first stage, it is important to keep the temperature of the workpiece high and be careful, otherwise you can tear the layers apart (otherwise it is called delamination, which is not good at all).
Step 5: model and rough shaping
Now you need to imagine the profile of the future knife and roughly forge it from the workpiece. The more accurately you can forge the profile and bevel, the less you have to mess around with grinding (on a machine or file). There are many brainworms more experienced blacksmiths, so I will not go into details. The bottom line is that the workpiece behaves approximately like plasticine, when it is heated, you need to punch it in the right direction.
Step 6: sanding the profile
The final shaping of the profile is carried out with a grinder and a file. Stock up on tea, because it will most likely take a long time, unless of course you have a grinding brainworm.
Step 7: Sanding, Sanding, Sanding ... and Reflecting on the Meaning of Life
Step 8: finished profile
After profile crafts formed, it still needs to be finalized with a file with a finer grain, I used 400s. The edge of the blade is sharpened almost, but not completely, it is necessary to leave it slightly not sharpened so that the material of the edge does not deform during hardening. After that, holes for riveting are drilled in the knife handle and wooden dies for this handle are prepared.
Step 9: thrilling moment
Hardening.
It will either "create" your blade or destroy it. It is important to concentrate and be careful, otherwise the blade can be deformed and destroyed. The method I used is not the most thorough method brain-hardeningbut it was the only one available to me with the tools I had, and the oil was the best I could get.
Before hardening, the blade must be normalized. This will remove the stresses accumulated during forging and twisting and reduce the chance of warping during quenching. This normalization is done by heating the blade above its critical temperature (when it is no longer magnetized, so it is useful to have a magnet on hand) and air cooling. The process is repeated three to five times, so I did it 5 times. In addition, this action will help you practice removing the blade from the forge, because no hitching is allowed during hardening. This action is shown in the photo with my dangling knife. And this part is cool in that during cooling, oxidation occurs, which begins to reveal the pattern of steel.
Hardening: the blade is heated again above the critical temperature, and then quickly removed and placed, first of all with a sharp point, in warm vegetable oil (for such brands brainsteel like mine). To heat the oil itself, you can simply heat something metal and throw it into a container of oil, for example, I used a crutch for sleepers. Stir the oil for a smoother hardening. If your steel is high carbon, then do not use water for hardening, it will only ruin the blade, because water cools too quickly, which is not suitable for high carbon steel.
FROM under the tree now you should treat it like glass because if the blade has been hardened correctly it is so brittle that it could crack if dropped.
After that, it is the turn of the vacation.
Step 10: metal tempering
Tempering is the process of hardening a blade to increase its life and strength. This is achieved by heating the blade at a certain controlled temperature. Leave your brainwashing I spent in the oven for an hour at 205 degrees Celsius. “We bake” until the display shows “ready”.
Step 11: etching
I apologize in advance for not having a photo of this and the next steps, but the process is quite simple. Ferric chloride is prepared according to the attached brain instructions, and then the blade is held in it, as long as indicated in the same instructions. In my case, this is 3 parts of water for 1 part of ferric chloride, and aging for 3-5 minutes. The process is really exciting, and its result looks like it's a Batman knife.
Step 12: handle and sharpen
Again, there are many techniques and instructions on how to how to do handle the knife and sharpen it, so I can do without brain details... I will only say that for my crafts I chose cherry dies, which I glued to the knife handle with epoxy glue and fixed with two brass rivets. I sanded it with 400 grains and covered it with linseed oil.
For sharpening, I do not use any special, demanding method, but mainly use an ordinary sharpening stone.
Step 13: It's time to pat yourself on the back, the knife is ready ...
This is my finished knife, about 15cm long. People might find this quite funny, but I have no idea how this fancy pattern came about.
Thank you for brainwave, I hope this is useful to someone!
There are many opinions about Damascus steel. Someone assures that her recipe is lost. And when you say that it is Damascus steel, they look with a smile and leave. Others have heard little about it at all, and ask ridiculous questions "How is this drawn?" or "Why isn't the blade polished?"
Of course, in fairness, it should be noted that from year to year there are fewer and fewer ignorant people (especially in Moscow). As soon as a person works with a knife made of quality Damascus once, he will never acquire a knife from any other steel.
In terms of cutting properties, high-quality Damascus steel surpasses steel of other grades (be it 65X13, 440C, 95X18) several times. Its only drawback is that it rusts. Therefore, she needs constant care. I worked with a knife - wiped it dry, smeared it with neutral oil or fat and removed. If suddenly rusty spots appear on the steel, they need to be removed with very fine sandpaper with oil or, better, kerosene. In principle, caring for such a knife is no more than a gun with non-chrome barrel bores. All troubles are compensated by excellent cutting properties (which cannot be compared with any stainless steel: both domestic and imported). Let us examine what is the secret of the cutting properties of Damascus steel. Firstly, in the manufacturing technology. Damascus is made as follows. It is the result of a lengthy manual process. Several types of steels (both hard and soft) are taken as a basis, which are assembled in a certain sequence to form a package (we do not name steel grades, since the secret of good Damascus steel lies precisely in the correct selection and proportions of various metals). A prerequisite is that they take more hard steels than soft ones. The steel bag is placed in the forge and heated to the forging temperature. After that, special additives are applied to prevent the formation of oxides that prevent plates of different types from welding together. Next, the bag is punched several times with a hammer and sent to the forge for warming up for welding. As soon as the bag is warmed up, it settles under the hammer, then it is sent back to the forge and warmed up for subsequent pulling. When the plate is welded and shaped to size, it is reheated and chopped into the required number of plates, which are stripped of oxide and collected in a bag. The whole process is repeated from the beginning. The number of repetitions of the process is proportional to the quality of the product, according to the order. After the welding process, and there can be from three to ten of them, the plate is forged to the required blade size. Then the steel is normalized and the billet goes into further work. The steel obtained in this way is characterized by increased strength, excellent cutting properties and beauty. Damascus LLC "Russian Bulat" has 400 layers of metal and more. As a result of the process, a unique pattern appears, as inimitable as fingerprints.
Sometimes at exhibitions one hears that a purchased knife made of Damascus steel quickly became dull. The answer is simple. Either a person bought a damask (ie stainless steel 65X13, 95X18 etched in a special way), or he bought damascus, welded from soft metals. Such metal is much easier and faster to weld. It is almost impossible to visually distinguish it from high-quality Damascus. Soft damascus used to be used for the manufacture of guns, because for these purposes, toughness was required and the cutting properties of the metal were not needed. A knife made of soft Damascus (no matter how beautiful its drawing is!), Cuts worse than any knife made of stainless steel. When you try to harden such a knife, no matter how hard you try, it is often not harder than 48 units. HRC. The knife of the firm "Russian Bulat" has a hardness of at least 60 units. HRC (and usually 62-64 HRC units). Some believe that a knife at 64 units. HRC is being made fragile.
This is validly applicable to homogeneous steels (U10, 95X18), but in no way applies to properly shackled Damascus. This, of course, does not mean that a knife with a hardness of 64 units. HRC can be bent into a ring! But with limited contact with bones (when cutting an animal), as well as with small chopping blows, such a combination of hardness and elasticity is quite enough. Good blade steel should be not only tough, but elastic as well. Let's answer the question: "How is the knife blunt?" This happens in two ways. If you look at the cutting edge of a blunt knife under a microscope, you can see two situations:
The cutting edge is bent. (This indicates that the steel is too soft);
The cutting edge has broken off. (This indicates that the steel is too tough.)
On the hunt, I had to observe the work of a knife made of 95X18 steel. The owner assured that he bought a knife for decent money from one of the famous craftsmen (The knife was touted when selling: hardness 70 HRC units, steel taken from a wreckage of a spaceship, laser sharpening, etc.). But when the hunt came to an end, the elk was taken, the owner of the "wonderful knife" approaches the huntsman and offers to work with the knife. After about five minutes, the huntsman politely returns the knife, and advises you to buy something better (they say, such a knife will only do lard and cut sausage!). The owner takes offense and tries to butcher the beast himself.
He is surprised to notice that the knife is sliding, not cutting…. And the reason is as follows. The knife was indeed hardened to the ultimate hardness. Steel 95X18 is not particularly flexible anyway, and when hardened over 60 units. HRC generally loses all elasticity. In this case, when starting work, the cutting edge simply broke off. And visually it is not noticeable. When you try to sharpen the knife again, everything is repeated. Often the cutting edge breaks off during the sharpening process, so a paradox turns out: you sharpen the blade, the blade grinds, but the knife is still dull!
The situation is different with mild steel. For example, 40X13. The cutting edge is bent when such a knife is dull. It is possible to cut with such a knife, if you keep a stone for dressing with you - I worked a little, scrabbled on the stone, worked again, scuffed again. This is undoubtedly better than the first case!
From stainless steel, the optimal grade is 65X13. Although it is far from high-quality Damascus. This steel grade is often called medical steel. The terms "medical", "military", "space" act magically on people brought up in the Soviet Union. 65X13 is a good steel for knives. But the term "medical" is hardly applicable to her. Firstly, scalpels from steel 65X13 began to be produced only in the late 80s, and before that they used carbon steel U8, U10, coated with chromium.
Secondly, the tasks of the surgeon, who during the operation makes very minor cuts, and the hunter, butchering a moose or bear, are completely different. In addition, the medical scalpel is not reused for operations (Soon scalpels with disposable removable blades appeared). Therefore, the term "medical" steel is not binding yet. Although we have been using this steel for inexpensive models for a long time.
Let's go back to the damascus knives. These knives, made by "Russian Bulat", were tested by hunters in different parts of the country. In 99% - a positive assessment of the work of the knife is given. 1% - are people who use a knife for other purposes. (For example, there was a mister who tried to cut the tractor valve with a knife, another, with a fair amount of drinking, threw a knife into a tree, etc.). According to the reviews of various hunters, two moose in a row were stripped and butchered with a knife without additional sharpening; five small boars; large cleft; a few beavers. Maslennikov V.S. I personally tried to remove the skin from two moose with a knife from one sharpening (the knife then continued to cut!). If you look under magnification at the cutting edge of a Damascus knife after cutting an elk, you will see a micro-saw. It turned out due to the fact that the soft steels were slightly crumpled, while the hard ones remained sharp due to the additionally acquired viscosity during the forging process. Therefore, when we look at the cutting edge of the knife after prolonged work, the blade shines in places and it seems that the knife is dull, and when we start cutting, it turns out that the knife cuts no worse than a new one! Even when the Damascus knife is completely dull, it is enough to carefully correct it with a sharpening stone to restore cutting properties. This is where the effect of straightening the soft parts of the cutting edge comes into play. After prolonged work, in a winter hut or at a hunting base, the knife must be wiped, the cutting edge must be adjusted on a good stone, greased with oil and put into a cover.
The question that interests many "What is better: Damascus or Damask?" What is Damascus and what is Damascus? Steel prepared from plates in the forge welding process is called "Damascus". Steel, melted in a crucible and cooled in a special way, is usually called "bulat". There is also an intermediate technology where cast plates are mixed with other steels by forging. From a consumer point of view, good damascus and good damask are one and the same. The same hardness, the same micro-saw effect, is also easily sharpened ... Bad Damascus and Bad Damascus - the same are identical: neither one nor the other will cut! In order not to buy a bad knife, you need to purchase a knife from a well-known company with a quality guarantee.
Now there are many different individual entrepreneurs and new firms that have recently been producing knives. Previously, the organizers of these firms were involved in everything except metalworking; and absolutely do not understand metals. They do not have the necessary production base, they do not make blades, but buy up where it is cheaper…. When buying a knife from such firms, it is difficult to hope that it will last a long time (although there are no rules without exceptions). Although the prices of many individual entrepreneurs for Damascus knives are quite low (from 900 rubles to 1500 rubles). When purchasing a knife, it should be remembered that, subject to the technological process, a knife made of Damascus steel will cost from 2000 rubles. up to 3500 rubles. When tempted by cheaper knives, you run the risk of remembering the proverb: “A miser pays twice!” Cast damask steel in production is somewhat more expensive than Damascus. Question: "Why does one and the same company have one Damascus knife worth 3000 rubles and another 300 $?" End damascus is used on expensive knives. What is this, "butt Damascus blade"?
Take two, three or four plates of different patterns, layers and properties of Damascus. They are welded to each other along the height of the blade and follow the contour of the cutting edge. What does it do?
This gives beauty to the product (due to beautifully selected three or four drawings);
Allows to put a very hard damascus with a large amount of hard metal on the cutting edge, soft damascus is used on the butt of the blade (the same one from which the gun barrels were made). By combining these damasks, the strength of the knife is increased. The cutting properties of such a blade (albeit not much) increase.
The main effect of the end damascus is beauty and unique handiwork. The best specialist in end damascus in Russia is Mr. Arkhangelsky and his daughter, Maria. Their prices, of course, are much higher. One more question has to be answered: "How many layers does your damascus contain?" For ourselves, we have determined the optimal ratio of price and quality - 400 layers. Even a specialist cannot visually determine the number of layers. Typically, blacksmiths know how many layers they have forged. A record is kept for each batch of Damascus…. From buyers at the exhibition you hear: "You have 400 layers of Damascus, and your neighbors have 600 layers!" It is important to remember: depending on what to layer. You can forge Damascus in 600 layers of nails and it will be worse than Damascus, which has 200 layers of good metal. And one more thing: when forging, above 400 layers, it is required to change the production process (it is necessary to additionally saturate the metal with carbon, since carbon burns out during heating), which significantly increases the cost of the workpiece (and, accordingly, the knife). If you forge a knife in 1000 layers as well as in 400 layers, then whatever metal you take, it will look like metal from cans. But if you approach this seriously, observing the technology, then a knife made of 1000-1500-layer Damascus will be better than a 400-layer one, but its cost should be at least $ 200.
They often ask: "Which damascus is better: with a longitudinal pattern or with a transverse twisted?" From a consumer point of view, it doesn't matter. Like mosaic damasks. In terms of performance, only some types of end damascus may differ. Often, mosaic damasks are inferior in cutting properties to ordinary ones. Because often, in pursuit of the pattern, little attention is paid to the cutting properties of the metal.
A question often asked at exhibitions: "Does your knife cut nails?" Of course, it is not very clear why people should chop nails with a knife ?! Maybe they are associated with this occupation by the nature of their work or have mental deviations ... But we will try to answer this question. Let's say right away that chopping nails is not such a big problem! A knife made of any steel with a hardness of 50 units. HRC on the working part will cut the nail. It is only necessary to change it a little structurally: the thickness of the blade in the cutting part must be at least 1 mm (better is thicker), and the sharpening angle must be at least 45 degrees (better is more). Order such a knife and you can chop all the nails you want! Remember that the hardness of the nail is much lower than the hardness of a knife (even from mediocre steel), it's all about the design of the blade. For Damascus steel, when cutting nails, the thickness of the working part can be made less than 1 mm (up to 0.6 mm), the angle can also be less. There are knives that cut paper, then cut the nail (hitting the butt with a hammer) and then the knife can cut the paper again (though a little worse). In general, if you want to check the quality of the blade on the nail, it is not necessary to cut it. It is enough to cut the nail or make small notches on it. Any knife made of good Damascus steel will withstand this operation without any problems. We do not take into account knives with a very thin working part from 0.1 m and thinner (for example, fillet knives and the Uzbek knife). And yet, we do not recommend doing such experiments with knives, because we believe that an adult does not buy a knife for this.
Of course, if in an extreme situation, you have to use a knife for cutting nails, rope or thick wire - that's another matter. You don't need to do this unless you need it. There are other tools for this (for example: chisels, metal nippers) that are much cheaper than a good knife. With such constant experiments, especially if the cut objects turn out to be hot, your knife will still break. Our company produces knives for hunters, fishermen, tourists, for lovers of long hikes. The knife can open cans without any problems, it is easy for them to cut the carcass of a large animal (elk, bear) without sharpening, when working on planing wood, it keeps sharpening for several days in a row. They can process several tens of kilograms of fish. It is for these purposes that the firm "Russian Bulat" produces knives. If the knife is used for its intended purpose, the company gives a 10-year guarantee for the blade! Since our company is already 13 years old, and during this time there were practically no complaints about blades from our Damascus. If a person buys a knife for chopping nails, throwing into a tree and all kinds of experiments, then it is better to contact some other company. True, as practice shows, if a person decided to break a knife, he will still break it, wherever and from what steel the knife is made! But this is already a sign of insanity.
We wish all readers of this article a good shopping and successful hunting!
The material was prepared by VS Maslennikov, General Director of Russian Bulat LLC.
Damascus steel can be called a rather unusual metal. To make it, the blacksmith must have a lot of experience. Damascus steel is characterized by the fact that the structure is heterogeneous over the entire surface. The resulting patterns look quite attractive, and therefore the material is used in the manufacture of various decorative items, for example, collection knives. This metal has a lot of features, which we will discuss in detail below.
Refined steel
A type of Damascus can be called refined steel... Considering how to make Damascus steel, we note that in this case, a homogeneous block of metal is taken as a blank for forge welding. Among the features, we note the following points:
Almost all of Damascus until the 18th century was represented by refined steel. A common misconception is that when making Japanese samurai blades similar metal was used.
Welding Damascus
Experienced blacksmiths, by combining blanks with different concentrations of carbon, were able to obtain a material that has exceptional performance.
Advantages and disadvantages
Among the features of the welding damascus are:
The main disadvantage of such a metal is its low corrosion resistance. The almost complete absence of alloying elements in the composition and a high concentration of carbon causes corrosion on the metal surface.
The metal in question can be recognized by its unusual pattern on the surface. This optical effect is due to the uneven distribution of carbon in the structure. In order to improve the decorative qualities of the product, quite often the surface is subjected to additional polishing and etching. Today, many people use Damascus because of the interesting optical effect, but in the past, special performance was more appreciated.
Cast damask
The Persian-Indian crucible steel with a high carbon concentration is the most famous. Foundry damask is also distinguished by an unusual pattern, which appears due to the formation of a matrix of carbide and ferrite. For this, the structure is slowly cooled.
To the features of foundry damask the following points can be attributed:
In conclusion, we note that the type of metal under consideration appeared many centuries ago. Today it is used in most cases in the manufacture of knives or blades, as well as some interior decorations. Modern alloys bypass Damascus in almost all respects. Interest in Damascus was maintained for a long period due to various myths that weapons made of such metal made a warrior almost invincible.
Currently, the art of forging metal is experiencing a renaissance. The skill of such blacksmiths-gunsmiths as Leonid Arkhangelsky, Sergei Danilin, Andrei Koreshkov testifies to the fact that the Russian weaponry art and the traditions of making blades remain unsurpassed to this day.
The articles published by blacksmiths widely cover the history of their art, the theoretical basis for making, say, cast damask steel, but I am sure that many people read these articles in order to get answers to the questions: "How is this done?" where to start? " and others like them, but, at best, they stumble upon a statement of the fact of the complexity of such art and its availability only to initiates. In this article, I will try to highlight the art of a blacksmith-gunsmith from scratch, for those who want to start doing this fascinating activity, but do not know where to get to it. The article will be devoted mostly to sophisticated composites. The fact is that I began to get acquainted with the art of forging from independent attempts to obtain Damascus steel, so first of all I count on readers who, as they say, "rave about Damascus" and so there is enough literature; secondly, in order to learn how to simply forge, you can find a private smithy and work as an apprentice for several months, but getting into an apprentice to an eminent clinician who makes patterned composites is difficult. Hope this article makes up for some of this injustice. I will also not touch upon the problem of hardening in this article - competent hardening of steel, especially Damascus - the material is limitless, but basic information on hardening steels with different carbon contents can be gleaned from textbooks on metal science. I want to make a reservation right away that these materials are in no way a guide for the manufacture of edged weapons, which, I recall, according to Art. 223 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation is a criminal offense. A plate made of hand-forged Damascus, polished and etched, will at first bring you no less satisfaction than a knife or sword. I am going to talk about how to make the MATERIAL and am not responsible for any further use of this material. In the absence of a license to manufacture weapons or if it is impossible to find a job at an enterprise that has such a license, you can always find a way to do what you love without violating the norms of the Criminal Code and the Law of the Russian Federation "On Weapons".
Furnishing a forge
So let's get started. First of all, you need equipment. Part of it will need to be purchased, part can be made by yourself. You should start by determining the territory in which your blacksmith's workshop will be located. If you have a suburban land plot - wonderful, even in the most primitive version of the forge arrangement - in the open air - forging from April to November is provided to you. In addition, open-air forging automatically solves the important problem of removing gaseous fuel combustion products, most of which are toxic. In order not to depend on the weather, over the place of the future smithy, it is necessary to install a canopy on pillars, the roof of which must necessarily be made of iron sheet, since the temperature even two meters above the mountain is sufficient for a quick fire. If you do not have the opportunity to work in the bosom of nature, then the smithy can be equipped indoors. The main problems that arise in this case are the hood and fire safety. In addition, the use of a garage, for example, for a smithy requires much larger investments and is associated with great organizational difficulties. Wherever you are located, flammable and flammable building materials and substances must not be used near the fire of the forge, the floor, ceiling and walls of the room must be metal or concrete, and a powerful hood must be located above the mountain. Personally, I still prefer to work outdoors under a canopy and in my experience, this is possible even in winter.
Required blacksmithing tools
Having decided on the place for the workshop, it is necessary to solve the "main question of the blacksmith" - the question of the tool. Unfortunately, it is very difficult to buy a blacksmith's tool now. Those items that simply need to be purchased include:
Mosaic damascus
"Mosaic Damascus" refers to steel in which areas of different pattern types are welded together. The possibilities for imagination are endless here. I propose to make a damascus with a Sutton Hoo smoke pattern, after the name of a Scandinavian fossil sword.
Weld a package consisting of 7 layers of three steels - St3 (gives a white metallic color when etched), U8 (black) and any spring steel (gray). The alternation can be anything. The finished plate should turn out to be wide and thick enough so that 8 square bars with a thickness and width of about 7-8 mm can be chopped from it. Several plates may need to be made. The length of the rods should be about 30 cm.After that, mark on each of the rods 4 cm sections.Heating and clamping the rods in a vice, according to the received marks, twist half of the rods in one direction (say, clockwise), and half in the other. Twisting will occur in sections, so that the twisted sections alternate with non-twisted ones. Try to keep the twisted and non-twisted sections on all bars in the same places. After that, pierce each bar again, restoring their square section along the entire length.
Now take four rods - two twisted in each direction. Fold them sideways on a workbench, making sure that the layers of metal in each bar are facing you. The twisted sections will touch and alternate. A bar twisted clockwise next to a bar twisted counterclockwise, and so on. You will have a bag that looks like folded fingers. Place a few thick nails across the bag on each side - they can then be removed - and weld with electric welding, securing the bag. Also weld the handle rod. Since the thickness of the package is not large, it is possible to flux directly before forge welding. Heat the bag until scarlet, sprinkle thickly with brown on both flat sides, and heat further. Welding is carried out at the highest possible, but excluding burnout, temperature, very light (in order to prevent delamination of the package in the form of a fan) hammer blows. They are applied along the side of the bag and not over a wide plane. This art of butt welding is not easy to master. At first, it makes sense to practice on square steel bars, so as not to spoil the complex layered steel.
As a result, you should have two solid plates. Each consists of four sections of bars twisted in opposite directions. By itself, such steel is not very strong, so it should be welded onto the base. The base can be either damask or simple (in this case, the best option is a plate made from a tempered and forged spring). It should be the same size as the resulting mosaic plates. The base is collected in a bag with the resulting plates and welded together. It turns out a finished piece of steel, the surfaces of which have a beautiful pattern, similar to the smoke from a candle. A product made of such Damascus should be forged very carefully, trying to achieve the closest possible shape precisely by forging. When turning with a grinder or on a wheel, the pattern may deteriorate. Start grinding work only when the shape of the future product is indicated in almost all details. Take care of the uniform deformation of the metal during forging so that the core and outer patterned plates do not move relative to each other.
Making a mosaic or any other damascus is fascinating. For the sake of pleasure from steel, unique in its beauty and properties, it is worth looking for your own ways, and not to be afraid to start over again. Good luck in your endeavors, and may Welund, the ancient patron saint of the Scandinavian blacksmiths, help you!
Training video:
Usually professionals are engaged in making blades from Damascus steel or damask steel, but you can also try your hand at this fascinating process. You will need 10 double-sided hacksaw blades for metal. They are wider than one-sided and more convenient as a raw material.
Such canvases are made of U8 steel. When buying, try to find out how the canvases are made - entirely of tool steel, or used hard spraying on a soft base. Only the first are suitable for our purposes. Also, stock up on enough soft iron tape for upholstering wooden crates. Strips of any steel other than stainless will also be needed. Still desirable is V8. You can use old files about 2 mm thick, half the length of the hacksaw blade, and the width of the iron band. You will put these strips in the bag as the outer layers, thus preventing the thinner inner layers from completely turning into scale.
A softer steel like StZ can be used as outer layers, but this will lower the average carbon content of your Damascus. Use an electric grinder or grinder to remove the teeth from the hacksaw blades. After this operation, they will become equal in width to the iron tape. Each blade must be cut into two equal lengths. You will have 20 pieces of hacksaw blade. Cut 20 pieces of iron tape with metal scissors. Finally, it is advisable, using a pharmacy scale, to weigh a piece of iron tape, a piece of a hacksaw blade, and a plate of thick steel. You will need to know the weight when calculating the composition of the resulting steel.
Now let's do an operation called bundling a package. This operation is thorough and long, therefore it is better to perform it while sitting. Place a 2 mm thick piece of steel on the table. Its surface does not need to be cleaned of rust, but if it is a file, it is necessary to grind off its working surface. Moisten it with plain water and apply a fairly thick layer of borax (about 2-3 mm). An iron strip is placed on the borax layer, moistened, and a borax layer is applied. On it - a piece of hacksaw blade, moistened, a layer of borax is applied. Thus, the layers of iron, borax and steel alternate until 5 pieces of hacksaw blade are used. On the top piece of the iron strip, place a piece of thick steel, the same as at the very beginning of the bag.
Now the package is very carefully tighten with clamps along the edges and, trying to prevent the borax from spilling out, weld its beginning and end with electric welding. Then, to reduce the possibility of delamination, weld in several places along the length. In this case, pieces of steel wire or nails can be applied across the side surface of the bag and boiled. This will serve as an additional guarantee against delamination. During the welding process, it is necessary to add borax powder to the places where it spilled out or flowed out when heated by electric welding. The final step in creating the package is welding the handle to one of its ends. This will be a piece of reinforcement about 20 cm long when using the tongs, or 1 m when working without the tongs. Try to keep the handle welded as strong as possible.
If the handle falls off when the bag is heated in the furnace, it will be very difficult to get it out of there. When you succeed, most likely, the package will already be unusable due to burnout. It is even advisable to grind off one of the ends of the rod used as a handle to a small thickness and wedge it between the layers of the bag, and then scald it. As one of the layers, you can use a rod, forged into a plate at one end. Its long remainder forms a handle. This option is the most reliable. However, you should get 4 bags of the same design. The following technology can be used as an alternative to electric welding. The package is first assembled without a drill, after which through holes are drilled with an electric drill at the beginning and at the end of the package. Further, according to the above-described technology, the package is assembled with a drill and bolted through the drilled holes.
This technique is in some cases more effective, since it provides a reliable tightening of the bag. And with the use of electric welding, the package can fall apart in a hot forge. Some authors of the literature on Damascus steel advise to assemble the package without borax at all, which plays the role of a flux during welding, and sprinkle the package with the brown one already heated in the furnace. I would not recommend doing this for beginners. In the middle of the bag, there may be places that the molten borax will not reach. Lack of penetration is formed in them. As you gain experience, you will become proficient when you can flux and weld a bag assembled without borax, but it’s better to be on the safe side at first. In addition, the use of the technology with preliminary filling of the borax makes it possible to put in the package steel with an uncleaned surface - with a layer of rust, scale, etc.
And in the latter method, all layers of steel must be thoroughly cleaned. So, you have assembled four packages. Examine them carefully - all the gaps between the layers should be tightly filled with brown. Make sure the long handles are welded to the bags as securely as possible. Light up the forge. When the flame is stable and the furnace is on full blast, carefully place the first bag in the mass of burning coals. It is very important that the bag is heated evenly. It must be constantly observed, rotated around the longitudinal axis and moved if the heating is uneven. Remember that the workpiece in the forge looks hotter in color than it actually is.
It is very important to learn how to catch the only moment when you need to pull out and forge the workpiece. Usually the beginning of this moment is characterized by the appearance of small sparks, like a sparkler, which emanate from the surface of the workpiece.
Watch out - these sparks indicate that the maximum welding temperature is approaching and the metal is starting to burn. Wait until sparks fly from the entire area of \u200b\u200bthe workpiece, and not just from any one area.
At this point, quickly remove the blank (its color should be from lemon yellow to white, with an abundance of sparks). Place it on the anvil, and with frequent blows with a small sledgehammer, pierce from end to beginning and back again. Flip and pierce again from end to beginning and back again. If all goes well, the welding has already taken place. To be sure, strike the workpiece with even flat blows until it reaches red. Forge welding is possible at and at lower temperatures, for example, with a light orange glow of the metal, but the risk of cold lack of penetration increases.
If the shape of the workpiece after this series of forging is not perfectly rectangular, heat it again, just to orange. Correct the shape of the workpiece so that it is as close to rectangular as possible, and both surfaces are as flat and even as possible. The thickness of the workpiece after this, the first welding, should be about 4-5 mm. In this way, pierce and weld all four packages. After that, the four obtained plates can be reassembled into a bag and welded, but I recommend stopping, taking a break and at the same time examining the quality of the weld done. When the forgings are cool, grind off a small layer of metal from the side plane of the package with a grinder or electric grinder.
If you only see the shiny surface of the solid steel, the weld was successful.
When dark lines are visible - the boundaries between the layers, it means that lack of penetration was allowed. With one or two small lack of penetration, the process can be continued. Most likely, delamination will not occur, and lack of fusion will be eliminated during further welding. If the lack of fusion is large, then the package should be heated, the uncooked place should be covered with a layer of borax, continue heating to the welding temperature, and the uncooked place must be forged over the entire width of the plate again.
So, you have in your hands four plates of 13 alternating layers. Having collected them in a bag and boiled, we get a plate of 52 layers. While hot, chop it with a chisel lengthwise into 2 or, if the width allows, 3 parts. While the process of chopping with a chisel scares you, you can cut the plate with a thin cut-off wheel, however, some metal will get into the sawdust. By collecting and welding the resulting plates, theoretically, you can get any number of layers. But it should be borne in mind that initially rather thin layers of metal were laid in the package, so with the number of layers more than 200, the pattern will be very thin and difficult to distinguish.
Therefore, I recommend sticking to 150-200 layers. For final welding, try to make the bag smaller in length and width, but thicker than what you have planned for the future product. This is necessary for the final metal forming process. So you've got your original piece of Damascus steel. It contains about 0.6% carbon - the Japanese consider such steel to be optimal. This is the so-called "wild" Damascus. When etched from it, you get a pattern of almost parallel lines of varying thickness. This damascus is also called "striped". You can be satisfied with it, or try to somehow complicate the pattern.
Option one: "PAVLINA EYE".
This is a pattern that contains concentric circles, ovals, or squares. The pattern is achieved in the following way. Before forming the product from the obtained plate, on its lateral surfaces with a drill or a grinding wheel, in the right places, shallow (1-2 mm) depressions of a round or elliptical shape are cut. After that, the heated plate is forged, in which its surface becomes flat again. In this case, the lower layers come to the surface and form concentric figures. The use of this method gives quite ample opportunities when forming a pattern.
A fundamentally different way - "TURKISH" or "TURNISH" Damascus.
To obtain it, you should try to ensure that the initial material, a package with the required number of layers, takes the form of a round or square bar. To do this, you can cut a wide thick plate or cut it lengthwise into strips, the width of which is approximately equal to the thickness. The rods are heated to a light orange color, after which one end is clamped in a vice, and the other is grasped by pliers with flat jaws.
It is twisted along the longitudinal axis in several turns, but so that the bar does not burst. The resulting spiral-shaped workpiece is forged into a plate, at a temperature close to the welding temperature, with a flux meter to eliminate possible delamination. The product formed from such a plate has a complex pattern in the form of concentric four-pointed repeating stars. When working with Damascus, there are a huge number of pattern options. There are no limits to artistic fantasy. So don't be afraid to experiment and look for new patterns and ways to get them. We will touch upon this topic in the section dedicated to mosaic Damascus.
Welded damask:
This type of welded steel is characterized by a high carbon content, which brings this Damascus closer to cast damask in strength and cutting properties. This carbon content is achieved by using cast iron powder in forge welding. Cast iron contains up to 6% carbon. It is convenient to use cast iron from steam heating batteries, but its quality is not high. In any case, you should know the composition of the cast iron used, at least the data on its carbon content.
Cast iron is very fragile, so it is quite easy to split it with a sledgehammer into small pieces. Then crush them on an anvil into a powder, the particles of which should be about the size of a grain of rice. It is necessary to crush the cast iron carefully so that the particles do not fly in different directions. For the required amount of welded damask steel, you will need several glasses of crushed cast iron, so please be patient. In addition to cast iron, such steel includes StZ in the form of water pipes and U8-U9 steel from files.
The file steel should be cut into pieces about the size of a fingernail. She easily pricks with a hammer. Using the above formula, calculate the parts by weight of all components. Finished steel with all carbon burn-off corrections should contain no more than 1-1.2% carbon. Homogeneous steel with such a composition is very fragile, but due to the heterogeneity of the composite, it becomes possible to harden it to a high hardness. Take a 1/2 or 3/4 inch water pipe - this, as I said, is StZ steel.
You will need several pieces of pipe about 20 cm long. Using an iron wire brush, carefully clean the inside of the pipe to remove any rust. Tightly weld one end of each piece of pipe. Stir crushed cast iron and fragments of U8 steel in the proportion you calculated (when calculating, do not forget to take into account the weight of the pipe). Usually, U8 by weight is required more than cast iron. Now fill the pipe sections with the mixture. Compact the iron-steel mixture as thoroughly as possible with a pin of the correct diameter. The stuffed mixture is rammed into the pipe by tapping with a hammer on a pin inserted into the pipe like a piston.
When the pipe is full, weld on the other end and weld the handle to it. You can use the pin with which you tamped the mixture, leaving part of it in the pipe and welding it tightly. After filling all the pipe sections, take an electric drill and drill 10-20 small-diameter holes in each pipe, evenly placing them on the surface. These holes are needed to release the remaining air and excess molten iron. Fire up the furnace and heat the pipe section to the maximum temperature. In this case, a small overburn of the pipe surface is not terrible, since the pipe walls are quite thick.
Make sure the heating is even. When the pipe section turns white, pierce it with a heavy sledgehammer (the help of a hammer is desirable) several times from end to beginning and back. Bring the resulting plate to a thickness of 3-4 mm. In the same way, cut off the rest of the pipe sections. The resulting steel still has a lot of internal lack of insulation, voids and its composition is very heterogeneous. Therefore, you will have to weld the resulting plates many times. First weld them together. The resulting plate must be divided in two alternately along and across and the welding must be repeated at least 10 times so that the steel becomes even in composition. At this stage, I advise you to gradually start mastering one technique.
It will avoid the procedure of cutting the plate into pieces and assembling into a bag using electric welding. The plate is cut with a chisel along the desired line by 1/2 of the thickness. Then, on the edge of the anvil, along the notch line, the plate is bent 90 degrees. On the plane of the anvil, the fold is brought to an acute angle. After preheating, the bent plate is carefully fluxed with brown, especially those surfaces that will be welded. After applying the flux, the forging is heated to the welding temperature and forged. In fact, the plate simply folds in half. It must be remembered that it folds alternately - then along, then across. Suppose there were five pieces of pipe that you forged into plates. Welding them together, we got a 5-pack.
After the first folding in half, it will have 10 layers, after the 2nd - 20, after the 3rd - 40, after the 4th - 80, after the 5th - already 160! Thus, after the 10 welds I recommend, you will have several thousand layers. It is already possible to form a finished product from such a package. I do not recommend using any tricks to complicate the pattern on welded damask steel - it already has its own, unique characteristic chaotic pattern. You can read about the peculiarities of the welded damask steel hardening and the amazing technology that allows you to achieve the formation of microscopic diamond crystals in the layers of such steel in V. Basov's article "Bulat - the life line". Mosaic "Mosaic Damascus" is the name given to steel in which areas with different types of patterns are welded together. The possibilities for imagination are endless here. I propose to make a damascus with a Sutton Hoo smoke pattern, after the name of a fossil Scandinavian sword.
Weld a package consisting of 7 layers of three steels - StZ (gives a white metallic color when etched), U8 (black) and any spring steel (gray). The alternation can be anything. The finished plate should turn out to be wide and thick enough so that 8 square bars with a thickness and width of about 7-8 mm can be chopped from it. Several plates may need to be made. The length of the rods should be about 30 cm.After that, mark on each of the rods 4 cm sections.Heating and clamping the rods in a vice, according to the received marks, twist half of the rods in one direction (say, clockwise), and half in the other.
Twisting will occur in sections, so that the twisted sections alternate with non-twisted ones. Try to keep the twisted and non-twisted sections on all bars in the same places. After that, pierce each bar again, restoring their square section along the entire length. Now take four rods - two twisted in each direction. Fold them sideways on a workbench, making sure that the layers of metal in each bar are facing you. The twisted sections will touch and alternate. A bar twisted clockwise next to a bar twisted counterclockwise, and so on.
You will have a bag that looks like folded fingers. Place a few thick nails across the bag on each side - they can then be removed - and weld with electric welding, securing the bag. Also weld the handle rod. Since the thickness of the package is not large, it is possible to flux directly before forge welding. Heat the bag until scarlet, sprinkle thickly with brown on both flat sides, and heat further. Welding is carried out at the highest possible, but excluding burnout, temperature, very light (in order to prevent delamination of the package in the form of a fan) hammer blows. They are applied along the side of the bag and not over a wide plane. This art of butt welding is not easy to master. At first, it makes sense to practice on square steel bars, so as not to spoil the complex layered steel.
As a result, you should have two solid plates. Each consists of four sections of bars twisted in opposite directions. By itself, such steel is not very strong, so it should be welded onto the base. The base can be either damask or simple (in this case, the best option is a plate made of a tempered and forged spring). It should be the same size as the resulting mosaic plates. The base is collected in a bag with the resulting plates and welded together. It turns out a finished piece of steel, the surfaces of which have a beautiful pattern, similar to the smoke from a candle.
A product from such Damascus should be forged very carefully, trying to achieve the closest possible shape precisely by forging. When turning with a grinder or on a wheel, the pattern may deteriorate. Start grinding work only when the shape of the future product is indicated in almost all details. Take care of the uniform deformation of the metal during forging so that the core and outer patterned plates do not move relative to each other. Making a mosaic, or any other Damascus, is exciting. For the sake of pleasure from steel, unique in its beauty and properties, it is worth looking for your own ways, and not to be afraid to start over again.
Damascus swords have been famous for their unique qualities for many hundreds of years. To forge such a weapon required the art of a true master. But art alone was, of course, not enough. It was required to create the steel itself. So what is she like? As many people know, Damascus is called multilayer steel. Moreover, if there is no difference in the carbon content between the layers, and there are no alloying additions, such steel does not belong to Damascus. Steels are completely different: springy steels and alloyed, and with a high carbon content. Three types of steels or alloys alternate in the package: one is a rich carbon steel, others can be manganese, sometimes ball bearing steel is used, and the third material in the package is pure nickel. It gives shine, does not etch when finished blades are etched with acid, and forms shiny layers in the pattern.
The cut strips are folded one after another and welded into a bag by electric welding so that they do not crumble. The bag is placed in a furnace, heated to the required temperature, which, by the way, must be observed with exceptional accuracy. The fact is that if the temperature is slightly lower than required, the steel will not weld (lack of penetration). If it is excessively overheated, the metal will begin to burn, and when the overheated steel crumbles into dust from a strong blow, it can no longer be collected, it can be thrown away. And with very strong overheating, steel generally flares up with a bright flame like a sparkler. Damascus is distinguished by its specificity. The pattern, which is formed "by itself", in the process of forging, folding and forging a bag, is called "wild damascus". And it is considered one of the most durable Damascus, it does not have any mechanical defects.
Stainless Damascus is cooked in a vacuum oven. A vacuum furnace is a very complex, bulky and, therefore, expensive equipment. A furnace is located in the vacuum chamber, and to be precise, an induction heater, a pneumatic or steam hammer and a manipulator that allows you to move the workpiece (you can't work with your hands there). The uniqueness of the cut Damascus steel blades lies in the fact that in the process of their manufacture it is possible to purposefully form a pattern. Such blades are obtained with very beautiful peculiar patterns. This is achieved by cutting grooves after forging a knife blade, and then expanding them in order to prevent pinches and forging again, strictly observing a certain temperature regime. The pattern in the form of rings is formed because the layers in the depressions lying from the bottom bulge upward. There is also a technology of torsed, or twisted damascus, when, after forging, the package is twisted around the longitudinal axis and forged.
Often, several twisted blanks are welded into a plane, and then an amazingly beautiful pattern is formed, which is called bouquet. The price of such knives is especially high and can be calculated in six or even seven figures. Even lasers are used by Western blacksmiths. Can you imagine a blacksmith with laser equipment ?! The laser cuts an extremely narrow groove in the workpiece, into which a strip of metal is inserted, and then the workpiece is forged to produce the desired pattern.
You can forge anything like that - numbers, initials, even a portrait! Of course, very expensive handles are also selected for such exceptional knives. In particular, various valuable types of wood, bones. In addition, they are richly encrusted.
