Damascus is Beautiful

After talking with many people, I realized that most do not understand what damascus steel is. I know that I explained what it is in an earlier post, but it doesn't fully makes sense until you see it. So I decided to put up a picture of my first ever completed damascus project: a 2-inch blade wood carving knife. This was made from a piece that we had to cut off of my larger billet because it wasn't welding right. It only has 17 layers as opposed to my large billet which will have over 500 layers when it is finished. I forged it using a hammer, tongs and anvil (good thing I took that blacksmithing class last year). With the help of my teacher, we ground it down to shape and put in the main bevel. Then I hardened it, which requires heating the knife until its non-magnetic and then quenching it in oil. In our case we used cooking oil, so the forge smelt like popcorn. I then put it in a toaster oven at 425 for two hours (sounds like I'm giving tips for a recipe). The last steps involved sanding the knife using different grits up to 1500 grit and then etching it in acid. I used muriatic acid that my aunt had. The acid eats away the metals at different rates and causes the pattern to emerge. This part was not fun; the fumes coming off the acid were so potent that I could barely breathe. I should have worn a mask over my nose and mouth instead of just using my hand. After the etching, I put on the final edge and presto! a brand new knife ready to be used, well after I get a handle on it.