Every Tuesday night for the past four weeks I have been learning how to make Damascus Steel. What is that kind of metal you say? Simply put it is laminated steel using two kinds of metal: 1084 tool steel, which for our class was in a powdered form, and 15N20 steel, which has a nickle content and gives those particular layers a shiny look.
You heat them up in a forge until the metal is bright yellow and then forge weld them together using a hydrolic press. Last night was my first time using the press and it was fun to watch the layers of metal being squished together. I started out with 17 layers alternating between the two kinds of metal which was about 3 inches thick before the heating began. By the end of class last night, I had those layers compressed to about an inch thick and ready to be folded back on itself next week. It was crazy to think that I went from having separate layers, half of which were powdered, to a solid bar of metal in just three hours of work.
Now the goal for the remaining four weeks of this class is to get my steel to the number of layers I want with a pattern set in. I am hoping for over 500 layers, which sounds like a lot until you realize that each fold doubles the amount of layers. I should have that layer count in five folds. For the pattern, I am going to experiment with two designs: a twist and a bird's eye. I'm hoping the combo will give the steel the look of a topo map. My ultimate desire is to make a knife out of the finished steel.
I will try and remember to bring my camera to class so you can see the process, and I can have a photo record of what I did.
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