Making Damascus

I started with 6 layers of 1095, and 6 layers of L-6 tool steels, for a total of 12 layers. Each piece is ground clean to ensure flawless welding. I never use "mystery" metals in my damascus. I buy from reputable steel suppliers who guarantee high levels of quality which provide me with consistant heat treat results.

I use a 4-burner, Natural Gas, forced air forge. It's pre-heated in excess of 2000`F for the welding process.

As seen in this picture, the inside of the forge is well over 2000`F and proper safety equipment (heavy leather gloves, glasses, and LONG tongs) is a MUST! Total concentration during the forging process CANNOT be overstated.

When the billet reaches a temperature of approximately 1500`F, it is coated with Anhydrous Borax to create an Oxygen-free environment between the layers of steel.

When the billet reaches temperatures between 1900-2000`F it is removed from the forge and taken immediately over to the 18 ton hydraulic press. Note the color of the billet is a bright yellow color, indicating the proper temperature.

Using the 18 ton press, a rhythmic "bumping" is done to evenly compress the steel layers together and forcing out excess flux.

The "bumping" process is repeated on all four sides to consistently draw out the billet to twice its original length.

After the billet is stretched, it's cut in half with a "hot-cut" tool. The billet is cooled down, ground clean, re-heated and folded onto itself to repeat the welding process. This is done as many times as necessary to achieve the desired layer count.

Because I've decided to make Twist Damascus for this project, I'll use my 110lb. air hammer to force the billet into a round bar. I do this by pounding the corners down.

While rounding the corners for twisting, a secondary benefit is that the steel layers become upset and distorted, giving way to a much more aggressive and unique pattern.

Using my 50lb. Little Giant hammer, I fine tune the bar to make it uniform and as smooth as I can make it before going into twisting.

Lock one end of the bar into a leg vice, grab the other end with a pipe wrench with a handle welded on, and walk around the vice until you're dizzy. The billet MUST remain smokin' hot, or you risk sheering the layers inside the bar.

After several twisting sessions, the bar should be uniform in the twist and ready for drawing it out into bar stock.

Starting Billet