Damascus Steel

[Kris Jensen]

Test cut I added just over 1/16" to the blade profile and circled the tip so I can grind away the heat effected zone. These pieces are not 100% hardened yet and will have to figure that out later on. I have a guy who just invested $8800 on custom made fully automated grinders designed for profiling and sharpening the blades. I'll post a video if I ever get the chance.

 

[EricB]

Nice profile! Can't wait to see the product! Are you invested in the knife company, or just cutting the blanks for him?

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[Alexander]

Neat oh sorry I misspelled your name

 

[Kris Jensen]

J

Nice profile! Can't wait to see the product! Are you invested in the knife company, or just cutting the blanks for him?

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just cutting the blanks and supplying the materials for now I have programmed 27 different profiles so far

 

[Kris Jensen]

Neat oh sorry I misspelled your name

Lol it doesn't phase me anymore, 31 years of people misspelling my name I'm surprised when someone makes the correct spelling

 

[PeterT]

I'd welcome any posts about the grinders & process you are involved with (purely from a metal-head standpoint). Personally I need another hobby pursuit like a hole in the head but the knife making & heat treating thing is fascinating. When I travelled up to Reynolds museum couple months back they had some knife guys showing their wares. I selfishly swabbed each of them about heat treating ovens, quenching, salt bath... info for my engine parts one day. But you couldn't help but be struck by the aesthetics & uniqueness of knives.
http://www.history.alberta.ca/reynolds/specialevents/metalartshow.aspx

Reason I was curious about grinding is I also spent a bunch of time online looking at home-made belt sanders typically used by the knife crowd. Some are rudimentary frames with wheelbarrow wheels. Others are friggen amazing: VFD drives, high end spindles & bearings, adaptable tooling & jiggery, sexy frames... I'd like to make a HD belt sander one day, not really for blades but just as a workhorse for profiling & finishing parts. Not sure if you are talking stone grinder-grinders or belted ones, but its all cool to me.

>These pieces are not 100% hardened yet and will have to figure that out later on. I have a guy who just invested $8800 on custom made fully automated grinders designed for profiling and sharpening the blades. I'll post a video if I ever get the chance.

 

[PeterT]

re your comment about leaving a boundary kerf for heat affected zone, I though that's why maybe the profiling would maybe be preferred by water-jetting. Is it a cost thing or some other reason?
ps - you must have a bunch of Damascus off-cuts remaining for pen-knives & mini daggers. Does you client get those too?

 

[Kris Jensen]

re your comment about leaving a boundary kerf for heat affected zone, I though that's why maybe the profiling would maybe be preferred by water-jetting. Is it a cost thing or some other reason?
ps - you must have a bunch of Damascus off-cuts remaining for pen-knives & mini daggers. Does you client get those too?

I get to keep all the cut offs, will definitely try to find a use for them, I'm thinking a machinist could do a lot better job with the small cut offs then I could. Water jet is definitely better but cost wise, and wait times to get it done are a pain. Since I have my own cnc plasma I can cut the profile within minutes of him ordering it and with his fancy grinders its just an extra minute or two to grind down the extra material.

 

[Kris Jensen]

I get to keep all the cut offs, will definitely try to find a use for them, I'm thinking a machinist could do a lot better job with the small cut offs then I could. Water jet is definitely better but cost wise, and wait times to get it done are a pain. Since I have my own cnc plasma I can cut the profile within minutes of him ordering it and with his fancy grinders its just an extra minute or two to grind down the extra material.

I will also be cutting completely under water once I get my jig set up to reduce the heat effected zone even more. I usually submerge cut all my stainless, I'll have to post a video of the process

 

[CalgaryPT]

I know nothing about forging, but I really enjoyed this video about Damascus steel with Jesse James (of Monster Garage fame). The guy who is teaching Jesse James how to forge it is obviously famous for his knives, but the real fun was watching him make the stuff in his home shop. A real artist I really enjoy watching guys like that work...it seems so natural to them.