Damacus Etching Solutions

What Acid Solutions to use for Etching My Damascus Steel?

I have just finally received my fieldsmithy and anvil and can really start out with my own projects. I wish to focus on blades, from knives to swords, and especially patternwelded. Now I have found a lot of information on patternwelding, but have to practice on it ofcourse. But I can't find anything clear about the acid used for etching to get the pattern out.

I am planning to use iron plates and carbon steel stacked and welded together for the patternweld, and after a lot of research I have found out that on basis of the material used the etching solution is different. So basically my big question would be, what would I use for the iron+carbon steel stack, and what would I need for low carbon + medium/high carbon steel stack when it comes to etching.


There are many etching solutions and all will work to a certain degree.
I have used
Sulfuric acid (battery acid)
Nitric acid
Ferric Chloride
Vinegar

Sulfuric I have been using lately as it is easy to get and quite cost effective. Find a local automotive supplier to get it in bulk.
Nitric has a very aggressive bite and you may only leave the piece in for a few minutes.
Ferric Chloride has a slow etch but easy to control.
Vinegar is almost a discoloration although by heating it you will get a bit of an etch.

With all Acids take proper precautions.
Face Shield
Rubber Apron and Gloves
Ventilation
Neutralizing Agent
Eye Wash
Fresh Water for Rinsing or Flushing
Proper disposal of used Acid solution

Some of the acids can be mixed to achieve different looks. You should experiment to develop your own recipes.
Remember to always ad acid to water for diluting not the other way around.

This book has some useful information on etching for pattern development



Here is another link to Other Useful books With Etching Info
I hope this helps.

David Robertson
Artist Blacksmith

My Website: www.artistblacksmith.com
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Blacksmith-When To Remove Scale From Work Piece?

What is the best time to remove excess scale from your blacksmithing work?

Is there an advantage to descaling a hot work piece with a wire brush as opposed to just giving the hot work piece a couple of light raps with the hammer thus saving valuable heat? Is hammering the work piece on the anvil that has loose pieces of scale on it detrimental to the work piece?

Sweeping The Anvil Between Heats With Your Glove

You should get into the habit of sweeping your anvil surface between  each heat so you are always working on a clean surface. The scale left  on the anvil will pit the the bottom of the bar. This is most noticeable  on the back of thing pieces of steel such as leaves. It creates a  coarse rough texture.

 Wire Brushing Hot
 A bit different. There are times that you want to quickly wire brush  while your bar is hot. Eg. of this would be last couple of finishing  heats on things that require an optimum surface such as knives.
 The scale comes off well until about bright red then it sticks to the steel.

 In general I forge with out wire brushing but with sweeping the anvil between each heat.
 If I take a finishing heat I may give it a good wire brushing from dull  orange down to black heat to remove the loose scale. Once cold I will  use a wire wheel on a grinder or wire cup on an angle grinder to further clean the  steel.

  I hope this helps.
David Robertson
Ontario Artist Blacksmith

Steel Designations and Bellows Back Flash

How to prevent bellows Flash back and basis of steel designation.

Hello David

Thank you very much for the valuable information you have provided me so far, I am always looking forward to your next subject

I do have a few questions, although I heard that when using bellows, the bellows may be destroyed due to gases forming on the inside If the bellows were hung higher than the forge, would this prevent this from happening?

2. what would be the best metal to use, cold rolled steel or hot rolled steel and what is the meaning of 1030 or other number associated to the steel?

Thank you for helping the newbie’s like me, it is much appreciated

Good questions.
Bellows
The bellows should be set up with a check valve inside so it can not draw gasses back in from the forge. The check valve originally was just a flap of leather on the exhaust that closes when the bellows is opened. This means all the air is sucked in through the inlet ports and none of the fuel gases from the fire which could be exciting indeed. Hanging the bellows higher than the forge will have little effect in preventing the problem.

Metal to use
The number designation refers to the type of steel and its alloy content.
The 1000 series means that it is just iron and carbon in the mix.
1018 or 1020 are both used for cold rolled and hot rolled. It is the same type of steel but as the name implies one is worked cold and the other hot. Cold rolled has tighter tollerances in size and requires more energy to make and costs a lot more. Hot rolled has more variation in sizing and has less stress put into the steel so it will bend easier. Once either are put into the forge they will work the same as there is no difference in the carbon content.

So back to the number designation. 1020 means a simple iron carbon mix with 20 points of carbon or .2% carbon. 1060 would have 60 points of carbon or .6% carbon.

5160 which is car or truck leaf or coil spring material is a different series. The 5000 series contains chrome. So 5160 has about 1% chrome and .6% carbon. Other series will have different major alloying components. Google knife making, and alloy steels, and metallurgy for information on each different steel series and their uses and properties.

Mostly for blacksmithing I will use hot rolled for general art work or 5160 if I am making cutting tools or hand punches. Other specific tools and punches I will use better suited materials such as S7 or H13 (yes there are letter designations as well).

Hope this helps
David Robertson
Ontario Artist Blacksmith

How To Make Different Damascus Patterns in Pattern Welding

Damascus Steel Patterns

Sorry to bother you so late at night (over here anyway)

But I was wondering what patterns you can pattern weld I have seen your ladder pattern and other patterns on the internet and was wondering if you could give me a few tips.

That you for your time.

There are hundreds of patterns and variations to work on.
Most are based on layering steel, then either modifying the surface such as the ladder pattern (cutting material away) then flattening and grinding to expose the pattern.
Or
flat layers that are twisted, then shaped, and ground to expose the pattern.
Both of these techniques can become very complicated depending on the layer count and the manipulation.
There is a third technique
Called Mosaic Damascus
This can be done with powdered metal or machined "pixels" put together to create a "picture" in the steel. It is a bit of a different process using a hydraulic press for the fusion weld to maintain the structure of the picture.

The best thing to do is get 2 colors of modeling clay and layer them together like a damascus billet and then twist and manipulate them. Then use a knife to cut some of the outside material away to expose the pattern (sames as grinding on the steel). Experiment with this but keep notes as you go so when you find a pattern that you like you can reproduce it in steel. This is a fast low cost way to experiment with these techniques.

A couple of very good books on the subject are
Damascus: Forging Techniques
or
The Complete Bladesmith: Forging Your Way To Perfection

You may want to check out some the knifemaking forums for some other details.
I hope this helps.

David Robertson
Artist Blacksmith
www.artistblacksmith.com

Blacksmithing Removing Scale, Tinted Glasses, Upsetting

Blacksmithing How to Remove Scale, Tinted Glasses, Upsetting

I have a few questions for now.

If you use hot rolled steel how do you remove the scale on the parts that is not heated for forging? Do you use a wire wheel, and acid bath or sand the area?

Do you wear special tinted or filtered glasses when you do blacksmithing and have to stare at the fire alot.

I want to flare out a 3/4 square bar so that it will form a pyramid type base. If I heat it should I slam it on to a thick steel plate to flare it out. Is that the best way to do it?

Removing Scale
There are couple of options, they mostly depend on what coating you are putting on it.
Wire wheel for clear coating.
Sandblasting for paint.
Acid etch for galvanizing but this is done at the galvanizer.

Mostly it depends how you want the finished piece to look. Complex shapes may not get completely cleaned of for clear coat and painting.

Tinted glasses
Yes I wear rose dydimium glasses. This is the old filter style originally designed for glass blowers. There are other filters that are better recommended for blacksmithing such as AUR-99 from www.auralens.net. I have not used this lens so can't really comment on it. The exposure to UV and IR are generally minimal in blacksmithing, but it does become important with lots of forge welding as the temperatures are so much higher.

Upsetting 3/4 inch square bar
Depends on the length. short can be done on the anvil or clamped in the vise and a light hammer used.
Long bar yes heavy steel plate on the floor and it is sort of bounced on it.
It must be at yellow heat. You should also taper the edges (basically knocking the corners off the end of the bar) this lets the force go deeper into the center of the bar instead of being dispersed at the end. Upsettting is tricky to do well. Practice first and easier to do on a larger bar than a smaller one.

I hope this helps
David Robertson
Ontario Artist Blacksmith

When Can You Call Yourself a Blacksmith?

What Does Define a Blacksmith?
I know you probably had this question asked of you many times.  But at what point in metal working are you really allowed to call your self a blacksmith?   I mean going out and pounding on a few pieces of metal isn't really blacksmithing.  What does define a blacksmith?

This is actually a tricky question.

In North America there is no governing body of blacksmiths, so legally
anyone who works with steel could call themselves a blacksmith. This
causes a whole lot of confusion with the general public. A cold
fabricator calls themselves a blacksmith but charges 30% of what a
person who works with hammer and anvil and shapes the hot steel. The
fabricator only has 30% of the time into the project.

There are measurable fundamental skills associated with blacksmithing.
Do all of these have to be mastered for a person to call themselves a
blacksmith?

There are tools required for the work. Can a person call themselves a
blacksmith if they don't have the tools required to do the job?

Should a person call themselves a blacksmith until they are making an income from the smithing? Should it be a full time income?

Is it more esoteric? Such as when a person has to smith. When they are
drawn to it as a passion. Some would say "When it is their blood". A
number of smiths have told me of this calling back to the anvil when you
have been away from it for a while.

My Opinion

A person can call themselves a blacksmith when they have a good ability with the basic techniques with hot steel.

Drawing out, pointing, shouldering, flattening, punching, twisting,
square corners, hot cutting, splitting, curve generation, tool making,
upsetting, forge welding. They also have the facilities to do the work.
This may be as simple as a back yard forge, anvil and hammer.

It really is a gray area and each person has to make their own decision
when they can call themselves a blacksmith. There is no-one to call them
on it ( In North America) except their customers, which often are not
well educated in the difference between hot work and cold work.

David Robertson
Artist Blacksmith
www.artistblacksmith.com

Blacksmithing: Carbon Migration in Forging Blades

Is there Carbon Loss In Forging Blades in a Gas Forge?

Hi David Merry Christmas and thank you for an ongoing 'live' tutorial. It is very generous of you and I want you to know that I appreciate the time you put into it for us!

I do have a question at this point. One issue that you haven't addressed (perhaps you just haven't gotten to it yet and if so I apologize for jumping the gun) is that of carbon loss with a gas forge. When I was training in Japan, I watched a Bladesmith produce kitchen Kata-ha blades with a gas forge. He explained, however, that he had to work extremely fast and could only afford one heat for the forging process (he uses a spring hammer) or he would lose too much carbon. When I say fast, I mean it. I took a video of him forging 4 - 5 blades every 7 minutes. He is not an amateur, but rather the person who is considered to be (within Japan) the best kitchen knife forger in the world, so I trust his word.

It would be useful to hear your thoughts from a Western perspective.

This is an advanced question for sure.

I do make knives but there are many people much more skilled than I. I am sure the fellow in Japan is one of them but here is my view point.

My take on is a bit different. Yes I do agree if the gas forge is running too lean (too much oxygen then yes at high temperatures there is carbon loss but really only in the outer 1 mm of the steel. The carbon migrates to the lower carbon areas and if low carbon in the atmosphere of the forge then it can jump to the atmosphere, causing a net carbon loss in the blade.

There is an old saying to "forge thick and grind thin" once you start grinding you are getting back into the high carbon steel.

By keeping the forge running neutral or a bit rich there is extra carbon available and carbon migration is less of a concern but you don't have infinite heats to work with. I agree completely that you should forge out the blade in the minimum heats possible as a best practice.

Different steels will behave differently as well. Some steels need to soak a long time at high temperatures to allow the carbon to jump to a face centered cubic crystal. Think here S7 or H13. Neither would I use for knives but the high alloys do change things a lot. So in part the alloy of his knives would make a huge difference in the final quality of the piece as well as the number of heats he takes.

One heat is pretty fast! And shows a great deal of control on his part.

When You get a chance look up the article on heat treating in the members area. There is a pdf at the bottom of the page that you should download and read as it goes into much more detail than I possibly could.

Link To Blacksmith Members Sign In

I hope this helps but do check out the pdf as it goes into great detail.

Merry Christmas and Happy Holidays to all!
David Robertson
Artist Blacksmith