New way to make Damascus steel?

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[@AweMe]

Use two thick plates. One in 1095 and one in 15N20. Laser the 15n20 as you did, but etch the 1095 with a reverse image and press the designs together. Then you should be able to grind one away until you get to the welded pattern with little or no distortion. Its very easy with the fiber.

[@TimothyDyck]

Very interesting idea! Have you tried it?

[@srrandall88]

This would be awesome!! But also pushes the envelope on Damascus images and text rather than boring Damascus patterns which we've seen 20000 times...

[@AweMe]

@@TimothyDyck I havent but we have several 50w fiber and I really cant see how it would fail. It would be easier as we have a surface grinder (converted to sander). You would only have to weld the one edge and it would have zero oxygen. As Randall said, any pattern should hold up 100% with sharp edges, especially if you weld with a press.

[@Flying0Dismount]

The "muddiness" of the 15N20 looks like it's because there is still a thin layer of 1090 powder on top because you can see a bright "halo" around the edge of each of the features which I suspect is the real 15n20 underneath.. Grind it a bit more and try the etch again..

[@anthonyp4209]

The enthusiasm and precision with which you approach everything is great

[@gordongullon152]

Cool, it's like a forge welded inlay!

[@bashirijones7008]

Do not give up on this idea. Think of the applications as far as designing a layout of metals to increase a knife's durability. What I envision is a knife that starts with pure mild steel going into a large honeycomb pattern moving across to a smaller honeycomb pattern. The opposite side is reverse. A hard steel ( the blade edge side) going into a large honeycomb pattern and then across towards the mild steel side with smaller honeycomb. A Damascus billet designed to have a hard edge and absorb shocks and be flexible.

[@MrGreenAKAguci00]

Oh yeah. He definitely should iterate on this stuff. Firstly he will learn more about the process itself and it looks like there is still much to learn, Secondly all that institutional knowledge will let him try more and more daring designs and processes over time. This is very promising.

[@theconqueringenigma]

Here's a thought: Can your laser sinter the powder? If so, lock down the workpiece on the laser bed and let it do it's thing, then just add powder without picking up the workpiece and run a sintering pass. You might have to look up the laser's working temps to see if it's capable of sintering this powder, but it might yield result.

[@brysonalden5414]

This illustrates one of the things I love about the smithing community; we share our ideas! Since 3D printed/cellulose damascus patterns are now done by lots of smiths, this looks like an interesting variant; one could laser in a name, or corporate logo, or whatever and fill the impressions with 1090. Might work even better with the canoe canister technique.

[@patricknowak8292]

Your stainless foil stuck to the powder because it is clean. Makers who use stainless foil this way heat it to let it get a layer of oxidation on it first. The oxide will keep it from welding to the rest of the elements in the canister.

[@kz.irudimen]

I like the imperfect forge welded one, it's definitely a lot more work but I think it's pretty cool!

[@ronsimpson143]

If you had some really thin metal, you could engrave your business card on it and used the bluing technique. That would be a killer business card.

[@Revonlieke]

The entire video I was thinking there must be an easier way of doing this. And you came up with it in the end.

[@coolfrost6]

I can't remember the channel but spraying the inside of the box with white paint, made it super easy to remove form the Damascus after heat. My guess is that it's the titanium oxide in the white paint.

[@otterconnor942]

The pattern welded "dirty" steel looks so much better than the etched and polished blank. The dirtiness comes from new alloys that you created in the welding process. The non ferrous materials kinda flow around while hot, and that's what makes it beautiful.

[@r3nmgod]

Maybe you could line up some sort of limited edition thing with ridge wallet, seems like something that style of patte would be good for. Otherwise one of those longer plate bottle openers, could wack out a long line of those with the laser

[@Nogard666]

It would take a lot longer, but if you started with thicker bar stock and flat ground both sides the laser etch would probably be the same depth all around, and you could get a deeper etch to start with to fit more powder, or what wody422 suggested and stamp the pattern. Or both, stamp, then use the laser to crisp it up if necessary. And I bet those two spots were just a bit of stainless that somehow welded to the stock that didn't get fully ground off.

[@percivalthegreat]

Cool experiment! Tip on canister damascus, the guy from Fire Creek Forge here on yt says regular white spray paint works better than the foil for keeping the canister from sticking to the billet. I believe he mentioned that it was the titanium dioxide in the paint creates an unweldable barrier between the steel and the canister. Give it a try next time!

[@JacobE-23]

Oh definitely want to see more stuff like this! Its a wonderful idea, the first time you do it you learn what you did wrong and all that. The next one will be better!

[@kwbknives7989]

Awesome! The Damascus has a lot more authenticity to it but the laser version looks excellent and would probably be a better option for production. Id love to make a knife from your Damascus piece if you'd be interested in a collab?! It takes some work but you could get a black/mirror contrast to it with the right techniques. For a bold pattern like that the pre etch surface finish is important. If you took it to a full mirror, then you could etch, polish, etch polish until you've got mirror highs and matt lows, then coffee or orange juice etch to darken the matt areas. Super frustrating process if you're set with getting it perfect.

[@TimothyDyck]

Maybe that was my problem! I never polished the 15n20 up enough. Thanks for that tip!

[@clantonmiller7626]

I love when you find a way to streamline a process. 👍🏽

[@Donorcyclist]

That’s what experimentation is about, Tim! Great job!

[@PrometheanBlade]

Having done similar things with 1095 powder in thin cans for mosaics, it can be difficult to get the amount of size reduction during forging that you really need to fully consolidate the powder- particularly without the byproduct of unwanted distortion. Try it on the power hammer and forge it down a little farther, and soak the billet a bit at welding heat to help age the welds as well- should etch cleaner.

[@forgedbywill]

This is pretty similar to plug damascus essentially. Really cool way of doing things!

[@TymonScott]

Ooh, you could use this method to create blades that appear to be made of that rare meteorite steel with the incredible Widmanstätten patterns, but actually be functional

[@connorlee7840]

Laser, silicon bronze braze, and grind? Should be able to Heat Treat still too. Might be a fun experiment! Always love the experiments you come up with!

[@pfaudiozen]

So cool. It reminds me of some sort Star Wars mandalorian artifact. I don’t know what you are making but I want one.

[@j.r.millstone]

I'd like to see what happens if you let it squish and deform on the power hammer. Even fold it a few times to see what the pattern turns into.

[@paulblack1811]

I think the Damascus looks better than the cold blue one!

[@AdrianMRyan]

1) When the pattern first came out I exclaimed out loud "Timothy you madman you did it." 2) I'm so happy to finally know the brand of the jackets ty ty edit: Holy crap I wrote that before getting to the ending! I agree, the etched gun blue looks better haha. But I love your creative process to get there. I do wonder if there's some application with the forge weld + laser cutter that would let you do something you otherwise couldn't. Like, could you engrave all the way through thinner sheets, and space them out such that the powder makes a somewhat 3d lattice?

[@williammorrin7933]

U got your self some new mosaic damascus my friend

[@Phiz787]

Well, I actually like the forge welded sample. Has much more handcrafted vibes. The laser one is perfect. For better or for worse. ;)

[@vegoil]

Cool concept! Looks like some sort of Mandalorian currency.

[@Sausketo]

ah now i see why my axe is taking so long lol. keep up the great work!

[@lupusk9productions]

this is an insane cool idea! I can see this making some bad ass knives and such. Would love to see you or Alec Steele or Will Stelter make something out of this idea.

[@glennbayley5863]

It would look front thirsty on a viking style Axe Thanks for the brilliant video very interesting

[@christianjonsson9378]

I personally think the welded one looks better, looks more authentic. On my phone there seems to be illusions of edge highlights. The pure laser etched one just looks factory made. Cool idea, and nice results on both of them though. Especially for a first try

[@garychaiken808]

Great job. Thank you 😊

[@cleverginger2540]

I'd love to see where the pattern goes through natural forging strikes and such. Laser is cool, don't get me wrong, but there's definitely something interesting about watching the laser precision chang through hammer strikes and nature and see that final pattern reflected on a knife, or something.

[@hardwurkindaddy]

You created an optical illusion called the Hermann grid illusion. You'll always see dark spots on the bright lines between the shapes.

[@bv1726]

It looks like you stumbled outside the damascus box, which is totally okay. Press on in a new direction. You can always come back later.

[@sackville_bagginsess]

The last one obviously look cleaner, but I prefer the first one. Hard to explain why

[@Pablo668]

Nice work. I think there is room for both methods, depending on what you're after, or a client would want.

[@nathanhawkins4108]

The trick with the stainless steel foil is that it has to be oxidized before going into the canister or it will bond to both metals

[@blatorden]

I like the Damascus one. Somehow it makes me think of those Beskar bars from The Mandalorian.

[@DigitalPetrol]

I think it's really cool and pretty

[@axeldaval3410]

My man is a student of Shurap I see 😊

[@lewgriffinknives216]

Inlay Damascus very cool!

[@hjeebus]

Ah, push it Ah, push it Ooh, baby, baby, baby, baby Ooh, baby, baby, ba-baby, baby

[@neilsimpson79]

What about using the laser to etch grid point pretty deep like little centre punch holes for guides points to drill all the way through the stock with a drill press. You could use different sized drill bits and completely fill up the holes in the stock with different types of powder. I’ve been thinking of something like this for years.

[@B.McAllister]

Dyckmascus forged inlay sounds about right.

[@adriandenny6625]

A sacred geometry patern would be cool as well

[@haraldolsen8313]

I loved it really cool 👍 Greetings from Norway.

[@lukelofgren4108]

It's a cool concept but I don't personally like it for a pattern on a blade but I think it would be awesome as a pattern for a guard or as a spacer between different handle materials. Just do the edge if possible. Or engrave a touch mark and then do the forge weld. I think that would be amazing

[@Personnenenparle]

I first tought you were gonna carve a pattern, stack some sheets and punch them together

[@PrintAndPlayPodcast]

WIth rounded edges that would be an awesome paperweight. I got the money right here.

[@simonkulovits]

Why not make normal three layer Damascus and then laser etch away both sides of the outer layers. Then flattening out again?

[@billwoehl3051]

Dude, very similar to Elijah's cannister from firecreek forge, only instead of lasers, he just puts the canoe down and uses rnd stock for the design. If this works, could lazer a scene from a movie into the steel and fill with powder.

[@paullmight42]

This triggers my trypophobia but I don't even care....it's gorgeous...

[@selahschumpelt6302]

I guess the thing I think is cool about your Damascus steel idea is that it wouldn't wear away over time. Like you could make a pattern on an axe head or something that gets used alot, and the pattern would always be visible. Maybe it would just need an acid etch every now and then, but it would stay. Would the gun blueing ware away over time?

[@rustjupiter]

I think they both have great uses but i actually like the Damascus look better

[@superfastwhatuppp6]

This would be a much bigger project but what if you did damascus as normal but then used the laser to cut that billet into some crazy shapes to then be rewelded. Something like the process of making W damascus but using the laser to make the cuts instead of the band saw. I agree that that is a cool concept that would look stunning on a knife, michaelcthulhu makes crazy steel projects using a similar style, but i think the idea that you had in the first place is an idea worth toying around with since it is so unique and its more about the process of the making that makes it more special. You can achieve the effect with the blueing but its not "true" damascus. Obviously a huge time commitment since it takes so friggen long.

[@virtusleather]

two layers of any white paint on the inside of the canister helps it release much easier. beauty tho timmer!

[@kentmckean6795]

Nice!

[@bathorimikihorsemanship]

I'd be interested if specific patterns would add structural strength as a benefit.

[@nofunclub]

Cool experiment

[@bradmcconnochie3204]

You need to patent this process asap!

[@Duckrabbit_Forging]

14:57 tim discovers efficiency lol

[@stagesmith]

You could just fill the cavities with bronze. Polish it up and blue the steel.

[@toddpierson3425]

Keep going!Awesome!

[@DrunkenDemon]

I think the powder pattern is cooler. Mainly because of the fading? The different Zonen?

[@strangeblacksmith]

I feel like this was the origin of Beskar. 😂

[@TlD-dg6ug]

Cut the exact same design all the way thru on two different steels, then swap the cutouts so the skeleton holds the cutouts of the other steel and vice versa and use the powder to fill in any gaps.

[@ronrobicheaux3245]

I’ll bet people would love to have their names etched in their own personalized axe with an old time font

[@kchortu]

get a water jet or edm cut plate and pattern weld that that way the patern will go all the way through, I bet you could get one of those metal fab online stores to sponsor you for doing it like sendcutsent or shapeways or xometry

[@kennycampbelljr5896]

I think the 1st one looks better. Won't you just be grinding the pattern away if you make anything out of it?

[@whatitmeans]

looks like metamaterial designing: I wonder what would happen if you made some pattern that works better for absobing shock in the knife, like using a harder steal for the sharp parts and a more ductile patterned steal in between as it were a spring-somehow

[@BakerForge]

Super cool man!

[@woody442]

Nice process, maybe its also possible (and possibly faster) to stamp the pattern using a machined die and then aplly the rest of the process.

[@evilotis01]

i'm no blacksmith, but i've noticed other people on YT use titanium dioxide to prevent canister sticking to workpiece-maybe worth a try?

[@jimsweeney]

You certainly come up with some fascinating ideas! Would it be possible to laser cut all the way through the steel plate and fill the holes with the powder? That way you could have your damascus effect without the danger of grinding through the pattern if you were to make a knife or an axe blade.

[@TimothyDyck]

I think so, It would just take a very long time! I thought that perhaps having a "core" of the 15n20 would perhaps keep things more stable through heat treat, but its all theoretical.

[@billwoehl3051]

White paint cheaper, and supposed to work just as good as whiteout, stainless has to be oxidized before using as a cannister sleeve.

[@MikeMiguelPimentel]

Both pieces are very good looking however I think if you do get the Damascus the way you want it not only is the pattern the 1st of its kind but you’ve now created an extremely expensive knife

[@brettfontaine4681]

I would love to see what happened if you forged on the true Damascus piece.

[@ct2368]

Awesome.

[@wetterstein3711]

How about to use the laser to make a crazy raindrop Damascus style pattern

[@PhotoArtBrussels]

Why not combine; create a non geometric Damascus with a geometric deep engraving?

[@paddydong4410]

Both still look dead cool la

[@FullSendPrecision]

awesome!

[@Jimmy-iz2rx]

What if you ran normalization cycles right after the laser etching?

[@KarrForgeandTimberWorks]

Nice work. I like the bluing method for making fine, precise patterns. But to me, that’s sorta venturing into much less interesting territory. I would much prefer an authentic, less than perfect, forge welded pattern. Much more artistic and crafty, imho.

[@cintage]

The idea behind it would be “mosaic steel”, right?

[@BlueDoorApps]

I have one question Tim, did you actually eat that tub of Foremost plain yogurt? I need to know

[@cmdrredhawk]

@shurap makes it look easy getting the box off in his videos. Could be KZbin magic or a the application of some science.

[@craigbeardcustomblades]

Forge welded one looks much better to me, just need to refine the etching process

[@Skwisgar2322]

I feel like this would be better termed pattern welded steel then damascus.

[@BirnieMac1]

Why not try using the laser in the cut holes to sinter the metal powder

[@tchinounitchou]

imagine lighter casings that you can make.

[@CH-Kiteboarder]

what abaut the oxydation from the laser?

[@donaldmatthies6026]

Timothy Have toys, will play.

[@bradleyalexsvetich4519]

new experiment cut all the way through wth a single shape repeated in a row as a long canister cut inbetween and restackand see if it could quicken say making a statburst pattern

[@DigitalPetrol]

Only 2 minutes into the video, but those lasered bit of steel would be nice etched pattern for a grip