Buddy,
Thanks again for the comments. I checked Amazon for
LIGHT - Science & Magic, it's about $30-35 used. I'll pick up a copy.
The "Dreaded Symmetrical X", I see your point. Odd how your second photo presents in a more pleasing way.
I've made another attempt. This time I went outside, it's sunny today in Santa Rosa. I jambed my diffuser between two deck boards and shot behind it. I tried using a white piece of poster board to reflect the light back to the blade, I was marginally successful. My wife lent me some colored paper she has for her scrap-booking projects to use as backgrounds.
This damascus blade seems to be a real challenge to photograph. It muddies up if the light doesn't hit it just right. These five shots a culled from approx. 110 attempts. Let me know what you think.....
Mike