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Ed Caffrey's Workshop Talk to Ed Caffrey ... The Montana Bladesmith! Tips, tricks and more from an ABS Mastersmith.

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Old 08-17-2008, 10:04 PM
Cory O Cory O is offline
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Bandsaw blades?

I was wondering what type steel they are made of? The blades I have are about a 1'' wide and maybe 1/16 thick. What would be a good metal to combine with the band saw blades to make Damascus?

Thanks
CoryO
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Old 08-17-2008, 10:38 PM
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Ed Caffrey Ed Caffrey is offline
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It's difficult to know exactly. Cheaper blades are generally made of carbon steel, and higher quality blades are generally Bi-metal (meaning that they are comprised of two different types of steel. Neither really works very well for damascus.

Not knowing exactly what alloy your working with is the worst part. I would encourage you to make damascus out of steels that you specifically know what they are. There are many things to consider when making damascus, however, there are basically three schools of thought when making damascus...

1. Make it for looks/contrast: These people usually will use a non-hardening alloy such as pure nickel to achieve maximum contrast in the finished pattern.

2. Make it for using: These people are not all that interested in looks, and will usually combine two or more alloys with the most important factor being hardenability and useability.

3. Make it both good looking and good working: These people seek to achieve a good contrast in the finished pattern, but choose to create their damascus with two or more alloys that will harden, but will also provide excellent contrast.

What does all that mean? It means that the Bladesmith must decide what is important to themselves in a finished blade, and choose their materials based on those choices.

Creating damascus is a give and take situation..... if you want outstanding contrast, your going to give up some usability, and if you want usability, your going to give up some contrast in the pattern.

I consider myself in group #3. I choose to use 1080 and 15N20 for my damascus. I do this because the two alloys are very similar (15N20 is nothing more than 1075 with 1.5% nickel added). Both have very similar hardening characteristics, yet because of the 1.5% nickel in 15N20, the finished pattern has excellent contrast.

Years ago I tried making damascus with bandsaw blades, combining them with banding material, and various other materials. All I ever got were half welded billets, full of cracks and cold shuts. When I did manage to get a blade, more often than not it was a terrible cutter, with very little strength.

My advice is to go with know materials, and I personally believe your not going to find two steels that make better, and easier damascus than 1080 and 15N20.


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Last edited by Ed Caffrey; 08-18-2008 at 12:22 PM.
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Old 08-19-2008, 08:17 AM
Martin Brandt Martin Brandt is offline
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Cory O, If the blades are Simmonds wood bandsaw blades they should be 1070, a good carbon steel with no nickel. I talked a lot with the local Simonds rep. and was informed that all their blades 4" and narrower were 1070. Combine that with some 15n20 bandsaw blade and you should have the makings for a good #3 type blade as Ed explained. That is if they are Simonds blades. And Howdy Ed!!
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