All About Pocket Knives

I was just wandering if any of you customizers( not sure if thats a word?) have ever done any filework on damascus steel? I was just curious. Im not even sure what that would look like?
Thanks fellas!
edge

it would likely look alot like filework on normal steel. the pattern you see on damascus blades is brought out by etching in mild acid. if you file away the surface steel, your left with relevantly normal looking steel below until you etch again. Which actually could look kinda cool now that I think about it...

Darksev wrote:it would likely look alot like filework on normal steel. the pattern you see on damascus blades is brought out by etching in mild acid. if you file away the surface steel, your left with relevantly normal looking steel below until you etch again. Which actually could look kinda cool now that I think about it...

Then you're not talking about real damascus steel? Real damascus is the folding of many layers of steel into each other to achieve the pattern, right?

As far as the damascus that im familiar with, like bear & son, it is real layered damascus(thus the high price). http://www.alabamadamascussteel.com/servlet/StoreFront (This guy makes damascus for Bear and Son)
A friend of mine heard me talk about damascus one day so later he brought me a "damascus" fox and hound to look at.....looked like it was totally on the surface.(damasteel as ive heard it called.)

The modern pattern welded steels I've played with ( mostly in barstock form, precision ground ) generally do not show patterns, or show very faint patterns until etched. With a fine finish it looks like pretty normal steel to me. I've seen alot of makers actually use that to really nice effect, by polishing parts of the blade and etching others

While the patten is part of the steel, etching is what makes it look like what people expect damascus to look like. Polish it to mirror or hit it with some scotchbrite and it will lose most of it's distinctive look until you re-etch. My thoughts were along the lines of taking a finished, etched blade, and cutting new filework into it, exposing the non-etched steel then cleaning it up (which I would do on a blade. spring filework I usually leave file finished)

that would look pretty sweet imho. let me know if you ever try it.

Thanks Adam - That's one of the many things that I don't/didn't know, but is very good information to file away. I had not idea (been accused of that too) that you had to etch the steel in order to bring out the pattern. It's always a good day when you learn something.

No problem It's actually a really neat process, it's the same one that effects the good ol carbon steel we all love. That's why you'll almost always see some kind of high nickel steel (like 15n20, or in some cases L6 ) or just pure nickel itself in a materials list for damascus. it doesn't etch well, so when your steel turns dark, it stays bright. Delbert Ealy makes some really really sexy carbon damascus from O1/L6/Ni (http://www.ealyknives.com/damascus_steel.htm)

Larry Fuegen does a lot of file work and shaping in damascus in his knives and spurs. To check out some absolutley beautiful craftsmanship and work of this sort, go to: http://www.larryfuegen.com/
It is certainly eye candy!

Charlie

WOW!!! Thats some serious artwork!!! Dont think i could EDC any of his work, although those bowies sure are tempting.
Thanks Adam for the information on damascus....i had no idea bout the etching process.....it makes sense that after grinding the blade from a blank piece of damascus that all the little "welds" in the steel would "pollished" like normal steel!