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There are a lot of steels called Damascus now, probably more accurately called Damascus Style. Basic idea is to keep heating and folding the steel, then hammer
by _xerces_ 6y ago
There are a lot of steels called Damascus now, probably more accurately called Damascus Style. Basic idea is to keep heating and folding the steel, then hammer it flat, then heat and fold again and again. Then, once you fashion the knife blade you etch it in acid and it shows up all the striations from the folding.
Interesting patterns can also be made starting with lots of pieces of steel like a handful of bolts and you heat and twist them together.
- C1sc0cat 6y agoCalled the Hamon in Japanese sword making. If you go to Birmingham Museum (the UK) One, they have an exhibit of swords from the late samurai period that have be re hilted by a guy who went to Japan and spent several years learning the traditional methods.
- kevin_thibedeau 6y agoHamon is not the fold patterning. It is the transition in crystalline structure from the differential cooling along the cutting edge.
- germinalphrase 6y agoJust to add on: the wavy hamon pattern is created by applying clay to the steel. When the blade is then quenched the clay slows the temperature change beneath it keeping that part of steel blade softer then the rapidly quenched cutting edge. The advantage of this was the soft spine would be tougher (less brittle) while the harder edge could be made sharper.