Pattern Welded Steel Combinations

Both types of damascened steel show complex patterns on.

Pattern welded steel combinations.

Damascus steel was the forged steel of the blades of swords smithed in the near east from ingots of wootz steel either imported from southern india or made in production centres in merv or khorasan these swords are characterized by distinctive patterns of banding and mottling reminiscent of flowing water sometimes in a ladder or rose pattern. Pattern welding is the practice in sword and knife making of forming a blade of several metal pieces of differing composition that are forge welded together and twisted and manipulated to form a pattern. These bands can be highlighted for. Damascus steel also known as damascened steel and sometimes watered steel now commonly refers to two types of steel used in custom knife and sword making pattern weld giving the appearance of original damascus steel and wootz true damascus a steel of legendary sharpness and strength whose method of forging has been lost to time.

For this a hydraulic press is probably the best but a larger hammer with a good amount of compressive mass behind its blow will also do the job. Often mistakenly called damascus steel blades forged in this manner often display bands of slightly different patterning along their entire length. True damascus steel is actually what is known as wootz which was made in southern india as early as 300 b c. The esthetic result is similar.

Pattern welded steel needs to be squeezed in order to weld nice and tight. The most common pair of steels is 1085 and 15n20 these steels will create a pretty good knife with a nice visible pattern. Unlike wootz steel whose pattern arises from the presence of one or more impurities pattern welded steel is the deliberate combination of billets made from different metals iron alloys during the making of a blade. Blacksmiths in europe attempted to match the steel using the pattern welding technique forged from alternated layers of steel and iron folding and twisting the metal during the forging process.

For a pattern welded damascus blade you simply need two pieces of steel that contrast each other strongly when etched yet heat treat pretty similarly. Waves and circular patterns of light and. Good compression is the key to bringing the weld surfaces firmly and completely together. By heating iron ore carbon and other alloying elements in a crucible and.