Bret

OK this will probably sound weird, but I have done this, not on damascus but to preserve the flame patina on tongue drums. Turtle wax for your car. I have drums over two years old that get regular play - sitting in your lap hands all over them - with no loss of color or oxidation past what was put there with the torch. Give it 3-4 coats and rub it in till it shines each time, and your good to go. I've tried a similar experiment with furniture polish, and it works too, but requires it to be redone once a month or so.

It's kinda like the scale you get on steel. There is the "stuck" scale that is the transition point where it is still being transformed, and then there is the "done" scale that has fully separated from the steel, and just falls of in pieces. The entire surface will oxide over and stay in one piece, but if you grind through to a spot where it has fully converted then it will peel away just like scale.

I have in the past made some decent blades out of TI. As you know Ti cuts pretty slow. Even running 3 machines at different operation points for an aircraft engine mount I had a lot of time to play with the fall off. But It's a real pain in the rear. You can grind the blade fully to shape, and as Jerrod said when annealed in an open atmosphere it forms a very deep oxide layer. This oxide layer is hard as hell, kinda like being case hardened. It will eat a carbide endmill for lunch. I've done it twice and the results were ugly as sin, but it would hold an edge until you broke through the oxide. The biggest problem is you need to leave the entire oxide "coating" on because if you grind off a large section then it will peel. I would never try it again for a traditional style of knife, but if I were to try again, something like the knapped knifes would look pretty cool and the ugly bumpy surface would just be more "character". This was Ti 6Al-4V by the way

In answer to your questions, the information given is not correct. Your BS detector is working just fine.

i cant comment on the construction as I've never made a vertical, but points for the face, and the pot lid. Gives it character. I like it.

If you have access to a sand or bead blaster you can make any wood look like driftwood. Dry it well and hit it with a bead blaster it will bring out the rings and the texture. You can also use it to shape the handle for an organic feel. Stabilize it after you have your desired shape, and then hit again lightly to bring back the matte finish.

Awesome job man. You should be very proud of that blade. 5 days???? They are gonna be beating down your doors after that performance. Good luck keeping up with all the work that's about to come your way. You deserve it.

I've tried this and it is tough with all the irregular pieces. Try a can weld with powder and random bits. sharp triangular shapes work well. You can get some really cool looking steel this way.... and some really ugly turd looking stuff lol. but even if you get turds just cut em, stack em and turn it into a higher layer random billet. As the layer count rises even the really ugly stuff starts to even out and look good.

I hope you get to feeling better. My shoulders and elbows are part of the reason I haven't been to my forge in a while. Good luck at the doctors, and if you get a clean bill work slowly but work. picking a hammer back up after 2 years is murder.

Hey Geoff, is this going to happen? not seeing a lot of responses, but it looks like the 16/17. Let us know so we can make plans. I'd really like to meet some of you.

I wont vote, cause I'm not sure I would make it but I would love to come check it out whenever you set it up for. I've been out of the forge for a couple years now, and maybe seeing some others will kick start my muse again.

Thought this was a crazy post, but apparently someone has figured it out. http://www.popularmechanics.com/technology/news/a13919/new-steel-alloy-titanium/ . I'll be interested to see where this leads.

I've never made or used a salt pot. That being said I've always heard that it can be extremely dangerous to heat a cold pot too quickly from the bottom. Solid salts seal the top while pressure builds in the melting bottom...boom. I'm sure someone with far more experience than myself will chime in. Be careful though. I worked with a guy for years with some serious facial scars from these so honestly they scare the hell outta me. Really cool build though nice work.

If you are working in bright light and have no direct temp control I would suggest using the magnet method for determining heat. Its not perfect but you should be a lot closer than you are. I use a stainless steel pipe inside my propane forge to keep the heat a bit more even, and a magnet to help with determining temps. Magnet pulls too cold... no pull watch it closely and go slow your looking for the shadows kinda rippling through the steel. once you see it its hard to miss. I'm color blind personally so this is about the only way I can get there. I've got it down to a timing issue at this point but I have done it more than a few times. about 30 seconds past magnetic, and I'm good I just set it on top of my forge to cool slowly or into the cooling media to harden, again not perfect but It works better than no control at all.

A cheap option. You could use a clear coat. the refraction rate of the clear would be different, but the thickness is minimal so it would probably not be noticeable to the naked eye. Just thin your clear till you can easily brush it out. clean the glass well with alcohol, and brush a light layer of clear across the glass just enough to make it look wet let it dry and your good to go. It's a cheap trick car dealers use in sandy environments to make the windshields look clear and not all pitted up. works great, but the clear is not as tough as the glass so it gets bad again real fast. If you plan on protecting it in the future though it should be fine. just dont hang it out the window at 60MPH going through a desert.

How much z axis travel are you looking for? the lathe slide is a good idea, but if your only looking for a few inches, a channel, a block, a screw, and a few springs would give you a compact very rigid set-up. Block tight in channel, return with springs, and move up with screw. basically the same as the slide, but a bit more compact/stable. A set of lock screws in the channel would lock your height, and ensure stabilization at the same time. If you are having trouble visualizing I could draw it up.

You have an unmistakable style. The way your work flows is stunning. This piece is as outstanding as all your blades are. My sincere appreciation for you doing this. It makes my day every time you post one of these.

Man I gotta say that's the nicest spike axe I've seen. Well done, and thanks for the tutorial. If I ever get my forge back up this will be one of the first things I try to get my skills (meager as they are) back in order.

Make a removable sleeve that sits in the hole. You could make a couple common sizes, and use whatever hardy you like.

Hey Jacek, I have had this as my sole grinder for about 15 years. It was free at the time because it was old. I can tell you it is a good grinder that will last you a while. But if I were to purchase a grinder it would not be this one. If you have several grinders and you need one for a good flat platen then this is a good one, but one of the 72" with the interchangeable interfaces like the KMG would be my choice if I had only one grinder.

Never cut it with a plasma torch but I have cut Ti 6Al-4V with a laser using Nitrogen. In my experience it's flammability is increased the thinner it gets. I've set mill chips on fire, but nothing over about .002 thick. You shouldn't have a problem with the piece itself but you would probably be shooting flaming material out the backside instead of molten splatters, or flaming molten splatters at any rate. Oh good timing Ric ^^^ what he said

The question of your compressor keeping up is a matter of CFM more than anything. I used to use a setup similar to these in the past with a 5hp 30 and my compressor would only kick on every 3rd or 4th heat. You should be fine. But a hydraulic set up is the way to go. The speed and surface area that can be worked makes them WAY faster, and more consistant. We build tools to make our job faster, and easier. Going full hydraulic is not that much more expensive, and worth every penny. Just my 2 cents

Very nice man

Never done it myself, but decarb is a function of oxygen interaction. If you sealed it with glass like I have seen done in most crucible melts the glass should melt and seal out the O2 before decarb could take place. There are probably many people here with better answers, but it should work. Richard's pipe works the same way

how thick is the sample at 32 layers? at 1/4 inch your still almost .008 per layer. I would imagine once you get your layer count up and thickness down you'll be good. carbon doesn't move that fast or far