Stephen Dowden

I agree with chris, an easy way to do it is to make a small vice from flat bar and a couple bolts. Tighten it to close gaps and hold it together then simply bring to temp. The metal will swell and the welds will set themselves. Specific temps are important and if you have a ht oven capable of holding at the desired temp i highly suggest using it. Weird stuff can happen depending on alloy though. A friend and i used .925, brass (alloy unknown), and copper to make some the other day. Apparently the silver and brass can react oddly when touching eachother in the billet. When the brass begins to wet it can cause the silver to also melt and create a new alloy at the mating surface of the brass/silver which can result in a new melt point and even drip out of the billet. We still had success oddly enough. But its a concern to take note of for sure

Hey all. So I've recently began incorporating engraving into my knifework. The first few knives I've engraved are all skeletal. No scales or hardware, but fully engraved and inlayed with 24k gold. Heat treating without scale is of course my main concern. Well now that I'm about ready to heat treat my first one (80crv2) I am pretty stressed about oxidation ruining the fine detail. I've put about 60 hours and a couple hundred bucks into it so it's imperative I get it right the first time. Well I decided to try a test piece. My plan was to coat the blade in a thin slurry of satanite, dry it, and put it in a sealed stainless steel foil pouch with a small piece of charcoal to consume any oxygen. I messed up twice. The first time I didn't remove it from the pouch and it didn't harden, but it also didn't scale up AT ALL. The second time I COULDNT remove it from the pouch haha!. So once again I didn't get a good ht. But once again no scale. The third time I got it out of the pouch and into the oil quick. SUCCESS! A couple of interesting observations I made as a result of my mistakes. The first is that the satanite turns black when in the pouch with charcoal. I've made crucibles from it and heated them well over 2300°f but the color has never changed to black. The second thing I noticed is how well the satanite adhered to the fully polished steel. In comparison I've used satanite to clay blades for hamons. But in quench it pops off fairly easily. In this process it took a little bit of elbow grease with a brillow pad to get it cleaned off. Sure enough it was damn near perfectly clean fresh steel underneath. After a couple very light swipes with an 800gr wet dry paper it was like new. To be honest this process is a great idea if you want to anneal a piece. It will really save on steel especially if you're into pattern welding. Cheers everyone. Let me know if you try this and how it turns out!. (The knife below is the one I'm almost done with. The opal is not set yet.) -Stephen Dowden IG @dowden_fine_arts

Hey All, thanks for the encouraging words!! Believe it or not the handle sections are pinned together! Certainly an interesting challenge, but necessary to keep things in line rather than rely on adhesives that may fail when the stone heats from being worked. I had the opportunity to take a lapidary apprenticeship around the time I started bladesmithing about 2 years ago. I immediately saw the potential for using it in knife making. Between cooking full time, stonework, and bladesmithing on the weekends I got burnt out and had to stop. Unfortunately I don't have a good lapidary set up right now. Lapis was a good soft material I could take down with diamond burrs on a dremel, belt sander, and sand paper on a granite block. Ultimately I want to use Agatized /opalized petrifid wood which is the Washington State gemstone. Be a good match thematically with the rhododendron burl (WA State flower). Thanks again ya'll! The positive support goes a long way

Thanks Jeff! I just lowered the price to $950 with free shipping if that helps!

Thanks for the support Gerhard!!!!

haha I thought this was about the Holdfast wood stabilizing vacuum generator, which also does not hold at all.

6.75 inch "Gothic Style" Integral Nakiri:Details:- Hand Forged- 6.75 inch Blade- 2 inch Heel- 4.75 inch Handle- 0 Degree Grind- Damascus Pattern forged from 1080 and 15n20 High Carbon Steels- Partially Hidden Full Tang- Precision Machined African Blackwood Handle for a Pinless Construction- Faceted Front Integral Boster- Gothic Style Faceted Rear Integral Bolster This was my first ever attempt at a feather pattern and as I'm sure some of you know my layer count was too high, and the straight horizontal lamination muddled the effect a bit especially when forging out the blade. Asking $950 (free shipping within the U.S.) and offer a 10% industry discount for other makers. Contact me at hollandaise.in.the.sun@gmail.com or check out my etsy/instagram for other knives and details. https://www.etsy.com/shop/olympickitchentool and https://www.instagram.com/olympic_kitchen_tool

3.5 inch "Hearth" Pattern Mosaic Damascus Paring KnifeDetails:- Hand Forged- 3.5 inch Blade- "Hearth" Pattern Damascus made from 1080 and 15n20 High Carbon Steels- Full Distal Taper- 0 degree grind- Tapered False Edge on Spine- Clipped Heel for a Comfortable Choked Grip- Hidden Tang- Octagonal Wa Style Handle made from Stabilized Buckeye Burl, Copper Spacer, and Pacific Rhododendron Burl Foraged in the Olympic Mountains- Saya made from Live Edge Pacific Rhododendron Burl foraged in the Olympic Mountains.- 3000 grit Finish on Blade, Handle, and Saya This was my first ever attempt at a "Keyway" billet assembly as well as my first ever Filicietti/Ferry Flip Asking $250 (free shipping within the U.S.) If interested Contact me at hollandaise.in.the.sun@gmail.com or check out my etsy/instagram for other knives and details. https://www.etsy.com/shop/olympickitchentool and https://www.instagram.com/olympic_kitchen_tool

8" Clipped Point Gyuto:Details:- Hand Forged- 760 Layer "Rocky Brook" Mosaic Damascus made from 1080 and 15n20 High Carbon Steels- 8" Blade- 2" Heel- 0 Degree Grind- Recurve Heel for a Comfortable Choked Grip- Clipped point for Added Versatility- Hidden Tang- 5" Octagonal Wa Style Handle made from an Exquisite Specimen of Live Edge Pacific Rhododendron Burl, Copper Spacers, and Lapis Lazuli.- Saya Made from Live Edge Figured Pacific Rhododendron Burl, Copper "Staples", Lapis Lazuli Toggle Pin, Braided and Waxed Cotton Thread, andLeather used to line the opening.- 3000 grit Finish on Blade, Handle, and Saya- The Pacific Rhododendron Burl was Harvested in the Olympic Mountain Range at the foot of Mount Constance. Asking $1300 and offer a 10% industry discount for other makers. Free shipping within the U.S. Contact me at hollandaise.in.the.sun@gmail.com or check out my etsy/instagram for other knives and details. https://www.etsy.com/shop/olympickitchentool and https://www.instagram.com/olympic_kitchen_tool

Just finished this 8" Gyuto: Paisley Pattern pattern welded steel made from 1080/15n20 high carbon steels. Integral Bolster, Full Tang, Distal Taper, 2" heel, heirloom fit Thuya burl handle scales, and damascus pins. Leave a message if you're interested. Thanks!! VID_91230212_172627_195.mp4

Really beautiful stuff!

If anyone has any questions or want to make me an offer feel free to contact me at hollandaise.in.the.sun@gmail.com.

$1000 obo *Hand forged 120 Layer 1080/15n20 damascus. *8" blade *4.5" handle. *Front and rear integral bolsters. *Precision machined stabilized padauk wood handle for a pinless construction *0.110" thick spine with full distal taper *2" wide heel I am a professional cook of 15 years who added bladesmithing to my set of skills. I used this knife on the line in a fast paced fine dining kitchen setting (day job) before making final adjustments. I tried to design this to last a cook their entire career and hopefully become an heirloom with proper care. The price tag represents the 40+ hours it took to make it, but i feel confident that its worth every penny. Cheers! VID_20190629_221255_113.mp4 VID_20190630_144153_074.mp4