WIP -- Stainless Steel Damascus Lights

[PhotonFanatic]

Completed polishing on all nine SS Damascus lights today. Tomorrow the etching of a test piece will take place and then each side of a 20 mm disc will be darkened, but using different techniques. After that is done, I'll decide which technique to use for all the lights.


Of the nine lights that I've built, six of them are now spoken for, and the three remaining lights might make it to a sales thread. I say 'might', only because a few folks can't seem to wait. :devil:




These lights are taken:

The three below are still available:

 

[Midnight Run]

Awesome work Fred! Wow!

 

[Obijuan Kenobe]

Just curious as to why some of the lights seem to already show more of the woven steel pattern, and others do not?

Do you expect the shiny ones to pop out a pattern after etching as well, or to remain more subtle as they are now? Just curious.

obi

 

[RIDE]

Fred..............you are RIDICULOUS! Those are some of your best creations.....and that is saying a LOT!

RIDE

 

[PhotonFanatic]

Just curious as to why some of the lights seem to already show more of the woven steel pattern, and others do not?

Do you expect the shiny ones to pop out a pattern after etching as well, or to remain more subtle as they are now? Just curious.

obi

That was a grand experiment to see what would happen if the material was etched prior to heat treating versus etching after, which is the normal routine, at least for knife makers who work with this Damascus a lot. The shinier pieces will be etched to bring out the pattern. I did a test piece yesterday--one that had not been etched before the heat treating and my preferred etchant wasn't making much progress, so I switched to a more aggressive etchant but that leaves a rougher surface on the softer steel. Today I'll try another piece and just let it stay in the etching solution longer.

 

[wquiles]

SO. FREAKING. AWESOME.

+1

Great job Fred

 

[Policecar]

The design of the 18650 light with the trit slots is probably the coolest thing I have ever seen. This light with that multi color anodizing (forgive my ignorance) would be my dream flashlight.

 

[PhotonFanatic]

As I have mentioned before, I've been experimenting with trying to darken the etch on stainless steel Damascus (pattern welded steel). That has led me to try various blackening agents and coatings. Alas, these do darken the etch, but I'm not 100% convinced that this is the final answer. But here are some of the results:

First is a light that was darkened using ink and then clear coated:

And the next light was coated with baking lacquer and then polished:

The final example was etched in the normal manner, although it needs a deeper etch so that I can polish the brighter colored steel a bit more, imo:

At the moment, I'm inclined to prefer the baked enamel version for a darker black, but I'm coming to realize that the normal etching, while not producing really dark black, more like gray or charcoal, has its advantages and beauty, too. The main advantage being that it is bare metal and will retain its look for a long, long time.

 

[Obijuan Kenobe]

Normal etching with the more subtle pattern is tasty (small last light pictured above). Actually, the finish just after the heat treat (with a pre etch) is very very nice as well.

Awesome work.

obi

 

[precisionworks]

We lived near Des Moines, Iowa for a number of years & a very talented young knife maker was just starting his business, forging proprietary Damascus steel bars. I am fortunate to have three of his fixed blade knives because he progressed into folders & then Japanese style swords - his blades are considered by many to be the finest Damascus tool steel ever produced. At the time, around 1990, he was using a nitric acid solution for etching & it produced a deep and beautiful etch.

He is the best source for Damascus info that I know of plus he's a really nice, soft spoken, down to earth guy. You might want to contact him & see if he can shed some light (pun intended) on the various methods of etching. Please tell him I said hello. Howard Clark at Morgan Valley Forge, Runnells, Iowa.

 

[PhotonFanatic]

We lived near Des Moines, Iowa for a number of years & a very talented young knife maker was just starting his business, forging proprietary Damascus steel bars. I am fortunate to have three of his fixed blade knives because he progressed into folders & then Japanese style swords - his blades are considered by many to be the finest Damascus tool steel ever produced. At the time, around 1990, he was using a nitric acid solution for etching & it produced a deep and beautiful etch.

He is the best source for Damascus info that I know of plus he's a really nice, soft spoken, down to earth guy. You might want to contact him & see if he can shed some light (pun intended) on the various methods of etching. Please tell him I said hello. Howard Clark at Morgan Valley Forge, Runnells, Iowa.

Thanks, Barry. I've sent him an e-mail.

 

[precisionworks]

I've sent him an e-mail.

Howard can be hard to catch as he often travels overseas to exhibit his sword blades (he sells the blades without handle or sheath & even then the blades run $2k-$5k). His wife Kris often answers the home phone & can relay a message to Howard.

 

[wquiles]

We lived near Des Moines, Iowa for a number of years & a very talented young knife maker was just starting his business, forging proprietary Damascus steel bars. I am fortunate to have three of his fixed blade knives because he progressed into folders & then Japanese style swords - his blades are considered by many to be the finest Damascus tool steel ever produced. At the time, around 1990, he was using a nitric acid solution for etching & it produced a deep and beautiful etch.

He is the best source for Damascus info that I know of plus he's a really nice, soft spoken, down to earth guy. You might want to contact him & see if he can shed some light (pun intended) on the various methods of etching. Please tell him I said hello. Howard Clark at Morgan Valley Forge, Runnells, Iowa.

I consider myself extremely lucky to have met Howard Clark in person over a decade ago, and to have a completely custom, hand forged, Damascus tool steel, differentially tempered (softer in the back, harder on the edge), fixed blade from him, AND to have gotten that blade "before" he really became famous

Note that I said "blade", and not knife. This was from back in 1998, where I meet him, and I sent him my hand drawing of what I wanted the knife blade to look like (shape, thickness, etc.), and he sent me the forged "blade", for me to finish the knife with my own scales. Needless to say, I still have the original drawing I made, the original receipt from Howard when he shipped the blade back to me, and of course the knife itself, although it has developed a dark pattina and it is harder to "see" the Damascus lines. I need to clean/polish, and re-etch the knife one of these days, but I can post pictures of the "ugly" knife if Fred does not mind clutering his thread.

Will

 

[PhotonFanatic]

I consider myself extremely lucky to have met Howard Clark in person over a decade ago, and to have a completely custom, hand forged, Damascus tool steel, differentially tempered (softer in the back, harder on the edge), fixed blade from him, AND to have gotten that blade "before" he really became famous

Note that I said "blade", and not knife. This was from back in 1998, where I meet him, and I sent him my hand drawing of what I wanted the knife blade to look like (shape, thickness, etc.), and he sent me the forged "blade", for me to finish the knife with my own scales. Needless to say, I still have the original drawing I made, the original receipt from Howard when he shipped the blade back to me, and of course the knife itself, although it has developed a dark pattina and it is harder to "see" the Damascus lines. I need to clean/polish, and re-etch the knife one of these days, but I can post pictures of the "ugly" knife if Fred does not mind clutering his thread.

Will

Post away, Will.

BTW, I have received some very good etching instructions from Peter Carey--a very talented knife maker, and his technique seems to be giving me a slightly darker etch.

 

[wquiles]

Post away, Will.

Thanks Fred. As I said, it looks "ugly" today:

And a close-up of the almost faded original etching from 13-14 years ago:

BTW, I have received some very good etching instructions from Peter Carey--a very talented knife maker, and his technique seems to be giving me a slightly darker etch.

If you don't mind, I would love to know what the etching instructions/steps are - I would love to clean/polish/and re-etch my custom Howard knife.

Will

 

[precisionworks]

I consider myself extremely lucky to have met Howard Clark in person over a decade ago ...

You are a youngster ... I first went to his shop in 1989 :nana:

Different patterns take the etch in strikingly different ways. The knife on top is a four bar Turkish twist, the middle knife is random pattern, and the bottom blade is waterfall. All from the same forge & by the same maker.

 

[exquzmwa]

Beautiful examples Precisionworks

 

[precisionworks]

Beautiful examples Precisionworks

TYVM

The stag handled knife was shown in The Des Moines Register newspaper & Howard had it for sale when I stopped by his shop. You be shocked at how little it cost but Howard said "I've sold that knife twice & it's been traded back in twice so I don't need a lot for it" - that's the kind of person he is.

The walnut handled knife was made as part of a set with a pair of matching pistol grips being the other part. Had a chance to buy the pistol & did not

The top knife is a full custom, Howard's vision of the Bowie knife, built at my request. The handle is elephant ivory (pre-ban & certified as such) with a Damascus butt cap & Damascus hilt. The blade is surprisingly light & the knife is so balanced that it's pleasure to hold. In contrast to the stag handled knife you'd be shocked at how much this cost

He has a gift for design & is equally talented as a smith.

 

[Obijuan Kenobe]

Dang it, alot of bumping and posting without new photos of the lights.

obi

 

[wquiles]

You are a youngster ... I first went to his shop in 1989 :nana:

(snip photos)

Different patterns take the etch in strikingly different ways. The knife on top is a four bar Turkish twist, the middle knife is random pattern, and the bottom blade is waterfall. All from the same forge & by the same maker.

That I am

Those are stunning!

The design I gave Howard was for a strong, utility knife, and mine was an "user" around the home for several years, and it shows. I was so confident with this knive that I used it for anything/everything (I even punch holes and cut dry wall with it!) - but after learning more and more about Howards' reputation, I stopped "using" the knife, and it is mostly "retired" now, which is why I am interested in restoring its original looks where you can not only see the etching, but the hammon on the edge (the part that is harder). I also have some really prety higher grade Ironwood that I would like to use to create new scales (to replace the "basic" Black Micarta scales I originaly created - luckily I decided originally to use screws and no epoxy thinking I might put different scales!). One of these days when I have "time" ...