I watch so many YouTube videos on making Damascus blades: I find then endlessly relaxing. Despite seeing a pattern-welded billet being formed, I’m questioning whether I know at what I’m looking and I hope someone can confirm or otherwise my, thoughts.
This is what I believe to be going on:
The billet is formed by stacking metals of differing composition (steels with differing carbon percentages and /or nickel content usually). These differing metals undergo a differential colour change when reacted with ferric chloride. The stacked metals are forge welded welding together forming a laminar structure rather like geological strata, on the edge of the billet.
Here’s what I’m not sure about. Is the final pattern on the surface of a blade formed from the ‘strata’ of the edge of the billet? In other words, is the billet, at some point, squashed edge wise and the deforming strata finally makes the wavy surface patterns on the blade?
This is what I believe to be going on:
The billet is formed by stacking metals of differing composition (steels with differing carbon percentages and /or nickel content usually). These differing metals undergo a differential colour change when reacted with ferric chloride. The stacked metals are forge welded welding together forming a laminar structure rather like geological strata, on the edge of the billet.
Here’s what I’m not sure about. Is the final pattern on the surface of a blade formed from the ‘strata’ of the edge of the billet? In other words, is the billet, at some point, squashed edge wise and the deforming strata finally makes the wavy surface patterns on the blade?