How Damascus steel is made. Damascus steel

It is a very labor-intensive and lengthy process that requires extensive experience and knowledge of blacksmithing. The creation technology provides high quality products due to optimal alternation of layers with different parameters. As a softening substrate between layers containing high percent carbon, are used because of this combination it acquires a special sharpness and hardness.

History of origin

Blades made from Damascus steel are never produced in large quantities. They always exist in a single copy and are distinguished by a unique structure that has no comparison.

Damascus steel today is, first of all, the extraordinary quality and ingenuity of the craftsman. The name of this alloy comes from the city of Damascus, located in Syria, which was the largest center of a wide variety of crafts in the Middle East. However, there is also an opinion that this alloy was invented in India. For the first time, Europeans saw products made from this steel in Damascus; since then, the alloy has been called “Damascus steel,” under which it is still used today. Technological process was very complex, and the secret of its manufacture was very carefully guarded. This explains the very high cost of weapons made from Damascus alloy. By the nature of the product you can determine the craftsman who made it. Each blacksmith has his own characteristic style and “handwriting” with secrets

Process of creation

Damascus steel, the production of which consists of making the right choice steel grades, knowledge of their chemical composition, high-quality processing, characterized by an unusual blade pattern.

The group of Damascus steels includes refined steels and welding Damascus. The secret lies in carefully combining plates from blanks with different carbon contents. The workpieces are connected to each other by welding and forging. The process can be repeated several times. The result is an alloy with a combination of the advantages of iron and high-carbon from which the plates are made, heated in a forge, after which the blanks are intensively forged in a forge.

Thus, a higher strength of the alloy is achieved. Next, the workpiece is forged into a plate, cut and placed again in the forge. The process can be repeated several dozen times. Some blade blanks can have up to 500 layers of steel. To obtain a characteristic pattern on the blade, the blanks are etched.

Mosaic Damascus

Recently, mosaic damask has become particularly popular. Damascus steel made in this way differs from forge steel in that the design of the pattern is carried out in advance by placing the profile and contrasting metals within the workpiece. After the parts are joined by forging, a complex package is created inside the workpiece. Damascus steel uses the same principles as original Damascus.

The modern shade of Damascus steel is different from the original Damascus of the past. Historically, Damascus was considered crucible. It had a very high carbon content and had a distinctive surface due to its crystalline structure.

Damascus steel got its name because the Crusaders on their way to the Holy Land acquired new blades from this superior steel (superior to medieval European steel) in the city of Damascus. However, the modern version of steel has little in common with the past and looks more like acid-etched steel.

Damascus, which is shown here, is one of the most modern options. Damascus made of cable is perhaps one of the most simple ways forged Damascus with a complex pattern. Unlike other methods, this method does not require folding and essentially has a ready-made shape.

Step 1: Safety Precautions

The most important thing is safety. The manufacturing process involves forging, grinding and immersing the metal in chemicals, so it is important to use the proper equipment to ensure safety.

For the forge welding phase (forge welding), many people who do any forging work know the basic safety gear: gloves, apron, closed boots, etc. However, the conditions are not always met. Everyone knows eye protection is important, but for this type of work you need special kind protection. The above and only photo in this section is of neodymium glasses. The reason for this is that such glasses are simply necessary for such work.

Experts often neglect this protection, but do not repeat after them. The heat required for forge welding creates radiation that can cause vision loss over the long term. Neodymium glass, however, blocks most of the radiation and keeps your eyes safe. Please note: Neodymium glasses are not the same as welding helmets or sunglasses. By using them in forge welding, your pupils will dilate and your eyes will receive even more radiation.

Step 2: Making the blanks

Before you start working with the cable, you need to prepare. Before it gets into the fire, you need to cut off the part you need, as in the first photo. I cut 3 pieces of 30 cm cable with a diameter of 2.5 cm using a cutting saw. You can cut the cable in any other way, just make sure that the cable you use is made of steel without the use of plastic and that the steel is not galvanized, as the heat reacting with the coating will release gases that can lead to severe poisoning and even of death. Keep this in mind when looking for a cable.

In addition, if this is your first time trying to make this kind of product, perhaps you shouldn’t immediately take such a thick cable, but take, for example, one with a diameter of 1 - 1.5 cm. You won’t get a large and thick product, but you will have good practice before more complex projects.

After cutting, be sure to tighten the cable ends with steel wire. This is done so that the weaving does not unravel during the first stages of work. Be sure to use plain steel wire because other wires that are coated or made of a different material may melt or react with heat and ruin the entire product.

Everyone who makes their own Damascus steel has their own list of steps or secrets that seem to make the process faster and easier. I encourage you to use trial and error to come up with your own plan that is optimal for you personally.

I start by soaking my cold metal in WD40 until it's completely saturated and then covering the whole thing with regular borax before putting the piece in the fire. Both borax and WD40 are needed to prevent oxidation that could make forge welding impossible.

Borax generally does not stick to metal if it is hot or wet, and WD40 will not burn in a forge, so I wet the metal with WD40 first and then sprinkle it with borax, which is the best option for me.

Step 3: Forge Welding

After placing the product in the oven, heat it until it turns bright orange or yellow. Once it reaches the appropriate temperature, let it sit for another minute or so to allow all the metal to absorb the heat and heat evenly.

The cable must be twisted before the shots can be made. It is filled with empty space, which is bad for forge welding. Secure one end of the cable in a vice or similar and use whatever handy tool you find suitable (I used pliers) to twist the sections in the direction the cable is already twisted.

This step may require several reheats. Continue twisting the cable until it stops curling. Make sure the cable does not bend as this will make the whole process much more difficult.

Each time, before putting the cable into the fire, you need to sprinkle it with borax until the metal becomes homogeneous. To ensure that the borax sticks to the metal, pour it in at a time when the product is bright red. Important point: When borax melts, it becomes corrosive and can damage the inside of your forge, so make sure the bricks in your forge are fireproof.

Additionally, hot borax on your skin can be quite painful and may leave scars, so be sure to wear appropriate gear. The last part of forge welding is the weld itself. When the item is hot, you can start hitting it. The idea is to first knock it out into a square block shape. When you hit, you have to watch the cable turn. Personally, I prefer to start in the middle and work my way to the ends.

Impacts will cause the fibers to separate from each other, so it is necessary to reduce the distance from the first impact to the next as much as possible. You will understand that the product has become homogeneous by the changed sound that will be produced when struck. Initially, it will be duller, but as soon as the metal becomes homogeneous, the sound will become bright and ringing. Once it becomes homogeneous, you can begin to add the required form.

Step 4: Molding

When planning your project, be sure to remember that the end result will be much smaller in size than the original cable. Also keep in mind that the cable ends may unravel and not be welded. Don't worry, just find where the weld starts and trim the end. Due to the nature of the cable and the number of gaps and protrusions in it, you are bound to encounter holes and holes unless you use an air hammer or a forging press.

The point is to crumple the cable, see what you're dealing with and go from there. I decided to make pendants in the shape of a teardrop shield from my piece. The finer the grit you use in your final sanding, the better the design will be visible. Since I wanted a very deep etching, I didn't need to sand too smooth. Enough sandpaper 120 grit before etching.

Step 5: Final stage and defense

Damascus steel should look like one solid piece of metal. To get the pattern, you need to etch the steel with acid. There are several options for using acids, but personally I use ferric chloride. If you want a very superficial etching, such as an image on a surface, you only need to dip the metal in acid for about 20 minutes.

I wanted a very deep etching that you could feel, so I immersed my piece for 7 hours. Once you have finished etching, you must clean the metal and neutralize the acid. One of the easiest ways to do this is to simply spray glass cleaner onto the engraved piece after it has been rinsed with water. Be sure to wear gloves and eye protection for all of this. If you want to add some color to the piece, like in the last two photos, just heat it up a little after etching until the desired color is achieved.

Once the etching is complete, the final step is to protect the metal. Steel is strong, but unfortunately, it tends to rust. If the piece you are using needs to be practical, like a knife, you can apply wax to its surface.

If the piece is more decorative, you can apply a clear coat. It all depends on preference. Personally, I decided to try nail polish. I usually use clear polyurethane, but this time I decided to try something new. Once the piece is varnished, all that's left is to enjoy the look.

Step 6: One Last Point

The piece I made does not require any hardening or heat treatment because it is a decorative piece. If you decide to make a blade out of cable, you need to keep in mind that when hardened, the steel tends to deform in the direction the cable twists. If you want a practical material, make it thicker, otherwise you might start with a knife and end up with a corkscrew.

Step 7: Addition

Here are some more links to pendants. To achieve a very deep etching, they were all etched for almost 24 hours. They were all heated to different temperatures to develop different colors. Finally they were coated with polyurethane to prevent rust.

Hundreds of modern steels are suitable for compiling a package; I will name only a small number. By chemical composition Suitable: shx15, shx4, shx20sg, shx15sg, 65g, 50xfa, 60s2xfa, 70g, 70s2ha, 5xnm, 5xgm, 5x2mnf, 6xvg, 5xnv, 9xs, xvg, y8, y10, y12, y13a, etc. In terms of forging and hardening temperatures, Shx15, U8 and 65g are ideal for each other. The temperature for welding them is approximately 1100 degrees, the forging temperature is 900-1000 degrees, the hardening temperature is 850 degrees. All of these steels comply with the “three rules” and are easy to find in everyday life.

When used in equal proportions, these steels produce Damascus steel with a carbon content of 0.8%. To make a package, we will forge these steels into plates of equal dimensions, approximately 15*5*1 cm. Let's put them together into a 6-layer package: y8 - wx15 - 65g - y8 - wx15 - 65g. To prevent the package from falling apart at the corners, we will grab it with electric welding and weld a handle from a piece of reinforcement 50-60 cm long from the end. The package is ready for welding. Now let’s place it in a heated forge and bring it to a temperature of 850-900 degrees, this is a red-orange color. Let's pull the bag out of the forge by the handle and place it on its edge so that all layers of steel stand vertically. Place a handful of borax on top of the bag. The borax should melt and flow right through the bag. If the borax does not leak, you need to add more. If the borax has not all melted, you need to hold the bag of borax in the forge over the coal until the borax melts. Then you need to rotate the package 90 degrees so that all layers of metal are horizontal relative to the ground. In this state, the borax should boil between the layers of steel for several minutes. This is necessary so that the borax dissolves all the slag and scale on the metal that forms when the metal is heated in the forge. Then we take out the package heated to orange color, this is approximately 900-950 degrees Celsius. We place the package under the hammer and hammer it with gentle blows from one edge to the other. With this action we squeeze out the liquid borax with all the toxins. It is not advisable to forge over the entire surface of the package; borax may remain inside the package, which will subsequently lead to “lack of penetration.” After all the borax is squeezed out of the package, the package is not yet welded. We simply brought together the layers of metal cleared of slag and now there is no air access to the metal being welded. This whole process must be carried out very carefully and preferably with protective glasses. Hot borax splashes out of the bag several meters in different directions and this is very dangerous. Place the bag in the forge again and heat it up to a welding temperature of about 1100. degrees, white heat. The color of the package should resemble the color of the hot sun. While the package is heated to welding temperature, it must be constantly monitored and constantly turned in the forge so as not to burn out. As soon as the metal began to glow sparkler this is a burnout. The readiness of the package for welding is visible when the package is evenly heated to white heat, there are no dark spots on it and sparks just begin to bounce off of it. The package, ready for welding, is removed from the forge and hammered along its entire length. In the future, you need to stretch the package into a strip by forging. Strip drawing should be carried out at a heating temperature lower than the welding temperature, approximately 950-1000 degrees - yellow heat. When forging a package “on edge” at a temperature of 950-1000 degrees, you will immediately see whether there is a lack of fusion; in place of the “lack of fusion,” the layers will separate. Lack of penetration is not so bad; borax is added again to the place where the layers have separated and the welding process is repeated. Burnout is terrible. At the site of the burn, the steel can no longer be treated. After the package is pulled out into a strip, it can be cut hot or simply cut with a grinder into, say, three equal parts. These parts are put back into a bag and the welding process is repeated. So from 6 layers you will get a package of 18 layers, then from 54, etc. The pattern resulting from this forging process is called "wild damask pattern." To obtain a clear contrasting wild pattern, you need to collect approximately 300-500 layers in the package. During the forging process, only about 2 kg of the finished product will remain from our 3.5 kg package; the rest of the metal burned out during the forging process. To improve the quality of Damascus steel, the last drawing of the package into a strip should be carried out at a temperature of 850-900 degrees, red-orange color of heat. This allows you to achieve a fine-grained steel structure. It is best to harden Damascus steel in used machine oil. After hardening, the pattern on the steel becomes even stronger. Damascus steel cannot be hardened in water; it can simply break there. Japanese blacksmiths harden their swords in water, but they coat them with fire clay before hardening. After quenching in oil, Damascus will have a hardness of approximately 60-64 Rockwell units. To relieve internal stress in Damascus steel, it must be released. This is done by heating the steel twice to a temperature of 180-200 degrees for 1 hour. This process can be carried out even at home in the kitchen in the oven. The pattern on the steel is revealed by etching it in a 5% solution of nitric acid or ferric chloride. Each master selects the concentration of ferric chloride for himself. You need to start learning how to make Damascus steel with “wild Damascus”, and from there you can move on to making more complex patterns. Another tip for those who heat the package in a coal forge. It is advisable to use coke as fuel; it clogs the grates less and produces more heat. It is advisable to warm up the package itself in upper layers coal or even on top of coal. In these layers, air passing from bottom to top remains practically without oxygen. All oxygen burns out passing through the coal, and in the upper layers of coal it is highly enriched carbon dioxide. As a result, in the upper layers of coal the metal is almost not oxidized and is partially carbonized and reduced.

The desire to make Damascus steel with your own hands must have a certain rationale behind it. The appearance of such material is explained quite simply. For several millennia, progress depended on the level of development of weapons technology. To have a light and durable weapon, suitable materials were sought. You can swing a heavy sword, intimidating the enemy. Having a convenient sword of light weight, it is easier to hit an enemy clad in armor.

Even large knights (bogatyrs), dressed in armor, often could not oppose anything to nimble opponents armed with light swords, swords and broadswords. Strong and sharp steel found flaws in the protection, penetrated into the joints of the armor, inflicting fatal wounds. The special strength made it possible to produce convenient weapons with low weight.

Bulat and Damascus

Drawing of Damascus steel on a metal cut:

The term Damascus steel appeared relatively recently. A similar name for forged products began to appear in various sources in the middle of the 19th century. Before this, the name “Gurda” was more often used, as the creations of blacksmiths from the Caucasus and Mesopotamia were called. There they began to forge products from a mixture of alloys, achieving an unusual pattern on the surface of the blades.

Damask steel, as historical research shows, came from India. History museums have preserved samples of weapons that used alloy steel castings. Most often they contain chromium, the concentration of which can reach up to 14%.

However, damask steel production is designed only for individual production. Therefore, the technology is quite expensive. The master spends a lot of time to make a specific sample. If there is a conversation about mass production, then do not count on complex technology.

Only the Zlatoust Arms Factory (the only large enterprise) produces damask blades. Damascus steel products are produced upon special order. Prices for goods are high, but there is a stable demand for products not only within Russia, but also abroad.

Metallurgist Pavel Petrovich Anosov studied production technology and created industrial technologies. The results of his work are present in all textbooks on metal science and blacksmithing.

Modern damask steel in products - a replica of the HP-40 knife in a modern design, made to order:

During the Great Patriotic War The plant produced army knives and sabers for cavalry. Quite a lot of weapons have since been sold on various Internet resources. Modern blacksmiths produce remakes (this is the name for products that are made in the image and likeness of ancient samples). Several hundred workshops offer copies that are difficult to distinguish from the original.

Scout knife NR-40, made in 1942 - more than 7 million copies were produced:

Judging by the number of offers and prices, we can conclude that individual goods are in stable demand. The production of products from damask steel and Damascus steel can be quite an interesting and profitable business.

Modern knife HP-40, made according to samples from the period of the Great Patriotic War:

Experts see the difference between damask steel and Damascus steel in the raw materials:

1. Damask steel is an alloy that contains a significant amount of alloying elements; during subsequent forging processing, platinum is connected using the forge welding method, which gives the product a complex of new properties.
2. Damascus is a mechanical connection of metal blanks that differ in their properties. Forging up to several dozen layers is performed.

Use of high-quality steel in products

It's not just weapons that need durable materials. Structural materials with special properties are used in a wide variety of industries.

Forged products work in cars, railway transport, agricultural machinery, spaceships. Only very simplified technology is used. Forging is used to achieve fine grain in the structure of the metal. Possible cavities that are present in the castings are eliminated.

An example of a modern blade with a pronounced pattern:

There are pros and cons for Damascus steel.

Positive characteristics

• High strength of the product, withstands loads applied in different directions (compressive, tensile, bending and other types of loads).
• Wear resistance of the cutting edge, holds its edge for a long time.
• Has an unusual appearance, it is impossible to repeat the design on a similar object, makes it recognizable.
• High cost of implementation.

A special type of Damascus steel made from wire rope:

The listed advantages often attract craftsmen to engage in production using the technology of repeated forging of workpieces. For each new batch of goods, its own forging methods and sequence can be used.

Flaws

The main disadvantage is the high labor costs for producing the product. It is necessary to resort to repeated heating of the workpiece.

High carbon steel is susceptible to corrosion. To the question: “Does it rust?” We can answer unequivocally that without proper care, rust quickly destroys the product.

Even at home, it is advisable to regularly care for items made of Damascus steel. They are wiped with vegetable or mineral oils, and then the excess is removed with a dry cloth. Original weapons are processed at least once a year. Then it lasts for a long time.

Damascus steel fin, modern product:

Equipping a workshop for the production of products

In a workshop home handyman If you want to start manufacturing products from Damascus steel, you need to have:

1. Welding machine– with its help, plates of materials of different strengths are welded into a single block, which can be processed together.
2. Forge - it heats blanks from finished items to high temperatures (more than 800 ⁰C).
3. An anvil is needed for forging. Forge welding is performed using the deformation method; the shape of the part changes at different stages of processing.
4. A set of hammers and mallets helps you strike with different strengths. When working together, the leading blacksmith uses a light hammer to show the assistant where to strike with a heavy hammer.
5. A vice is used to hold workpieces at different stages of work.
6. Drilling machine necessary for drilling holes.
7. The sharpening machine is used more often than others; it gives shape and sharpness to products.
8. Grinder is a variant of a sharpening machine, distinctive feature consists of using a tape with an abrasive coating, glued into a ring. Using a grinder, smooth slopes are formed at a given angle.
9. Machine for making slopes. High-quality sharpening to razor sharp is possible only with a special device that allows you to move along a strictly defined trajectory.
10. Grinder with a set of cutting and cleaning discs. A simple tool helps you do the most different types actions.

Sharpening a blade on a grinder:

In addition to the basic set of machines and devices, many craftsmen additionally use woodworking equipment. It helps to make handles from durable wood. Small lathes help create complex fittings that decorate finished items.

Homemade miniature grinder, grinding slopes:

Workshops that produce high-quality knives have rollers. Heated workpieces are rolled onto them to obtain a plate of a certain thickness. Do-it-yourself Damascus steel is obtained after repeated forging and rolling through rollers.

The presence of a crank hammer helps to forge the workpiece with a series of numerous blows. Pneumatic or Hydraulic Press used for volumetric compression of metal. One movement gives the desired geometry.

Some craftsmen have dies and punches that allow plastic deformation to give a standard shape, for example, pressing a fuller on a blade (used to add rigidity while simultaneously reducing weight).

Blanks for the production of damask steel

Making damask steel is not difficult; steels and alloys with predetermined properties are used for its production. Finished products and special ingots are used. Blacksmith shops use scrap metal or parts purchased from retail outlets. The table shows the materials that are most often used to make forged items.

Step-by-step technology for making damask steel from bearings

Products from finished ingots or billets are produced in the following sequence.

The inner ring of the bearing is made of ShKh-15 alloy. It is sawed with a grinder cutting disc and sent to the forge for heating. The desired heating temperature is 900…950 ⁰С.

The workpiece is held on the anvil with blacksmith tongs. By beating the bulges with a hammer, a strip is formed from the ring.

Remove depressions from the strip.

The grinder gives the desired shape.

The workpiece is held in place using a special mandrel. A constant angle allows you to create identical slopes on both sides.

The final shape of the product is obtained by turning.

GOI paste and an auxiliary velvet roller help polish the surface.

After polishing, a finished blade is obtained. All that remains is to make the handle, bolster and sheath. Then the product can be considered finished.

Blanks for the production of Damascus

Any craftsman can make Damascus steel at home; alloy kits are used for this. They contain soft and hard inclusions. By combining them with each other, they achieve blades with pronounced structural patterns.

The following combinations are used, shown in the table. Some workshops offer their own options. The proposed schemes give the best performance.

When starting production in your own workshop, it’s easy to find out how much the finished product costs. Many online shopping sites list prices. As you gain experience and improve the quality of the product, you can increase the price of your products.

Video: how to make Damascus steel?

Step-by-step instructions for making a knife from a cable and a file strip

Damascus steel and products made from it are more difficult to manufacture. But the finished sample will have a more attractive appearance. Below is the sequence of blade manufacturing.

Blanks are prepared from several sections of cable. They are welded using rods made of of stainless steel. The cable is a hard metal, and stainless steel is a soft, ductile material.

Before starting work, washing is carried out. Used in diesel fuel. It is advisable to wash away any existing organic inclusions.

Primary firing is carried out in a muffle furnace.

Borax helps get rid of scale. At high temperature slag will not linger inside the workpiece.

First cleansing forging. Light blows. It is necessary to mechanically shake out possible impurities, then shells will not form.

Forging with a light hammer allows you to give it a rectangular shape. First, the surface layer is compacted.

Forging with a heavy hammer is carried out to compact the entire internal space. The goal of this operation is to obtain a monolithic product.

The machine creates a strip of the required size. Now the workpiece according to its parameters turns into a plate.

After automatic forging, the desired pattern appears on the workpiece.

If you are not satisfied with the appearance, you can reforge it. Skilled craftsmen often reforge the plate several times and then twist the workpiece. Then the original stars are formed.

The future cutting edge is welded. For it, a file strip is used, in which U10 steel is used. The hardness on the edge is HRC 60…63. The rest of the blade will remain plastic.

The handle is forged on a heavy 120 t press.

The blade takes the desired shape. Heating over 900 ⁰C makes the metal very ductile.

The handle is forged.

The finished forging already has a rather attractive appearance. It is necessary to grind down the slopes so that they are formed cutting edges.

The slopes are ground down. The blade is ready for further work. The most labor-intensive part of the work is done.

The pattern on the blade shows that the product is made of Damascus steel.

Blade options. None of them will ever happen again. Each will have a structure unique to itself. Using acid, a deeper pattern is achieved.

More possible variant. If you change the thickness of the cable and stainless steel at the welding stage of future elements, you can get new types of Damascus each time.

Using other materials, you can create other types of blades.

Currently, the art of metal forging is experiencing a period of revival. The skill of such gunsmiths as Leonid Arkhangelsky, Sergei Danilin, Andrei Koreshkov testifies to the fact that Russian weaponry and blade-making traditions remain unsurpassed to this day.

The articles published by master blacksmiths widely cover the question of the history of their art, the theoretical basis for making, say, cast damask steel, but I am sure that many read these articles in order to get an answer to the questions: “How is this done?” what to start with? and similar ones, but, at best, they stumble upon a statement of the fact that such art is complex and accessible only to the initiated. In this article I will try to cover the art of the blacksmith-gunsmith from scratch, for those who want to start practicing this fascinating activity, but do not know where to approach it. The article will be devoted mostly to complex technological composites. The fact is that I began to get acquainted with the art of forging with independent attempts to obtain Damascus steel, so first of all I am counting on readers who, as they say, “rave about Damascus.” I will touch on basic forging techniques very sparingly - firstly, this and so there is enough literature devoted to this; secondly, to learn how to simply forge, you can find a private forge and work as an apprentice for several months, but it’s difficult to become an apprentice to a renowned bladesmith who makes patterned composites. I hope that this article will somewhat compensate for this injustice. I will also not touch upon the problem of hardening in this article - competent hardening of steel, especially Damascus, is a limitless material, but basic information on hardening steels with different carbon contents can be gleaned from textbooks on metal science. I would like to immediately make a reservation that these materials are in no way a guide to the manufacture of edged weapons, which, let me remind you, is in accordance with Art. 223 of the Criminal Code of the Russian Federation is a criminal offense. A plate of hand-forged Damascus, polished and etched, will bring you no less satisfaction at first than a knife or sword. I am going to talk about how to make the MATERIAL and I am not responsible for the further use of this material. If you do not have a license to manufacture weapons or if you cannot find work at an enterprise that has such a license, you can always find a way to do what you love without violating the norms of the Criminal Code and the Law of the Russian Federation “On Weapons.”

Arrangement of the forge

So let's get started. First of all, you need equipment. Some of it will need to be purchased, some can be made yourself. You should start by determining the territory where your blacksmith shop will be located. If you have a suburban land plot- wonderful, even in the most primitive version of the forge - in the open air - forging from April to November is guaranteed to you. In addition, when forging in the open air, it is automatically solved important problem removal of gaseous products of fuel combustion, most of which are toxic. In order not to depend on the weather, a canopy on poles must be installed over the site of the future forge, the roof of which must be made of iron sheet, since the temperature even two meters above the mountain is sufficient for a rapid fire. If you do not have the opportunity to work in the lap of nature, then the forge can be equipped indoors. The main problems that arise in this case are hood and fire safety. In addition, using, for example, a garage as a forge requires much larger capital investments and is associated with greater organizational difficulties. Wherever you are located, do not use flammable or flammable materials near the forge fire. Construction Materials and substances, the floor, ceiling and walls of the room must be metal or concrete, and a powerful exhaust hood must be located above the furnace. Personally, I still prefer to work outdoors under a canopy, and in my experience, this is possible even in winter.

Required Blacksmith Tools

Having decided on a place for a workshop, it is necessary to solve the “basic issue of a blacksmith” - the issue with the tool. Unfortunately, buying blacksmith tools is now very difficult. Items that you simply need to purchase include:

Mosaic Damascus

“Mosaic Damascus” is a steel in which sections with different types of patterns are welded together. The possibilities for imagination here are endless. I propose to make a damascus with a Sutton Hoo smoke pattern, after the name of a fossil Scandinavian sword.

Weld a package consisting of 7 layers of three steels - St3 (gives a white metallic color when etched), U8 (black color) and any spring steel (gray color). The alternation can be anything. The finished plate should be wide and thick enough so that 8 square-section rods with a thickness and width of approximately 7-8 mm can be cut from it. You may have to make several plates. The length of the rods should be about 30 cm. After this, mark 4 cm sections on each of the rods. Heating and clamping the rods in a vice, according to the marks obtained, twist half of the rods in one direction (say, clockwise), and half in the other. Twisting will occur in sections, so that twisted sections alternate with untwisted ones. Try to keep the twisted and untwisted areas on all rods in the same places. After this, hammer each rod again, restoring their square cross-section along the entire length.

Now take four rods - two, twisted in each direction. Lay them sideways on the workbench, making sure that the layers of metal in each bar are facing you. The twisted sections will touch and alternate. A rod twisted clockwise next to a rod twisted counterclockwise, and so on. You will end up with a package that resembles folded fingers. Place several thick nails across the bag on each side - they can be removed later - and electric weld, holding the bag together. Weld also the handle rod. Since the thickness of the package is small, fluxing can be done immediately before forge welding. Heat the bag until scarlet, sprinkle thickly with borax on both flat sides, and heat further. Welding is carried out at the highest possible, but excluding burnout, temperature, with very light blows of a hammer (to prevent delamination of the fan-shaped package). They are applied along the side surface of the package, and not along a wide plane. Mastering this art, called end welding, is not easy. First, it makes sense to practice on square steel bars, so as not to spoil the complex layered steel.

As a result, you should have two monolithic plates. Each consists of four sections of bars twisted in opposite directions. By itself, such steel is not very strong, so it should be welded onto the base. The base can be either damask or simple (in this case the best option– a plate made from a tempered and forged spring). It should be the same size as the resulting mosaic plates. The base is collected in a bag with the resulting plates and welded together. The result is a finished piece of steel, the surface of which has a beautiful pattern, similar to candle smoke. A product made from such damascus should be forged very carefully, trying to achieve the most approximate shape through forging. When turning with a grinder or on a wheel, the pattern may deteriorate. Proceed with grinding work only when the shape of the future product is indicated in almost all details. Make sure that the metal deforms evenly when forging so that the core and outer patterned plates do not move relative to each other.

Making mosaic, or any other damask, is fascinating. For the sake of pleasure from the unique beauty and properties of steel, it is worth looking for your own path, and not being afraid to start over again and again. Good luck to you in your endeavors, and may Volund, the ancient patron of Scandinavian blacksmiths, help you!