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Customer
Comments:
Carbon Fiber
Pen
I
just received my CF Roller Ball Pen from Sean, and it's GREAT!!! The
photos just don't do it justice. This is my first Custom (high-end)
pen, and I just hope this doesn't start me on a new kick.
Honestly, though, if you're looking for a fine writing instrument, that
has some very classy looks - look no further than Sean's work. It's top
notch.
Jade Fighter and Cable Damascus Pen
The blade is 7.5 inches of cable Damascus. The fittings are nickel
silver/copper mokume. The handle is jade. The knife came in a very nice
display case with a very sharp edge. I was super-impressed with
everything about this knife. It has the qualities of a knife costing
two to three times as much, and I hope Sean makes more knives in this
vein…
Sean's pen's are cool. They are larger and heavier than I expected,
which is all to the good. I had the pair at the office, and a number of
people who don't ordinarily seem interested in knives were really taken
with the combination. Talking with them about something as familiar as
a pen, ("people can make pens? I didn't know that."), seemed to be a
gateway for them to get interested in the knife, especially the idea of
cable Damascus. If Sean had been there, he could have signed up a
classroom of people to take a course in forging cable Damascus on the
spot…
Thanks, Sean! I know you had some misgivings about seeing her go, but
I'm one happy camper and hopefully that mitigates the trauma.
KITH Knife
Well, I got my KITH2 package from Sean Couch today and I am humbled and
shocked...
First of all, I see this beautiful glass-top presentation box that
alone is gorgeous and makes the whole thing really classy! ...It's
incredible. Super fine fingerprint-like whorls separated by large veins
of something and a beautiful gray field. ... Nice weight to this knife,
balanced right around the halfway point. Feels sharp as heck and the
knife grinds are right on. I see absolutely zero flaws or imperfections
in the steel. No voids, no nothing.
Oh man, I can't tell you how awesome this thing is. ...I've admired his
work online and he lives close by, so I'll definitely be dropping in to
take some lessons someday! Prepare yourself, Sean!
All around a beautiful top notch knife.
Viking Dagger
The Viking Dagger came about 45 minutes ago .. been looking at it ...
and smiling for most of that time .. It's and excellent piece of Art,
Smithing, and Design ... I applaud your craft .. I feel I got a value
.. Exceptional Piece of Art and Flawless Fit & Finish ...
Damascus
- What is it?
Damascus –
“Pattern Welding”
Pattern welded steel originated around the second or third century when
blacksmiths began to use layer welding techniques to incorporate
designs into the steel. Early blacksmiths used layer welding to combine
hard and soft steels to produce a stronger, more flexible blade. Hard
steel, which maintains a sharp edge, was used for the cutting edge
while softer, more flexible steel made up the blade core.
Forge welding is the core technique involved in creating Damascus
steels. It is a solid-phase bonding technique that uses heat and
pressure to make the weld. To make Damascus steel, the current method
is to stack alternating pieces of steel, each with a contrasting
composition, heat the billet in a fire and at the proper temperature
apply pressure to make the weld.
Damascus is made by cutting and stacking layers of different steels
together and welding them into a solid piece. This piece is called a
billet. This billet is then drawn and cut into two or more pieces,
restacked and welded. The number of layers in the final billet will
depend on the number of distinct layers in the initial billet and the
number of times it is folded and welded. Each fold is a geometric
progression 4,8,16,32,64,128,256,512 etc.
The beauty of Damascus steel often lies in the contrast between the
layers. To get a good contrast between the steels you must use steels
of differing compositions. For bright lines, steels that are high in
chrome or nickel are often used. For the darker lines simple carbon
steels or even low carbon steel may be used. While it is subtle, there
are the shades of gray that can be achieved by varying the high carbon
steels used.
“The reason for Damascus steel is that it is beautiful. It
requires skill to produce and more than any other material we work
with; it is capable of reflecting the knowledge, craftsmanship and
sensitivity of the bladesmith. It is endlessly fascinating how light
plays along its surface; even the most subtle actions are captured in
the metal. It maintains a history with the fire and hammer, and because
it is so responsive, it has an organic quality that transcends a plain
polished surface. It is the next level." - Don Fogg, Master Bladesmith
The patterns on Damascus are the result of twisting, stock removal, or
hammering a laminate of different steels.
The basic steps in producing a pattern-welded blade are as follows:
• Begin with several layers of two different alloys
• Stack the layers, alternating the alloys
• Weld the layers into one bar
• Hammer to lengthen the bar and fold
• Reweld the bar
• Repeat the previous two steps until a bar with the desired
number of layers is achieved.
• Create desired pattern by stock removal, punching, or
twisting the laminate.
Mokume - How do you make it?
The first step is to clean your
material. I
use copper and nickel silver sheet that I think is 0.020 thick. I buy
it in 6 inch widths; I then cut the pieces into 0.75 wide strips, six
inches long. I wash them in hot soapy water, to remove any dirt, oil,
grease, etc. then I rinse in hot water, and put them into a container
and pour straight distilled white vinegar into the container to cover
all the pieces. The vinegar will remove any oxides that may be on the
surface. If you are not in a hurry, let them soak for 12 hours. I have
also stuck them into the oven at 180 deg F for two hours when I was
crunched for time. That works well too.
Once they have soaked in the vinegar, rinse them in hot water and dry. DO
NOT touch
anything but the edges. I suppose wearing latex gloves would be good,
but I guess I prefer all those little cuts on my finger tips from the
sharp edges. Any oil from your hands on the mating surfaces could lead
to bad fusion.
Now stack them in an alternating fashion, starting and ending with the
nickel silver. NS has a higher melting point than the copper, so you
want that on the top and bottom of the billet since that is what is in
contact with your pressure plates. Your copper layers basically act as
the solder to stick all the NS together.
When you get them all stacked, place them between your pressure plates.
My plates are made from 0.5 thick stainless steel plates. They are
about 4 x 6 with a hole in each corner to accept 1/2 inch bolts.
Tip of the day: Stack your
billet and
get it lined up on a clean surface. Compress one end by pinching with
your fingers and wrap a couple layers of masking tape around it (it
will just burn away). Do the same with the other end. This will make it
1000 times easier to get all the pieces between your plates. My typical
billet has 37 layers in it; 19 NS and 18 Cu.
Once your billet is in between the plates, stick it in your shop vise
and squeeze the snot out of it and start tightening your bolts. Tighten
them as much as possible. If you have a shop press, that might be
easier, but you want to get as much pressure as possible on the billet.
Note: The edges of the individual pieces need to be flat. I use a bench
shear to cut mine, so they come out pretty flat. If you use hand
shears, you will need to flatten out all those little serrations left
over from cutting. All the pieces need to be touching each other to get
a good bond.
Now put the whole thing into the forge and heat it evenly. Don't take
it out of the forge, that will let oxidation happen and will ruin the
bond. What you are trying to do is get the whole piece up to around
1950 deg F. That is where the copper starts to melt. Go slow, until you
know what is going on. Once you start getting to orange color, things
start to happen fast.
What you are looking for is the copper to sweat. Little bb's of copper
will start to form on the edges of the billet, that is the copper
melting into the solidus state. Look for even sweat all over, it is
easy to have one part of the billet start to fuse before the other.
That is why it is easier to go slow and avoid overheating one area and
not having enough heat in another.
I usually get some pea sized globs of molten copper on the billet too,
no worries, it is still good. If you watch and go slow, you can see the
molten copper on the edges run just like solder does. Once you get good
even fusion, turn off the gas, close the forge doors, and let the whole
thing cool down to red.
Once red, take the assembly out of the forge, undo the bolts, remove
the billet, lightly forge, let cool to black, or quench if you are in a
hurry.
Now, clean up the billet on the grinder and forge or pattern it as you
would Damascus. When forging be careful not to get it too hot and melt
your billet. I do all my forging and twisting at a full cherry red
heat.
It used to take me forever to get the billet to fuse, but after a few
times, you know what to look for and now from dead cold to fused is
about 10 minutes.
Note: To not have your billet stick to your pressure plates, you can
paint them (the plates) with white out or if using SS plates, heat them
in the forge to orange, take them out, let cool to black, repeat. That
will let the SS oxidize and the NS won't stick.
Links:
Alumbaugh
Forge
Relly nice stuff made by David E Alumbaugh.
Blade Forums - Shop Talk
A great place to learn and trade ideas about knives.
RoMo
Here is a link showing more work of RoMo, the artist who created the
rendering of the Viking Dagger.
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