newcomer

[Artisan iron designs]

hi all,
here is 3 of my Damascus pens, they are made of 1095 high carbon and n201 nickel (95% pure) they are a 36 layer billet in a twist pattern. I performed a sub critical anneal on them which takes 11 hrs then sanded them to 1200 grit. lastly they are niter blued at different temp's to get the color.

 

[LouCee]

Very nice work!

 

[LR9788]

Beautiful pens!

 

[thewishman]

Gorgeous!!! Beautiful work!

Do you make your own Damascus?

 

[Artisan iron designs]

Thank you for the compliment, yes I make my own Damascus. I built a (3) 1" burner forge and use a 125 ton press for the forge welding and a 80 kilo power hammer to draw out the steel

 

[thewishman]

Awesome work! I keep going back to look at them again. The color variations are so interesting. Thanks for sharing.

 

[liljohn1368]

Good looking pens.

 

[keithbyrd]

Very impressive!! I like those a lot!

 

[jttheclockman]

Welcome to the site. Glad to have you. You maybe a new comer but not a newbie pen maker with work like that. You could add great value here with this type work and hope to see what other things you make. Look around and have fun.

 

[Artisan iron designs]

Welcome to the site. Glad to have you. You maybe a new comer but not a newbie pen maker with work like that. You could add great value here with this type work and hope to see what other things you make. Look around and have fun.

Thank you for the kind words and thank all of you for looking at my pens there will be a new batch coming soon. 50 of them 25 each for 2 jewelry stores that want me to put in a display in their cabinets. I hope this works out.

 

[Skie_M]

I absolutely LOVE the color on the far left one ...


They are all still quite stunning ... just wondering, though, if you could still pull off making them into pens if they are actually heat treated rather than annealed?

 

[Artisan iron designs]

I absolutely LOVE the color on the far left one ...


They are all still quite stunning ... just wondering, though, if you could still pull off making them into pens if they are actually heat treated rather than annealed?

Absolutely, just machine first then go to 400grit finish then harden and oil quench. Finally sand to 1200 and temper then color feel free to pm me for more involved answer

 

[Skie_M]

Actually, I'm knowledgeable enough on this subject to know what you're talking about in detail already, thanks!


It does bring up the subject of durability, though .... the annealed damascus steel is softer, and thus easier to dent or scratch, though the pure nickle is quite a bit more durable... do you see considerable wear over time on these pens since they are in an unhardened state?

 

[More4dan]

Actually, I'm knowledgeable enough on this subject to know what you're talking about in detail already, thanks!


It does bring up the subject of durability, though .... the annealed damascus steel is softer, and thus easier to dent or scratch, though the pure nickle is quite a bit more durable... do you see considerable wear over time on these pens since they are in an unhardened state?

I would think it more durable than wood or acrylic in either state.

The blued finish will wear off in time and the carbon steel will rust. Are you planning to clear coat the finish? I use Renaissance Wax for my Damascus knives. I'm not sure how it will hold up to constant handling.

 

[Artisan iron designs]

Actually, I'm knowledgeable enough on this subject to know what you're talking about in detail already, thanks!


It does bring up the subject of durability, though .... the annealed damascus steel is softer, and thus easier to dent or scratch, though the pure nickle is quite a bit more durable... do you see considerable wear over time on these pens since they are in an unhardened state?

I would think it more durable than wood or acrylic in either state.

The blued finish will wear off in time and the carbon steel will rust. Are you planning to clear coat the finish? I use Renaissance Wax for my Damascus knives. I'm not sure how it will hold up to constant handling.

As for the annealed state the Damascus is still Rockwell 45+ way harder than acrylics and the bluing won't fade because I bake on a coating of satin clear gun kote at 350deg for 2hrs. It is a military grade coating

 

[Artisan iron designs]

Actually, I'm knowledgeable enough on this subject to know what you're talking about in detail already, thanks!


It does bring up the subject of durability, though .... the annealed damascus steel is softer, and thus easier to dent or scratch, though the pure nickle is quite a bit more durable... do you see considerable wear over time on these pens since they are in an unhardened state?

I would think it more durable than wood or acrylic in either state.

The blued finish will wear off in time and the carbon steel will rust. Are you planning to clear coat the finish? I use Renaissance Wax for my Damascus knives. I'm not sure how it will hold up to constant handling.

As for the annealed state the Damascus is still Rockwell 45+ way harder than acrylics and the bluing won't fade because I bake on a coating of satin clear gun kote at 350deg for 2hrs. It is a military grade coating

Sorry for the double post but forgot 2things first the nibs and butt caps will ding before the Damascus and second I perform all finish work and oven work before I assemble

 

[Skie_M]

Awesome ... I was also planning to ask about how durable the bluing on it is as well, but if it's under a good clearcoat, then that shouldn't be an issue.


If you need to edit one of your previous posts in order to add to it, the button is down towards the lower right corner of your post. I believe there's a time limit to how long it will allow you to come back and edit a post, but the top post of mine here on page 2 was done 6 hours ago, and I can still edit it right now, so that should be plenty of time to review and catch errors or add extra information!

 

[Redbeer]

Vince,
Those are absolutely stunning. Until I came upon this site, I never had a clue as to how many ways a pen could be made and now you just added another one for me. They say you learn something new everyday, here, I learn at least 3 things daily. Thanks for adding to those.

 

[Artisan iron designs]

Awesome ... I was also planning to ask about how durable the bluing on it is as well, but if it's under a good clearcoat, then that shouldn't be an issue.


If you need to edit one of your previous posts in order to add to it, the button is down towards the lower right corner of your post. I believe there's a time limit to how long it will allow you to come back and edit a post, but the top post of mine here on page 2 was done 6 hours ago, and I can still edit it right now, so that should be plenty of time to review and catch errors or add extra information!

Thx for the info as well as being new to pen turning I have no idea how forums work I only know carbon steel and stainless.

 

[Artisan iron designs]

Vince,
Those are absolutely stunning. Until I came upon this site, I never had a clue as to how many ways a pen could be made and now you just added another one for me. They say you learn something new everyday, here, I learn at least 3 things daily. Thanks for adding to those.

Thank you please feel free to ask about the process the more questions I get and answer the better my book will be. It's going to be on turning a Damascus pen

 

[Redbeer]

Vince,
Those are absolutely stunning. Until I came upon this site, I never had a clue as to how many ways a pen could be made and now you just added another one for me. They say you learn something new everyday, here, I learn at least 3 things daily. Thanks for adding to those.

Thank you please feel free to ask about the process the more questions I get and answer the better my book will be. It's going to be on turning a Damascus pen

Well, is it the same process as making as what I know of, the old Damascus steel in a layering process of layering steel, then iron, then steel? I know you mentioned other metals in there. Is is pretty much the same process? Is this kind of like folding metals? I hope those don't sound stupid, but, I'm pretty ignorant of the processes involved, so I hope they're not too stupid of questions.

 

[Artisan iron designs]

Vince,
Those are absolutely stunning. Until I came upon this site, I never had a clue as to how many ways a pen could be made and now you just added another one for me. They say you learn something new everyday, here, I learn at least 3 things daily. Thanks for adding to those.

Thank you please feel free to ask about the process the more questions I get and answer the better my book will be. It's going to be on turning a Damascus pen

Well, is it the same process as making as what I know of, the old Damascus steel in a layering process of layering steel, then iron, then steel? I know you mentioned other metals in there. Is is pretty much the same process? Is this kind of like folding metals? I hope those doesn't sound stupid, but, I'm pretty ignorant of the processes involved, so I hope they're not too stupid of questions.

Redbeer, the only stupid question is the one not asked. Yes the process is similar. Where you have steel and iron I use 1084 and n201. I stack the billet, forge weld, cut the new billet and restack. Then rewelded till the desired layer count is reached. Once that is done then I put the pattern in it in my pic's it is just a light twist.

 

[Redbeer]

Vince,
Those are absolutely stunning. Until I came upon this site, I never had a clue as to how many ways a pen could be made and now you just added another one for me. They say you learn something new everyday, here, I learn at least 3 things daily. Thanks for adding to those.

Thank you please feel free to ask about the process the more questions I get and answer the better my book will be. It's going to be on turning a Damascus pen

Well, is it the same process as making as what I know of, the old Damascus steel in a layering process of layering steel, then iron, then steel? I know you mentioned other metals in there. Is is pretty much the same process? Is this kind of like folding metals? I hope those doesn't sound stupid, but, I'm pretty ignorant of the processes involved, so I hope they're not too stupid of questions.

Redbeer, the only stupid question is the one not asked. Yes the process is similar. Where you have steel and iron I use 1084 and n201. I stack the billet, forge weld, cut the new billet and restack. Then rewelded till the desired layer count is reached. Once that is done then I put the pattern in it in my pic's it is just a light twist.

So correct me if I'm wrong, you're layering them, forging them, cutting them, re-layering them, forging them again and then cutting the blank, drilling it, then turning it? There's also a twist in there someplace, I would presume at the end of the forging? Is that kind of the basic gist of it? They're extremely cool. Again, I'm pretty ignorant of it, but this sound like a whole lot of fun for you to be able to do.

 

[Artisan iron designs]

Redbeer, it is fun and addicting to come up with different patterns. Your thought process is correct except for one. The twist is done before forging the billet to pen blank size. After forging comes the heat treat regiment then cutting and turning

 

[Skie_M]

There are many different patterns and approaches to making Damascus or watered steel, including Wootz steel and crucible steel, which create amazing and random patterns running through the metals.

You can combine various types of steels with pure iron as well as pure nickel ... so long as the metals and alloys have a similar range for melting and welding temperatures so that they can bond to each other. Just always keep in mind when working with stainless steels and nickel or nickel stainless .... nickel does NOT like to be welded to itself, and the welds will typically fail. A trick to get around an issue like that is to grab a shim of pure iron to lay between the nickel faces to get them to weld ... ideally, the iron would end up being practically invisible in that arrangement.

You are not limited to just 2 metals in a Damascus steel billet ... the only limitations you have are the limits to your own imagination.


I read a good book several years ago, part of the 4-book Inheritance Cycle (also known as Eragon) ... in the third book, the author goes in-depth into the process of forge welding the main character's new sword, from smelting the original ore right down to the final shaping, polishing, and coloration of the blade. The attention to detail was impressive, and I discovered on reading the author's notes at the end of the book that his interests also lay in metalworking, and that the account was as accurate as he could make it, given his research into bladesmithing and his own personal experience in that field. This sparked my own interest in this field and my personal journey into the world of the blacksmith's forge.

 

[Artisan iron designs]

There are many different patterns and approaches to making Damascus or watered steel, including Wootz steel and crucible steel, which create amazing and random patterns running through the metals.

You can combine various types of steels with pure iron as well as pure nickel ... so long as the metals and alloys have a similar range for melting and welding temperatures so that they can bond to each other. Just always keep in mind when working with stainless steels and nickel or nickel stainless .... nickel does NOT like to be welded to itself, and the welds will typically fail. A trick to get around an issue like that is to grab a shim of pure iron to lay between the nickel faces to get them to weld ... ideally, the iron would end up being practically invisible in that arrangement.

You are not limited to just 2 metals in a Damascus steel billet ... the only limitations you have are the limits to your own imagination.


I read a good book several years ago, part of the 4-book Inheritance Cycle (also known as Eragon) ... in the third book, the author goes in-depth into the process of forge welding the main character's new sword, from smelting the original ore right down to the final shaping, polishing, and coloration of the blade. The attention to detail was impressive, and I discovered on reading the author's notes at the end of the book that his interests also lay in metalworking, and that the account was as accurate as he could make it, given his research into bladesmithing and his own personal experience in that field. This sparked my own interest in this field and my personal journey into the world of the blacksmith's forge.

You are right about nickel being hard to weld. I found if I clean off the mill scale. Soaking the right heat (2445) for an 20 min in an oxy free environment and pre flux with kerosene it welds to itself nicely

 

[Redbeer]

Redbeer, it is fun and addicting to come up with different patterns. Your thought process is correct except for one. The twist is done before forging the billet to pen blank size. After forging comes the heat treat regiment then cutting and turning

I guess you would have to do the twist before reforging, that makes sense to me now. I'm going to have to read up on this some more as it really sounds cool. I don't think it would be something that I would ever be able to do, but, I'd sure like to know some more about it. Give me a heads up when you get the DVD and book done.

 

[Artisan iron designs]

Redbeer, it is fun and addicting to come up with different patterns. Your thought process is correct except for one. The twist is done before forging the billet to pen blank size. After forging comes the heat treat regiment then cutting and turning

I guess you would have to do the twist before reforging, that makes sense to me now. I'm going to have to read up on this some more as it really sounds cool. I don't think it would be something that I would ever be able to do, but, I'd sure like to know some more about it. Give me a heads up when you get the DVD and book done.

I would be happy to: you could be my first customer for both.