Damascus Steel Kitchen Knives Part 3-3

 Finishing the Knife -  Day 3

Day three starts with a heavy sanding task in order to sand lengthways on the blade in order to sand out the band sanding marks left by the belt sander along the short profile of the knife. This sanding task is done by hand sanding with 120 grade sandpaper, moving to 180 and finishing off with 320 grade resulting in a clear metallic surface with no obvious scratch marks in either direction.

Etching

The next step is etching which brings out the unique pattern effect of the damascus steel. Once the blade is cleaned and free of any impurities such as fingerprints and grinding dust, the blade is lowered into a mild acid solution and allowed to cure for five minute periods, removing and gently wiped with steel wool between immersions. Even after the first immersion the amazing damascus pattern is evident.

After three acid immersions, the blade is run under cold water for about 3 minutes and sprayed with a substance to neutralise the etching process. Once dried, the blade is lightly coated in wax.

Handel construction

Our kitchen knives had a handle length of 120mm with a bolster (the part of the handle closest to the blade) being 25mm and the handle being 95mm. We were provided with a choice of wood and some spacers to go between the bolster and handle  to add a stylized break between the two. I chose two different pieces of wood, rosewood and teak. The wood is cut to the approximate dimensions mentioned above although larger before the handles are tapered down. I chose to interpose the bolsters of my knives so I had a light bolster and dark handle on one knife and vice versa on the other.

Once the handles and bolsters are cut, the handles are drilled to the length of the tang and the bolters are precision cut to allow for the stepped-in cut in the tang. The spacers are punched to allow them to be threaded onto the tang. My spacers included a brass plate with a black spacer on either side creating a stylised emphasis on the brass.

Once all the handle pieces are able to fit comfortably, the handle is glued in place. A two part epoxy glue is used and the handle held in place for 5 minutes while the glue sets. Any excess glue can be removed from the ricasso and tang before the glue sets hard. The knives are set aside to set hard over a longer lunch.

Once all glue is set, the handles are put to the belt grinders again to square the handle. A centre line is drawn on the handle in line with the knife's tang in order to grind the sides of the handle evenly and then rotated 90 degrees in order to evenly grind the side of the handle.

Once the square handle is formed, the four corners are ground back to make an octagon shaped handle and shaped base of the handle. Additionally, hand sanding ensures a final 320 grade sand of the handle before oiling.

The final finish is a blade sharpen and polish. Additionally we were able to add a laser message on to the blade as a name word or short message. I am so happy with my two knives I left the forge with. While I had assistance from the course instructors, I truly feel I have created these knives and have had a meaningful learning experience.

Ric Noble

21 April 2024

https://youtu.be/RTBK9Uf9KJY?si=JAD0w1sOMr9gnNvl

Tharwa Valley Forge

https://www.tharwavalleyforge.com/