# Rain Drop Pattern Welded Blade



## Foot Patrol (Feb 1, 2021)

Been a while since I have posted any of my knives. Sold this one today to a fellow in Texas. The damascus of this knife was made from 1095 and 15n20 steel folded to approximately 150 layers and then I added a few rain drops to the pattern. The stabilized Buckeye Burl handle material was bought on WB about 6 years ago and unfortunately I have forgot who I bought if from. Getting old sucks. I hope you like it.

Reactions: Like 3 | Thank You! 1 | EyeCandy! 6 | Way Cool 6


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## Wildthings (Feb 1, 2021)

That is a great looking pattern!!

Reactions: Thank You! 1 | Agree 1


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## Nature Man (Feb 2, 2021)

Wickedly nice knife! How do you make the raindrop effect? Decadent handle! Chuck


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## T. Ben (Feb 2, 2021)

Gorgeous knife,the raindrop is awesome.

Reactions: Like 1 | Thank You! 1


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## Foot Patrol (Feb 2, 2021)

Nature Man said:


> Wickedly nice knife! How do you make the raindrop effect? Decadent handle! Chuck


I use a press to make my damascus. After you get to the layer count you want to stop at, you randomly drill holes in the damascus billet about a 1/3 the way through. Then flip the billet over and do the opposite site but being careful to not drill in the same location on both sides. Then reheat the billet to forge welding temperatures and press it so all the holes are filled in flat it on each side. The material from the opposite of each hole shifts up or down creating the pool or rain drop effect. My finished drops are very chatoyant and appear similar to a quilted wood figure having a 3D effect in the light.

Reactions: Like 1 | Thank You! 1 | Informative 3


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## Mike Hill (Feb 2, 2021)

Beautiful blade/knife. I aspire to create pattern weld like that!

Reactions: Thank You! 1


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## JR Parks (Feb 2, 2021)

Very nice Scott

Reactions: Thank You! 1


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## Eric Rorabaugh (Feb 2, 2021)

Beautiful blade and handle!

Reactions: Thank You! 1


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## Gdurfey (Feb 2, 2021)

Yep, I like it. Great work.

Reactions: Thank You! 1


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## 2feathers Creative Making (Feb 2, 2021)

Purdy stuffs. How rust resistant is that combo? With that sheen, I was thinking it would carry nicely without too much surface rust


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## barry richardson (Feb 2, 2021)

That's sweet! Do you make your own Damascus?

Reactions: Thank You! 1


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## Foot Patrol (Feb 2, 2021)

2feathers Creative Making said:


> Purdy stuffs. How rust resistant is that combo? With that sheen, I was thinking it would carry nicely without too much surface rust


If you take good care of Damascus knives they will last a long time. The etchant I use is Ferric Chloride and it put a black rust on the knife and does give the knife some additional protection. If you keep the knives clean (remove any fingerprints right away), dry and regularly put oil them, you should not have any rust. I recommend not to store your knives in the sheath as the sheath can act like a sponge and attract moisture that can rust the knife. I provide to my customers a zipper case along with a sheath. The knife is better stored long term in the soft case and in the sheath when you leave the house.

Reactions: Like 1


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## Foot Patrol (Feb 2, 2021)

barry richardson said:


> That's sweet! Do you make your own Damascus?


Yes I make my own Damascus. I have a 25-ton press and this helps greatly. My next toy is a Hot Roller which I will pick up in 2 weeks. This will allow me to thin my billets out to 1/8 inches thick and the length should increase by up to 50+% what I can do on just the press alone. 

My new Damascus project is to get proficient with making canister damascus. You really never know what the pattern will turn out to be.

Reactions: Like 3


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## Echoashtoreth (Feb 4, 2021)

Additionally if you put a coating of wax on a knife it will seal it from rust... also stops fingerprints pretty well


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## Mike Hill (Feb 4, 2021)

Sarah, 

Ren Wax?

I have also used Camellia oil - I guess if the Samurai have used it for centuries - Little Mikey could too!


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## Foot Patrol (Feb 4, 2021)

I use both Renaissance Wax and Camellia oil on my knives. In fact I just received a new jar of Ren Wax today. I use Camellia on the knives I cut food with mostly. A little goes a long way.

Reactions: Informative 2


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## SubVet10 (Feb 7, 2021)

@Foot Patrol Scott the pattern and the wood look amazing. How fast can you squeeze out a billet with the press? Thanks for the tip on camellia - the water is so hard here I am always needing to clean up the kitchen knives with steel wool. 

It's good to hear from all of you again. take care.


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## Foot Patrol (Feb 8, 2021)

SubVet10 said:


> @Foot Patrol Scott the pattern and the wood look amazing. How fast can you squeeze out a billet with the press? Thanks for the tip on camellia - the water is so hard here I am always needing to clean up the kitchen knives with steel wool.


Brandon it really depends on the number of bars I have stacked and how many layers you want in your pattern. For a Canister Damascus, once you have the billet you only have to press it out and you have your pattern. If you are shooting for a 400-500 layer pattern, you have to fold or restack the billet a number of times. Drawing one billet out takes about 15 - 20 minutes if you are taking your time and keeping the billet the same thickness. The longer time is spent between heats if you re-stack. Some smiths can just fold the metal and keep going without stopping. With this method you run the risk of the billet not forge welding due to scale forming between the folds and you do not get a good forge weld. I have tried this early on and did not have success and wasted a bunch of material. I use the longer way and cool the billet each time, grind the scale off to shiny metal, cut the billet into 3 or 4 pieces, restack weld the stack together and add a new handle and reheat to forge weld. This is where I get good welds but loose significant time in the process. This is one of the reasons I am experimenting with Canister damascus. One heat to forge weld the billet, pull it out of the canister, attach a handle to the billet and re-heat squeeze out the billet and then hot roll it out to length and thickness. I will let you know how long the process takes once I get the Hot Steel Rolling Mill set up in a few weeks.

Reactions: Informative 1


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## SubVet10 (Feb 8, 2021)

Foot Patrol said:


> Brandon it really depends on the number of bars I have stacked and how many layers you want in your pattern. For a Canister Damascus, once you have the billet you only have to press it out and you have your pattern. If you are shooting for a 400-500 layer pattern, you have to fold or restack the billet a number of times. Drawing one billet out takes about 15 - 20 minutes if you are taking your time and keeping the billet the same thickness. The longer time is spent between heats if you re-stack. Some smiths can just fold the metal and keep going without stopping. With this method you run the risk of the billet not forge welding due to scale forming between the folds and you do not get a good forge weld. I have tried this early on and did not have success and wasted a bunch of material. I use the longer way and cool the billet each time, grind the scale off to shiny metal, cut the billet into 3 or 4 pieces, restack weld the stack together and add a new handle and reheat to forge weld. This is where I get good welds but loose significant time in the process. This is one of the reasons I am experimenting with Canister damascus. One heat to forge weld the billet, pull it out of the canister, attach a handle to the billet and re-heat squeeze out the billet and then hot roll it out to length and thickness. I will let you know how long the process takes once I get the Hot Steel Rolling Mill set up in a few weeks.


Twenty minutes sounds good to me. I've watched most every episode of forged and fire but its hard to gauge how long something takes. Anyways, I have been looking for an excuse to get a welder for a while now :) I would be happy with 150 layer raindrop or ladder pattern to start with. I look forward to seeing your canned billets. I like the ones where they throw in a bunch of random stuff like fish hooks or screws. 
Take Care,

Reactions: Like 1


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