Traditional Damascus steel, also known as Pattern Weld, Damascene, or Damast, was first produced over two thousand years ago. It has lived in legend and is referred to as the steel of the ancients.

Pattern welding is when different steels are stacked in a pattern into a block or billet, putting them together and holding them with a steel wire until the first weld is in place. The more intricate patterns are often layers of damascus that have been twisted or deformed in some way, cut and stacked in a manner that when welded together gives a very unique pattern to the finished blade.

The pieces are thinned out drastically, and then removed from the furnace where the blacksmith folds the steel over and over; most commonly you will have over 500 layers when the smith is done. The folding and adding of the layers are what makes the steel strong. The whole process is what causes the steel to be as great as it is.

Finally, after the blade of the Damascus knives are shaped, they are placed back into the furnace until it reaches a temperature of 1500 degrees. It is removed and is quenched in oil. The blade then needs to be tempered so it is heated back to 425 degrees for about 2 hours. After it cools, it is sanded with fine sandpaper and sharpened. The etching in the blade is done by using a mix of acid and water to eat away the softer metal revealing that Damascus steel look and feel.

A pattern-welded blade by Pete Mattila of Hobart.

This particular blade is one of a trio of such hand-forged pieces created by Pete, artist, designer and blacksmith.

Pattern-welded steel is often mistakenly referred to as 'Damascus steel' but there are notable differences in production techniques, chemical composition and metallurgy in a historical sense. Sufficient differences in fact to start whole wars on blade smithing forums so not going there... :-)

This particular blade is made from railway steel and another, higher carbon steel being forced together under extreme temperature and pressure - either by press or hammer.

The unique banding in this one-piece blade comes from the many layers being twisted very tightly together at the end of the welding process and when close to white hot. The blade shape has then been hammer forged out of the circular blank. The twisting is visible in the handle.

They are a very pretty blade after pickling in acid then strong coffee :-)

Nikon Z 6, Nikkor Z 24-200/4-6.3, 1/160th sec at f/6.3, ISO 400.

Back in the forge with Pete Mattilla this last weekend. Full on advanced blade-smithing using pattern welded steel.

Pretty standard blade-making steels used in the welding (51n20 and 1084) but instead of hammer or press, the two different steels have been twisted together when nearly white hot. Resulting billet is then roughed out with the power hammer then coaxed into approximate shape with hammer and anvil.

That completed, I've further roughed out the overall shape by grinding out the pits and scale of hammer-forging before the blade was heated to light orange and quench-hardened in sump oil.

When cool enough to handle, the blade was again run over the linisher to further finesse the shape before again tempering the tool by running over the back of the blade with the torch (this pic). The colours visible in the photo correspond to the temperature of the metal and watching the distinct colour line ensures an even heat can be applied where it's needed before a final quench.

This last step ensures the back of the knife is flexible while the edge is nice and hard.

Once the blade had cooled, it was over to the long process of polishing prior to fitting the handle. I'm still in the process of applying a finishing coat to the handle and will post one of the completed knife one day :-)

I've drawn loosely on the Zulu assegai for the leaf shape of the blade along with it being almost double-edged and carrying maximum blade thickness through the upper third of the form in a line corresponding to the tang-to-tip lateral.

Nikon Z6, Nikkor Z 24-200/4-6.3, 1/125th sec at f/7.1, ISO 1000

For a photographer, the forge is full of rich pickings. Lots of direct light and plenty of deep blacks and highlights...

One of the last few steps in finishing a hand-forged blade (or any blade really) is laying down the final bevel ready for the sharpening stones.

Techniques vary immensely and this is but one method. In Pete's shop we run a linisher/polisher fitted with a very fine belt in reverse allowing a little more control over the angle of the bevel. A smooth, firm, consistent, arcing, stroke across the belt is required. First one side of the blade and then the other. Fine control is necessary as is consistency of pressure on the the belt. It's hypnotic - concentration is essential!

As more material is removed and the edge moves into the realm of sharp, a thin feather of metal will form on the upside of the edge.

This is known as a 'wire edge.' When an even wire forms along the full length of the edge and which eventually 'fluffs' off, it's getting close to pretty sharp. From here it's on to the water stones.

Nikon Z6, Nikkor Z 24-200/4-6.3, 1/125th sec at f/16, ISO 400 FL ~ 57mm

Had to add a little grain in post - looked a bit too sterile :-)

A a trio of pattern-welded blades by Pete Mattila of Hobart.

Pattern-welded steel is often somewhat erroneously referred to as 'Damascus steel' but there are notable differences in production techniques, chemical composition and metallurgy in a historical sense. Sufficient differences in fact to start whole wars on blade smithing forums so not going there... :-)

These particular blades are made from railway steel and another, higher carbon steel being forced together under extreme temperature and pressure - either by press or hammer.

The unique banding in the one one-piece design comes from the many layers being twisted very tightly together during the welding process, when the metal is close to white hot. The blade shape has then been hammer-forged out of the circular blank prior to grinding and polishing. The twisting is visible in the handle.

They are a very pretty blade after pickling in acid then strong coffee :-)

Nikon Z 6, Nikkor Z 24-200/4-6.3, 1/100th sec at f/5.3, ISO 400.

Shot in the forge itself, handheld with available light only.

A pattern welded blade by Pete Mattila of Hobart, Tasmania. Woodwork by me. The stripes in the blade are from a sandwich of two different types of steel. 15N20 which has a higher than average nickel content and 1084 - a high carbon steel. The steel forging process can also be called Damascus.

The two steels are forged-welded together and folded around 76 times before the blade shape is roughed out by hammer and anvil. When close to shape and thickness, the blade is heat treated before polishing then 'etching' in a weak acid solution and finally 'pickling' in a stiff brew of instant coffee :-) The coffee really bounces the contrasts in the metals.

At this stage I fitted the handle from a single piece of Bankisa Serrata, a species unique to eastern Australia and to one isolated pocket located in the Sisters Beach area of Tasmania. The timber used came from a band-saw milled windfall on my family farm.

The scabbard or saya (sheath) is clad in veneer of the same timber but is comprised of around 12 epoxied laminations of veneer to create the thickness necessary for the back of the blade.

A very lucky apprentice builder will receive the package sometime around Christmas as the whole unit is sponsored by a local building firm.

Ricoh GRiii, 18.3/2.8 GR Lens, 1/1600t sec at f/4, ISO 100

Getting one thing out of the way from the start - I'm not a gun nut. I grew up with the opportunity to shoot and I did - a lot. My grandparents were dairy farmers and my parents raised beef. Having a rifle was just a thing you did like wearing pants. Things changed April 1996 and I simply just stopped.

The firearm in the picture is an heirloom and it came to me as a box of pieces when I was boy. I kept it safe among my special things and one day in the 1980s I decided to rebuild it. It took a while and included figuring out which parts were missing, what they did and how they all fitted back in the block. I hand made the extractor and its linkages and turned up another barrel for it. C. 1980 - no youtube...

The stock was also missing so I re-stocked it, by hand, carving both pieces out of fiddleback, Tasmanian Blackwood (Acacia melanoxylon). The fore end is a nice fat beaver-tail and the shoulder stock an elegant swan-neck with metal butt plate from a BSA martini. It’s a beautiful object if you can look beyond what it is.

The rifle is a .22 caliber rimfire, Stevens Favorite 1915 model SN: P 118. I've fired just three rounds through it in the 30 odd years since rebuilding it. It spends its life locked securely in the safe, packed away in the case made ‘specially for it. It is registered and I am licensed. I oil it from time to time.

The wood came from a Blackwood stump that was pulled out of the ground when unbogging an excavator, somewhere in the cool temperate, hardwood forests of the Black River in Tasmania's north west. That forest is long gone. Shipped to Japan as woodchips for $1/tonne.

I have only a few pieces of that timber remaining and I used a little of what is left to put a handle on my own, hand forged, pattern-welded, drop-point blade. The pair became acquainted only a week ago when the knife was done and I made the picture. Natural light through the window. Pieces arranged on the hardwood floor then on the heavy, black canvas ‘till they felt right. Brothers, 30 years apart.

I've never see another piece of timber like it and I am proud of the purposeful shapes I made from it. I hope when I’m gone that someone else will oil these pieces and move them around in the light and be absorbed by the ancient fires and mysteries held inside.

Ricoh GRiii, 18.3mm f/2.8, 1/30th sec at f8, ISO 1000

I realised belatedly that there's no sense of scale - they could be a bowie and a bazooka... the knife is 220mm (8-1/2") in length.

A New Sgian Dubh.

A New Sgian Dubh.

A New Sgian Dubh.

Pattern Welding : for the life of me i can't remember the order of the Layers.

The Billet is about 1in. Sq x 7.5in.

Pattern Welding : for the life of me i can't remember the order of the Layers.

The Billet is about 1in. Sq x 7.5in.

Forged copper Runes, pattern welded small knife(made of all my pattern welded odds & ends) its why the pattern is so random

Tobacco pipe tamper

Tobacco pipe tamper

Pattern Welded tobacco pipe tamper

Pattern Welded tobacco pipe tamper

Pattern Welded tobacco pipe tamper

Tobacco pipe tamper

This Pattern welded oak leaf is part of a on going project

While the tantou in this other photo look identical when sheathed, they're actually slightly different.

I ended up liking one better than the other. Its patterns were more complex and beautiful (reminding me of smoke), and it also had slightly better balance.

This is that favored blade. I call it Tenkiba -- "Heavenly Fang." =^.^=

I have other photos in 2D of this blade, which show the pattern in great detail. They be found here: #1, 2, 3, 4.

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This version is for crossviewing, no glasses needed.

If you don't know how to view these, here's a guide:

www.neilcreek.com/2008/02/28/how-to-see-3d-photos/

Pattern Welded tobacco pipe tamper

Pattern Welded tobacco pipe tamper

Kokoro (wand) and Tenkiba (blade), respectively.

The biggest problem with a photo like this, is the blade needs oiling afterwards. :op

(There's a high-res version of this here, if anyone's interested.)

Re-worked , Re-sized ,Re-etched , Re-polished

While the tantou in this other photo look identical when sheathed, they're actually slightly different.

I ended up liking one better than the other. Its patterns were more complex and beautiful (reminding me of smoke), and it also had slightly better balance.

This is that favored blade. I call it Tenkiba -- "Heavenly Fang." =^.^=

I have other photos in 2D of this blade, which show the pattern in great detail. They be found here: #1, 2, 3, 4.

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This is the Dubois anaglyph version, for red/cyan glasses.

Tobacco pipe tamper

Made this blade 2years back only just got round to etching it...( ya can't rush these things)..its come out ok

some pattern weld blades i have made over the years (Hard to photograph to pick out the detail in the blades)

Re-worked , Re-sized ,Re-etched , Re-polished

Re-worked , Re-sized ,Re-etched , Re-polished

#Feather Damascus #Patternwelding #handmadeknife #Forging #SheaStackhouse #StackhouseKnives #TheLearningConnexion

Some new blades

Pattern welded "damascus" knife blade, closeup of the side and spine of the blade.

Knife made by Trails End Knife Company, in Collinsville, OK. The blade is made of layers of 1080 and 15N20 steel.

Made this blade 2year back only just got round to etching it...( ya can't rush these things)..its come out ok

Made this blade 2year back only just got round to etching it...( ya can't rush these things)..its come out ok

The Damascus steel billet is put in the vice and twisted to make a star pattern within the metal.

Forged this using charcoal

Made this blade 2year back only just got round to etching it...( ya can't rush these things)..its come out ok

Hand forged Damascus steel hammer

Made this blade 2year back only just got round to etching it...( ya can't rush these things)..its come out ok