I'm just shaking my head from some of the comments about what Damascus is from people who will never have given .0001 of the effort Walter Sorrells has given to help the bladesmithing community. So from the rest of us, thank you for the excellent videos. The quality is great, the information is great, and how you show multiple ways of getting the job done is excellent.
Just finished my own damascus chefs knife for a client and I was to thank you Walter for your videos. They have been invaluable to me as I am only really a beginner in knife making.
I like using HCL (Muriatic acid) as an etchant. It give a particularly deep etch which can then be colored by a variety of methods if desired. I just love the fact that if done correctly, I can actually feel the delineation between the types of steel, it's that deep.
Mr. Sorrells, I'm not sure if people say it a lot, but I just wanted to let you know how appreciative I am for your videos. They are informative, entertaining, and make use of words like cattywampus in sentences. I've just bought the ten tools you suggested for beginners (along with an inexpensive grizzly belt grinder) and am awaiting my 1095 to come in the mail. After reading Boye's book (and a few others) and watching your videos, I finally feel ready to give this hobby a shot. So, thank you again. I'll make sure to send you some pics of my first catastrophes :)
+Walter Sorrells you have said that 1095 is a oil hardening steel in this video yet in others you say it is water hardening. so which is it I am confused now?
+brian williams Its technically both as far as i know. You CAN harden it in water, but in typical knife thicknesses (sub 2/10ths of an inch) oil will be better as it isnt as harsh of a quenchant.
I love how you forged the billet "width-wise" after flattening out the milled grooves, It really created a much cooler effect as opposed to a simple low layer ladder pattern. Awesome job, and great video as always! Thanks :)
Great video Walter. I don't think I've watched one of your video's yet that I haven't enjoyed, and even my hard headed self has managed to learn a thing or two them. Thanks for the time you devote to making all of us rookies better knife makers. Like the old saying goes, "the devil is in the details".
Your videos have helped me throughout the past couple years understanding certain aspects of knives that I couldn’t really grasp by reading alone. Im self taught from WV close to Ohio and I have never met another knife maker in person. I appreciate the information you deliver in a way that even a dumbass like myself can fully understand. Thanks, maybe I’ll see you around a blade show or something. -DaveBonds Creek Knives
Thank you for sharing tips and tricks about knifemaking. Being a blacksmith myself, i have always wanted to make a damaskusknife, but never got to it. Fortunatly i saw your video and got a few tips , that made this task "easyer". Thanks..btw..your work looks beautiful, especially the katanas and other japaneese swords..
The spine and the visible parts of the tang are all polished. Even if you could see the grain, it would just look like a bunch of super thin layers, about the thickness of a piece of paper, so you're not losing much drama by polishing those parts of the knife.
Then Walter said at 10:30 "You have to be very careful..." as if just being careful is enough to get a grind line to terminate right next to the spine. What he should say is "I have been doing this for a VERY long time and have practiced a LOT and this isn't easy, kids!" ;) Amazing knife brother.
That is cool. Where can i find a machete made like that and would it be able to hold an edge being made out of damascus, cutting limbs and small trees. Just kinda wondering. I am always in the woods and need something that want break or not hold an edge.
Thank you for this tutorial! I have seen a bladsmith cold forging white paper steel core kitchen knifes to refine the steel structure. Is it necessary and is the edge recognizeable sharper?
22:28 Ouch! It's easy for me to loose my cool at times like that, but it seems like you were unfazed, and in the end, you made that little nick into a beautiful little radius that flows perfectly with the overall geometry. You're definitely a master. I really appreciate these video's that you post, and I hope to someday own one of your pieces.
Beautiful knife. I enjoy your informative videos. I make mostly small wood carving knives. I have a question. Would one be able to make such a fine looking chefs knife by buying 'Damascus' pattern flat stock and just use stock removal? If so, why would one go through the work of forge welding?
I'm guessing ebony doesn't need it, but what finishing sealant or oil do you use on kitchen knives? I'm thinking about more open grain woods used in kitchen knives that'll be exposed to hot water when being cleaned, or possibly even left in a sink wet.
Is there a limit to the the overall demntions of the blade and how will it affect the cutting abilities feel in the hand and is a longer and thinner blade more brittle
Walter, I'm curious as to why you decided to laminate the 1095 between the 15n20/1050. Could you have used 15n20/1095 damascus and not laminated a core to give you a pretty decent knife? what if you did 1095/15n20 damascus with a 1095 core? Would this have been easier to forge weld with similar steels and similar quench? I'm a novice knife maker and would love your feedback, Thanks for all your great videos!
I am working on my first damascus knives. I am having the problem of loosing the etched pattern on the part the tang that that is visible on the handle edge. It would appear on the knife in this video you would also lose this pattern as you ground away the metal as you shaped the handle. How do you go about re etching to get the pattern back, or do you just leave it.
How do you polish the steel between the handle scales without carving away the wood? I polished up my knife to a few microns by hand then realized I couldn't do that to the part between the handles.
Love it. Thanks so much for a very informative video. I just finished making my first knife today out of an old meat clever. It is pretty rough but I really enjoyed myself. I can see the passion for knives could really take a hold of me. Cheers.
Yet another great project vid! To those who are scanning comments to decide whether or not to watch Mr. Sorrells' video, I strongly recommend that you check it out. All of his work is professional quality and he puts together some of the best instructional videos I've seen on TH-cam. No boring sections or details left unexplained. Great work Walter! Thanks so much for sharing.
Great video man and great knife. Quick question tho, is there a reason you didn't agitate your ferric chloride or did you just not have anything practical to do it with?
Wow, this was a meaty instructional, and it filled in quite a few blank areas in the process for me, thanks very much. A quick, maybe dumb question, could one have done the same heating of the work with a wood/coal forge? Thank you for putting this together and I'm off to look at your other clips referenced now.
Hey Walter, when you quench do you need to pre heat the oil? I live in a cold climate... and I was wondering what temp the oil should be before quenching
I'm still watching the video, but I'm curious on two points: Do you normalize/anneal before you mill out the ladder steps and do you find you need carbide endmill?
I do anneal first. And you don't have to have carbide. Honestly, I prefer to use the squash method over the grinding -out-channels method, though. I showed this one just to show a method that can be done with a file as well as a mill.
hello walter, how much gallons does your pump deliver? and how much inch per second is the speed of your press? how much tons can u drive? greetings from bavaria
A trick I learned from another knife maker, dip the stacked bars in kerosene then dip the wetted stack in a pile of borax flux, the flux sticks to the wetted steel and keeps the steel clean right from the start and doesn't give you half melted borax falling off the stack sprinkling it on by hand.
Hey Walter thanks for the video. One question: why don't you run your bevel right out the heel of the blade, eliminating plunge points and making it easier to sharpen? Also, if you drill your scales first you can pin them together perfect while shaping and finishing the fronts without worrying about them moving. Thanks again!
I'm just shaking my head from some of the comments about what Damascus is from people who will never have given .0001 of the effort Walter Sorrells has given to help the bladesmithing community.
So from the rest of us, thank you for the excellent videos. The quality is great, the information is great, and how you show multiple ways of getting the job done is excellent.
Just finished my own damascus chefs knife for a client and I was to thank you Walter for your videos. They have been invaluable to me as I am only really a beginner in knife making.
Walter is the man when it comes to anything for the knives maker
What a gorgeous knife. That pattern on the blade is memorizing. Just beautiful work.
I like using HCL (Muriatic acid) as an etchant. It give a particularly deep etch which can then be colored by a variety of methods if desired. I just love the fact that if done correctly, I can actually feel the delineation between the types of steel, it's that deep.
I like your style, Walter; clear, unambiguous explanations of each step of the process. Metallurgy is fascinating!
Wonderful craftsmanship , Like the lazy man once said " I love work, I can watch it for hours.'
Mr. Sorrells,
I'm not sure if people say it a lot, but I just wanted to let you know how appreciative I am for your videos. They are informative, entertaining, and make use of words like cattywampus in sentences. I've just bought the ten tools you suggested for beginners (along with an inexpensive grizzly belt grinder) and am awaiting my 1095 to come in the mail. After reading Boye's book (and a few others) and watching your videos, I finally feel ready to give this hobby a shot. So, thank you again. I'll make sure to send you some pics of my first catastrophes :)
Mr. Sorrells has some incredible skill, to be sure.
You are a true craftsman sir. I hope your sister truly appreciated the gift you made for her. That was one beautiful high quality knife.
As a beginner bladesmith, this shall be my holy grail of projects. If I can make a blade half this cool before i'm though, i'll be happy. Cheers.
This is what I call a work of art.
Wish I had the tools, material, and skill to make knives as good as these
Walter, this is inspiring. Thank you for sharing this unique design and quality.
"I want my grind line to climb all the way up to the spine"
bars
Mr. Sorrells, you always meka a great job, art works and make the thinks so easy.
thanks a lot!
very nice blade, you can tell you put a lot of care into your work and take the time to learn the intimate details of your craft.
Thanks for sharing.
Awesome to see such craftsmanship
How many hours of work was this from start to finish for someone like you who knows what they are doing?
+Walker Durell Maybe 20?
+Walter Sorrells you have said that 1095 is a oil hardening steel in this video yet in others you say it is water hardening. so which is it I am confused now?
+brian williams Its technically both as far as i know. You CAN harden it in water, but in typical knife thicknesses (sub 2/10ths of an inch) oil will be better as it isnt as harsh of a quenchant.
+tactical noodle Depending on the maker, it could run you 200 dollars to a lamborgini.
+Walter Sorrells if i someone wanted you to make them a knife like this would you? and how much roughly would you charge?
Beautiful Work! Mr Walter you have a lot of talent.
dude you are awesome - i never seen any one actually make their own steel - your a craftsman
You don't put a signature or a stamp somewhere on those beautiful pieces?
+mano a mano "Sister's kitchen"
+mano a mano yes he does, on the blades he puts up for sale he actually did a video about transferring the logo/name/whatever to the blade
Roughly 20 hours work, experienced and obviously a well trained smith
with a reputation, figure more like $2,500.00 to a Lambo...
Knife came out really nice, what a beautiful piece of craftsmanship. Your sister will be pleased.
This is so awesome. I had no idea you could forge steel at home.
I’m not a welder, but I’m a chef and I’m drooling over that knife.
It is really interesting to see modern technique mixed with the old.
A gorgeous piece of functional art.
your sister is lucky to have brother like you
who created such a knife as a token of love
Very impressive. Beautiful blade.
Great job Walter!
I love how you forged the billet "width-wise" after flattening out the milled grooves, It really created a much cooler effect as opposed to a simple low layer ladder pattern. Awesome job, and great video as always! Thanks :)
That's a beautiful blade, your sister is a lucky girl to have a knife like that, and luckier to have brother who knows how to make such a gift.
whoa that is one hell of a project thank you for sharing
AWESOOOMEE!!! great job! best knife making that i ever seen till now!!
Truly a piece of art. Thank you for the video.
Extremely impressive work! I'm sure your sister absolutely loved this work of art you've created for her. Thank you for sharing the journey!
Great video Walter. I don't think I've watched one of your video's yet that I haven't enjoyed, and even my hard headed self has managed to learn a thing or two them. Thanks for the time you devote to making all of us rookies better knife makers. Like the old saying goes, "the devil is in the details".
Love the Damascus, one if the better ones I've seen
Your videos have helped me throughout the past couple years understanding certain aspects of knives that I couldn’t really grasp by reading alone. Im self taught from WV close to Ohio and I have never met another knife maker in person. I appreciate the information you deliver in a way that even a dumbass like myself can fully understand. Thanks, maybe I’ll see you around a blade show or something.
-DaveBonds Creek Knives
The etch looks really cool
Thank you for sharing tips and tricks about knifemaking. Being a blacksmith myself, i have always wanted to make a damaskusknife, but never got to it. Fortunatly i saw your video and got a few tips , that made this task "easyer". Thanks..btw..your work looks beautiful, especially the katanas and other japaneese swords..
This knife is absolutely exquisite! Wish I could do that.
highly skilled craftsmen
Is the entire spine of the knife polished or do you go back and etch around the handle where you sanded it?
The spine and the visible parts of the tang are all polished. Even if you could see the grain, it would just look like a bunch of super thin layers, about the thickness of a piece of paper, so you're not losing much drama by polishing those parts of the knife.
thanks for the info!
from a blacksmith in Canada, nice job!
where you get that pile of exotic woods??
Usually from a tree.
+Nickolas927 lmao.
+Nickolas927 best response ever
Thanks for letting us into your world, loved it!
Then Walter said at 10:30 "You have to be very careful..." as if just being careful is enough to get a grind line to terminate right next to the spine. What he should say is "I have been doing this for a VERY long time and have practiced a LOT and this isn't easy, kids!" ;)
Amazing knife brother.
That is cool. Where can i find a machete made like that and would it be able to hold an edge being made out of damascus, cutting limbs and small trees. Just kinda wondering. I am always in the woods and need something that want break or not hold an edge.
Been a chef for about 30 yrs - I am very jealous. Fantastic looking blade.
Would love to feel how she cuts veggies.
Thank you for this tutorial! I have seen a bladsmith cold forging white paper steel core kitchen knifes to refine the steel structure. Is it necessary and is the edge recognizeable sharper?
That's seriously impressive
22:28 Ouch! It's easy for me to loose my cool at times like that, but it seems like you were unfazed, and in the end, you made that little nick into a beautiful little radius that flows perfectly with the overall geometry. You're definitely a master. I really appreciate these video's that you post, and I hope to someday own one of your pieces.
I thought he nicked it too but by rewatching I think its the metal in the handle that shoot sparks and not the corner of the blade...
looks like he hit the tang, it just shot sparks down the handle to the blade.
Your sister is a lucky gal. I wish I knew someone to apprentice under with your skill. You're a true craftsman.
PURE ART!
Beautiful work
how sharp is the blade after you polish the handle but before you sharpen it?
After watching this video I have a much better understanding why these knives are so expensive. Thank you for that.
im just curious for the welding part, if you only have a tig will it work just fine as well for tacking the plates together?
That knife is AMAZING .
This knife is gorgeous.
To get it done as a thinner knife in the end the steal plate should be made longer or flattened with a grinder to a desirable thickness?
I am in awe! Thank you so much for sharing.
Does the metal from the welds affect the outcome? As in can you see changes of the metal when it is finished?
Beautiful knife. I enjoy your informative videos. I make mostly small wood carving knives. I have a question. Would one be able to make such a fine looking chefs knife by buying 'Damascus' pattern flat stock and just use stock removal? If so, why would one go through the work of forge welding?
I'm guessing ebony doesn't need it, but what finishing sealant or oil do you use on kitchen knives? I'm thinking about more open grain woods used in kitchen knives that'll be exposed to hot water when being cleaned, or possibly even left in a sink wet.
Is there a limit to the the overall demntions of the blade and how will it affect the cutting abilities feel in the hand and is a longer and thinner blade more brittle
Great smithing work on the blade. Also a very well put together video, usually its just one or the other.
Walter,
I'm curious as to why you decided to laminate the 1095 between the 15n20/1050. Could you have used 15n20/1095 damascus and not laminated a core to give you a pretty decent knife? what if you did 1095/15n20 damascus with a 1095 core? Would this have been easier to forge weld with similar steels and similar quench?
I'm a novice knife maker and would love your feedback, Thanks for all your great videos!
I am working on my first damascus knives. I am having the problem of loosing the etched pattern on the part the tang that that is visible on the handle edge. It would appear on the knife in this video you would also lose this pattern as you ground away the metal as you shaped the handle. How do you go about re etching to get the pattern back, or do you just leave it.
Walter Sorrells A blacksmith's mark on the tang would have been a nice touch. The blade looks beautiful btw.
is it stat trak?
+Mayo Inc. ★ StatTrak™ Kitchen Knife | Damascus Steel
Incredible knife. great blade, thanks.
How do you polish the steel between the handle scales without carving away the wood? I polished up my knife to a few microns by hand then realized I couldn't do that to the part between the handles.
So Cool, really good video. Pattern on the blade looks stunning, great job !
Love it. Thanks so much for a very informative video. I just finished making my first knife today out of an old meat clever. It is pretty rough but I really enjoyed myself. I can see the passion for knives could really take a hold of me. Cheers.
Very enjoyable to watch. Good work and thank you.
I am quite envious of his sister...this guy is *good*!
Are the burners on your forge forced air or atmospheric?
Yet another great project vid! To those who are scanning comments to decide whether or not to watch Mr. Sorrells' video, I strongly recommend that you check it out. All of his work is professional quality and he puts together some of the best instructional videos I've seen on TH-cam. No boring sections or details left unexplained. Great work Walter! Thanks so much for sharing.
what a fantastically instructive video, thank you!
Great video man and great knife. Quick question tho, is there a reason you didn't agitate your ferric chloride or did you just not have anything practical to do it with?
What kind of gas are you running to your forge? I have trouble getting to temp with my single burner propane forge.
Wow, this was a meaty instructional, and it filled in quite a few blank areas in the process for me, thanks very much. A quick, maybe dumb question, could one have done the same heating of the work with a wood/coal forge? Thank you for putting this together and I'm off to look at your other clips referenced now.
Truly a work of Art Walter, how long is your "To Do" list, as I would be interested in one of these.
Hey Walter, when you quench do you need to pre heat the oil? I live in a cold climate... and I was wondering what temp the oil should be before quenching
Beautiful blade .
I was just wondering if it is possible to over fold pattern welded steel? can on go to far in folding it?
hey +Walter Sorrels i wanted to ask, what exactly the chloride solution is. Is it FeCl3?
and how concentrated is it?
+David Hildebrandt yes, "ic" means higher charge so FeCl(III). and you have to dilute it by yourself. it should say on the bottle
thanks
I'm still watching the video, but I'm curious on two points: Do you normalize/anneal before you mill out the ladder steps and do you find you need carbide endmill?
I do anneal first. And you don't have to have carbide. Honestly, I prefer to use the squash method over the grinding -out-channels method, though. I showed this one just to show a method that can be done with a file as well as a mill.
hello walter,
how much gallons does your pump deliver? and how much inch per second is the speed of your press? how much tons can u drive?
greetings from bavaria
Very nice knife.
A trick I learned from another knife maker, dip the stacked bars in kerosene then dip the wetted stack in a pile of borax flux, the flux sticks to the wetted steel and keeps the steel clean right from the start and doesn't give you half melted borax falling off the stack sprinkling it on by hand.
I can't decide if you're better at making knives, or making educational videos...... Nice work.
that knife is gorgeous.
Just like me
Hey man. Amazing work and outstanding skills on camera and voice over explaining. Keep up producing this material!
I'd just like to say thank you for making these vids. Nice job, even nicer knives.
Hey Walter thanks for the video. One question: why don't you run your bevel right out the heel of the blade, eliminating plunge points and making it easier to sharpen?
Also, if you drill your scales first you can pin them together perfect while shaping and finishing the fronts without worrying about them moving.
Thanks again!
Beautiful knife!
You are a master craftsman, sir. 👍🏻
Very beautiful work, do you sell kitchen knife sets anywhere?