I've got a friend that would like a long knife to be made from meteorite. The problem is he only has a small amount and I'm afraid it won't be of much visual impact unless the layer count is very low. My concern with that is due to its impurities will it be too weak and likely to crack during heat treat.
Mark,
Remember that meteorites typically have no carbon content so they can't be hardened as is.
Gary
Hey guys,
Has anyone used meteorite in a Damascus billet and is there anything one should know before attempting it?
Thanks!
Meteorite is a bit like really dirty wrought iron or some bloomery steel to work. It is crumbly and needs a bit of gentle squeezing to consolidate it. Probably the best way to work it is to sandwich it between some W2 or 1095, then it behaves itself quite nicely and gets the carbon it needs to be at all useful for a blade. It has a very high nickel content so will readily give a nice contrast and you really don't need too much to get it to show.
"One test is worth 1000 'expert' opinions" Riehle Testing Machines Co.
Ed,
There is quite a bit of difference between the various available meteorites. The only one that I have any experience with is the Campo de Cielo which welded fine but I would stay away from the Nantan meteorite as I've been told that it is very difficult to weld. If memory serves, I believe that Lin Rhea used some of the Gibeon meteorite with no problems.
As Kevin said, you need to sandwich it between two layers of a steel that has enough carbon to sacrifice in order to be able to harden the entire billet after the carbon migrates and equalizes. I used 3 to 4 times the weight of W2 to the weight of the Campo for the three billets that I have made which seemed to work out well.
If you have other questions feel free to contact me anytime and good luck.
Here's an example of the contrast that you can expect:
Gary
Thanks so much Kevin and Gary! I have some Campo and will give it a try with some 1095. Does it help to weld all the edges of the sandwich shut, or will it not matter much?
|quoted:
Thanks so much Kevin and Gary! I have some Campo and will give it a try with some 1095. Does it help to weld all the edges of the sandwich shut, or will it not matter much?
The Campo will have an irregular edge which doesn't lend itself to welded edges which aren't necessary anyway. I tack welded the three layers only enough to hold them in place until welded solid.
If your Campo piece is large enough that you need to saw a slab from it, PM me and I'll give you a tip on how to hold it while sawing.
Gary
As Gary mentioned, I used a slice of the Gibeon Anvil Meteorite. It turned out to be a real good example.
I studied on it till my head hurt and then I got started.
I started by making a small billet of 1084 and meteorite with very few layers just get the meteorite within it's own billet. I think it was 1/8 thick X 1 inch X 3 inches long. This serves to concentrate the meteorite material into a compact layer so the color is more likely to be discerned. I then forged that into a bar that was sized to my normal billet material, 1/4 X 1-1/2 X 5 inches. If I remember right, it was 2 layers. I then incorporated that into a regular billet at regular intervals within the stack after framing the meteorite layers with 15N20 to make the meteorite stand out.
Lin,
Great idea on framing it. I was wondering about that. Did you double the 15n20 on both sides or how did you frame it?
Ed C.
As an alternative, I made some woortz (sp) from a meteorite with Ric Furrer as an experiment. I used mostly chips and small pieces and mixed it with some 4.5 % cast iron for a 1.5 percent content. I also made another batch where I diluted the meteorite with 50% mild steel to increase the volume. The second batch was easier to work. The first batch tended to crack and crumble. Ended up laminating it with 1075
FWIW,
K
