Hey,
I made a cable Damascus blade for the first time this weekend and I couldn't get it to quench without taking a warp. It's an old 1/2 inch steel cable, I believe 7 large strands. I forged it down into a flat and then folded it and welded it back together to start with a thicker billet. When I forge welded the cable I lightly tapped it into the corner of my anvil horn so I can set it without it splaying. I also tack weld the ends before welding so they stay together.
It's a small blade, about 3 inches, with a hidden tang, I think it's about 3/16 x 5/8 with a full flat grind. I could quench in oil without it warping as much, but it didn't seem to harden. When I quenched in water, it would harden, but I couldn't keep the thing straight.
I was able to salvage it and grind it down to about a 2 3/4 inch blade and a little less than 1/8th thick.
I was just wondering if anyone had any advice on quenching cable Damascus and if this is a fairly common issue with the stuff.
Also if you have any tips on cleaning the cable out before weld, I'd love to hear it. I tacked the ends together and loosened the cable on a vice and cleaned it out the best I could with flux and wire brushing.
Thanks,
Nick
Morning nick,
It has been my experience that 1/2 inch is really just to small to start with, even when i was doing wire type by hand the smallest diameter i would use is 7/8 using a little swage block in my hardy and constantly turning while striking out stiffens up pretty quick, not to mention you can put a good grunting twist into the initial weld without much worry of popping strands. Where did you get the rope, not all IWRC are created equal. Theres a good chance it may have just been improved plow which is on the low end for carbon content, so after welding and decarb it could be that you've got just enough carbon to need to go to extreme in quenchant. (That's just a guess don't quote me on it.) In the past I've simply gone down to a local chain and rigging supply of wire rope testing store and asked for cut offs. And specify i need extra improved plow or XXIP, which will have the highest carbon content. I even got some swaged with is great cuz its wires are pure flattened and is super dense already, much less prone to having the strand just slip past one another when struck. As for cleaning if it's a brand new particularly greasy piece I'll throw it in the fire pit and burn out the majority of the grease and the forge and Flux takes care of the rest. I have tried varsol and kersoene with scrubbing but never got any noticeably better results so why waste the effort. Anyway that's my .02 have a good day.
When dealing with cable, I agree with Jesse! 1/2" is pretty much a train wreck. It's the individual wire diameter that matters. By the time you've welded up a 1/2" dia cable, the individual wires within the cable have decarbed to the point of almost being non-hardenable. While I don't use cable anymore, I've made my fair share, and learned that unless you use cable with the largest individual wires you can find, you're just spinning your wheels.
The best cable blades I ever produced came out of 2" cable, with wires of approx. 3/32" each. I heated and pulled the "lays" out, welded them up, and it made a great cutter.
Ed Caffrey, ABS MS
"The Montana Bladesmith"
www.CaffreyKnives.net
