I'll admit it. It's me.

Definitely Karl. 

What style? I feel like that is a very open ended question and one that I would definitely end up leaving out names trying to answer.

Who do i think is pushing boundaries right now? Salem Straub, Charlie Ellis, Jason Morrisey, Will Briggiam, Josh Prince, Jamie lundell. 

Perfecting patterns? Franco, (along with a bunch of other south American makers) Mike Quesenberry, Henning Wilkinson.

Most overall understanding of pattern development - Steve Schwarzer, robert Eggerling.  

That's just from the top of my head, then there is the really weird stuff like Dick Sextons die displaced damascus, or Vlad metivis(sp?)  moon scapes. 

Add in canister, wire edm, the new 3d printed stuff.. to many to list. 

MP

Posted by: O'Grady Padrick

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and overflows with advice and wisdom? 

That is the part that makes this question so difficult to answer.

Matthew Parkinson,

Thats quite the list, I'm going to go save these guys down. Thank you!

O'Grady Padrick,

Another person to check out is Dr. Larrin Thomas. He is a PHD in metallurgy, he invented Magnacut, and I believe his father is MS bladesmith too.

https://youtu.be/0uN8nv_LFDw?si=PXrXb0LcFucSShYH

I like Matthew Parkinson's list. I would add Salem to the perfecting pattern list. An edition of someone who can forge anything stainless or carbon and has incredible knowledge. Devin Thomas.  Big fan of Mareko Maumasi too he has an artist touch the way he forges to shape. And so many more. 

Gilbert 

see I knew i would forget someone Mareko for sure needs to be on that list! 

Larin is certainly a knowledgeable dude , but he isn't really a bladesmith, pattern welding isn't really his deal, his dad on the other hand, would certainly deserve a place on a list. 

Thank you all! And most especially Mr. Parkinson. That was an amazing list and I love how you catagorized them by their strengths. This will give me much to work with. I did not realized so much good damascus came from south america. I knew we had smiths down there but didnt know they were so good. 

Padrick O'Grady

Why is that? Do you find people who are great at various techniqures, to be a bit closed liped with their information?

No pretty much everyone is fairly open with there techniques, that said you need to have a basis of skill set and understanding. If you walk up to  any of those guys and just ask how but don't understand the concepts involved it is quickly going to be a frustrating conversation on both sides.  many if not all of the guys in my list demo and teach as well, but outside of those kind of situations if you just walk up cold with no understanding of the matter that frustration can read like gate keeping.  
 A lot of the stuff is open because so much is dependent on skill/equipment. I can run through one of Jamie lundells patterns (he and I share a shop) on the same equipment, and i'll get something close but it will not be what he gets. In mosaic things like how fast the bar is draw, slight changes in angle, how often the bar is rotated all make a difference in the distortions that the pattern is based on. 

MP

Mr Parkinson,

Taking into account the wisdom in starting from the beginning of things, would you advise a heirarchy of patterns or techniques from simpliest to most advanced? I would imagine it starts with random pattern and moves up to ladder, and on and on, up to various laser cutting or 3d printing designs (which whether that even qualifies as damascus is a whole other conversation)

Padrick O'Grady

Post Script:

How is there not a book about starting with simple damascus techniques and moving up in complexity and difficulty. Like blacksmithing books that start with making tongs and move up to making roses or railings. Most I've been able to find are just how various techniques are done.

To understand the process of pattern development in Pattern Welded Steel (PWS) or mokume Gane, you must first think in terms of manipulations to the billet. 

Manipulations are ways to rearrange or deform the starting billet of material. The first manipulation is the original stack configuration. The last is always the grinding of the billet to final shape. In between these two, are the steps of pattern development. 

Original stack: Start out with a simple stack of two different materials and alternate one after another.  Whether the two materials are the same thickness, affects the final pattern. Whether different thicknesses of the same materials in the same stack, just in different locations, affects the pattern as well. Let's say we are making a PWS. Billet from 1095 (A) and 15N20. (B) The simplest of stacks uses equal numbers of layers with each layer equal thickness. So, both materials are an 1/8" thick and we arrange a 10 layer stack as ABABABABAB. if our B material is thinner than our A material, and we do the same stack, our pattern will be different than the one where all layers are equal thickness.

Try to visualize the first option. Equal number of layers, each the same thickness. Now slice a diagonal line through it. You just cut through a layer cake and each layer appears the same as those adjacent to it, only a different color. Do the same thing where the B material is thinner than the A material and the layer cake looks slightly different.

Playing with the starting stack and the thicknesses of materials and the locations of those materials changes the pattern.  If you still use only two materials, but you have some A that is 1/4" and some that is 1/8" and you have some B material that is 1/8" and some that is 1/16", how you arrange those layers in that stack affects the pattern when all is said and done.

The grind: The last manipulation is the grind. Whether that grind is flat, concave or convex (or changes along the length of the billet) changes the way the final pattern looks. How deep you grind also changes the pattern. Look at the post in Video and Mutimedia by Niels Provos for "Pattern Welding Explained". (It is pinned and for good reason) This shows how depth of grind through a simple single twist changes the pattern.  https://www.bladesmithsforum.com/index.php?/topic/37018-pattern-welding-explained/

Intermediate manipulations: there are infinite manipulations and manipulation sequencing combinations to use in pattern development. Each one results in a different deformation of the billet. Each type of manipulation also can be done to varying degrees to make slight alterations to the pattern. To use an example, let's take a simple twist.  How tightly you twist that billet affects the pattern when you grind into it. How deep you grind also changes the final pattern.

See how quickly this can expand your options with minor manipulations?

The simplest manipulation we do is forging the billet. You might think that's not much of a deformation or manipulation, but let's consider what happens during forging. 

A hammer strikes a single spot in the billet and leaves a small dent or crater. It is deeper in the center than it is at the edges of the dent. So if I cut a cross section through the dent, I would see a series of flat lines that gradually depressed and then gradually rose again to flat lines. Now repeat the hammering across the width and length of the billet. No two hammer blows are identical, and most will overlap causing a multitude of dents in the surface, dents in the edges of other dents and dents in the edges of dents on dents, etc. The random denting causes the layer cake to compress in various locations to various depths. The resulting pattern when ground down can be quite stunning.

Types of manipulations: The most commonly used is probably the twist. There is drilling holes. Drill through a few layers in random locations and forge down so the bottom of the hole comes up to meet the top. The result is called either bird's eye or pool & eye. It's a bunch of little bullseyes in the surface.  There's crushing, which is forging the edges down rather than the faces. This is also done by "forging on the bias" or truncating the corners of the billet to re-square it. Think tipping the billet so a corner is up and hammering it down. Repeat on all four corners until it is square again. The list of manipulation types is much longer, and you are only limited by your imagination and willingness to add "one more manipulation".

Stacking or sequencing manipulations: This is using different manipulations in a sequence. So, let's talk about twisting and forging. If you twist first and forge second, you will get a very different pattern than if you forge all those dents in and then twist. The pattern will look vastly different if you crush first and then twist and then tile cut. (I didn't cover tile cutting, did I?)

So how does one determine what sequence to use to get a desired effect?  Well, this takes two things: the ability to think backwards and the experience learned from experimentation. 

So, make a billet and give it a go. Or buy a bunch of modeling clay or plasticine and start experimenting with manipulations and grinding (just take a knife and cut through the clay)