wire rope damascus for sale

I start with 1" high carbon wire rope that I buy straight from the manufacturer. The reason I do this, as opposed to using scrapped cables is because I have no idea the sort of stresses it may have been under and there is no easy method of determining carbon content for hardening. Each knife is forge welded into a solid blade, fully hardened and tempered.

I think all carbon wire comes in grease to keep it from rusting... I have always just burned it out with a torch.... something that should be done outside and away from the shop... Another thing I just remembered is there is a product called "compact swage" wire that is a bit easier to weld.... What it is ... well its compacted wire.. When the nets got bigger on the fishing boats they needed stronger cable on the winches.. but a lot of the winches have grooved drums so if they are made for 7/8 cable, you have to use 7/8 cable.... so what they did was take 1" cable and run it through a rolling press and swaged it down to 7/8... basically taking all the extra space out... not quite as flexible but since its as strong as 1" cable.... since its a tighter wire it is a bit easier to weld.. not much but everything helps.... It helps what ever wire you use to do a "tighten up" twist at heat before trying to weld it...

Let’s talk about wire “damascus”. It’s not really wire. It’s not really pattern-welded steel, and it’s not really Damascus, but it’s fun and easy to do. It’s a great first project, and you can find your stock in any scrap-yard in the world. Almost fool-proof for a beginner so far as mistakes are concerned, and if manipulated properly can produce some striking results in terms of pattern. I’ve sold a few small knives as letter openers, and I’ve used it to make “Celtic” pommels, and guards, as well as chapes, accents for scabbards, and jewelry. I’ve used it to trade for chain mail, and other stuff I choose not to take the time to do myself. Among the better Master Blade-smiths, at the larger Blade Shows it will be “poo-poo’ed” as “cheesy” but that’s okay for me, as I’m an up and comer, and also the kind of guy that really doesn’t feel bad that I didn’t come out of the womb knowing everything. It’s pretty, and if made from high carbon suspension bridge, or industrial cable (non-galvanized ) makes for a pretty good knife, short sword, and if you weld on a solid edge… sword. I’ve seen stuff by Colonel Hrisoulas and Charles Kain that rivals anything, by anyone, ever, out of cable.

Lots of guys start off with wire, and others take it on to an art-form. I know a few that have stuck with it, and make great table cutlery, and artwork to dazzle. Google the expression “Wire Damascus” and see some of the books in the bibliography at the end of this tutorial, and see good shots of some magnificent pieces. I myself have done a few, and have on hand enough bridge and crane cable to make much more in the future.

The bottom is low carbon, “choker” cable, like you find on oil riggers, and boom lifts. Not so great for blades, as it won’t harden properly without a sandwich of high carbon on the cutting edge. It has either a solid steel center, or a nylon rope center, and must be taken apart, and re-twisted before being forged. Lot of work for a crap steel right? As you can see I’ve done just that. I took a six inch section of oily cable, degreased it in my cleaning station, heated it up some to burn off all the junk. Don’t use your normal gas forge for this, as old crap oil, and gunk, will come oozing out of it once it’s reached 600 degrees or so and severely contaminate your forge. No matter how good you clean it with gas, and no matter how clean it looks on the surface, and no matter how much anti-greasing agent you use. Nevertheless, make sure all grease, dirt, grime, and the rope are wholly burned out. I do this in my trash bin -for as of yet out in the country the EPA doesn’t swoop down on every outdoor barbecue. Wouldn’t they love to taste my hot dogs?

Heat up the cable a section the width of your vice, 3-5 inches if it’s a longer piece. Heat wise, once cherry red, have a pipe wrench, or as I have done, an old style pipe-wrench, pre-set to size, with a two foot handle welded on, and twist the wire down on itself. I try to use counter-clockwise as a goal. As above.

And here is the long 2″ wire in the first picture up above, welded solid, and drawn into a blade billet. I have not finished it into a blade as of yet, this will be posted soon after I do the pic’s for welding on a high carbon edge.

Below is a nice shot of a finished piece. Done in chain-saw blades. Same idea as the wire, but you just forge down a glob of chain-saw blades. Each chain saw has three different metals in it. The tip is usually some sort of carbide, the pins holding the chain bodies together is high carbon, and the bodies are a lower carbon steel.

One of the most beautiful wire damascus knives I think I can remember is one of Jim Ence’s in the book: Points of Interest, Volume II ( ISBN 0-9613834-2-9 ). If you can beg, borrow, or steal a copy, they are very collectable now, as only so many were made. I don’t have permission to publish the picture here, so I may not, but you can also see nice pieces in books still in print. Try Decorative and Sculptural Ironwork: Tools, Techniques & Inspiration by Dona A Meilach, 2nd Edition 1999 ( ISBN 0-7643-0790-8 ) for our craft pages 199-234. And as already mentioned, Col Jim Hrisoulas book The Complete Bladesmith, back cover, left pic, and on page 150-153 of his book for how too.

Starting to reveal the soul of it. Got to keep it happening both ways. Notice the wire brush and chisel still sometimes necessary. Always remember the more you do hot, the less you do with grinders and files later.

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.

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.

Lot of Six 3/4" x 8" Wire Rope Tool Steel Cable Damascus Knife Forge Blacksmith. Lot of six 3/4" x 8" sections of US made high carbon IWRC (Independent Wire Rope Core). Wire rope was salvaged from a crane at an old industrial site. Wire rope has a nice strand count and contains no fiber or plastic strands for your Damascus project. Wire rope has been used and is greasy and dirty. If you wish to purchase different lengths and quantities, please send a message along with your request for a quote. Lot of cable is being sold AS-IS. Shipping is free for this item. Thanks for looking. The free shipping is only to the lower 48 states, Alaska and Hawaii will require additional postage. No shipping to PO, APO/FPO.

Lot of Four 3/4" x 12" Wire Rope Steel Cable for Damascus Knife Forge Blacksmith. High carbon steel cable, no rope center, steel core, ends welded. This is new unused cable, has some lube, no rust or dirt, cable stored indoors. Your are buying four (4) 12 inch pieces. Cable is non-returnable and non-refundable you are buying in as-is condition. Perfect for damascus knife making! If you wish to purchase different lengths or quantities email or message me for quote.Thanks for looking!Send me a best offer if you want to purchase more than 1 set

As I was on my way to pick up some more coal, I stopped in at a steel yard that I sometimes go to when I"m in the area. I was looking for large diameter wire rope for making cable Damascus. They didn"t have anything larger than 3/4". So I asked if they had anything larger, the guy said no. But he referred my to a place close to where I get my coal. I stopped in and the owner said he had a bunch of scrap he would sell for next to nothing. The pieces were 1 1/4" to 1 1/2" and anywhere from 6" to 36". I didn"t get any because I spent all my money on coal. Anyway, the next time I go up there I will try to pick up as much as I can. If anyone is interested I will sell it to you for what I paid plus shipping.

1.25 inches in diameter it is hand hammered so each wire is welded to its neighbor with borax and high heat, about 1800-1900 degrees. The trick – to weld into one piece without getting it too hot for too long and losing it’s carbon content. (carbon makes it hard after heat treating)

An award-winning yari, Japanese-style spear, of forged-welded wire-rope (also referred to as ‘cable Damascus’) fully mounted on oak shaft with copper and iron fittings by Gabriel Bell.

It’s possible you have heard of Damascus steel, particularly if you are familiar with old swords, knives and guns. A book, The Art and Beauty of Damascus Steel, has been written on the subject. While this treatment of the topic might not do the book justice, Damascus steel is quite beautiful and holds much mystery.

Although the heyday of Damascus steel was between 900 and 1600 AD, the origins began as early as 300 BC in India. At that time, wootz steel was made using a new technique that produced high-carbon steel of unusually high purity. Glass was added to a mixture of iron and charcoal in a small, sealed, clay crucible, and it was then heated. The glass acted as a flux to combine with other impurities in the melt, allowing them to float to the surface. The result was a more pure steel. This technique spread from India to modern-day Turkmenistan and Uzbekistan around 900 and to the Middle East around 1000.

Modern metallurgical analysis has proven that Damascus steel differs from pattern welding (to be discussed later). Blacksmiths of today use pattern-welding techniques to reproduce the look of Damascus steel.

No one really knows why this steel is so unique, but it is believed to be due in part to its vanadium content. In addition, it is believed that the steel was “hot short” due to its sulfur and phosphorus content. Our theory would be that this hot shortness required a lower and more precise forging temperature than conventional European blacksmiths were accustomed to. The vanadium content, and possibly also molybdenum, could create “primary” carbides, which would not be affected by the lower-temperature thermal processing (forging). Some of the iron carbides might go into solution during forging, but the primary, vanadium carbides and certain other metallic carbides would flow in a pattern established by the forging process. These flow lines would lie parallel to the forging plane of the blade, and the bladesmith exploited this to create a more exotic pattern upon polishing and etching of the blade.

Another forging-process creation was not known until recent metallurgical analysis revealed the presence of carbon nanotubes and nanowires in a 17th-century sword. The complex forging and annealing process is believed to have developed the nano-scale structures. These nanostructures help give Damascus steel its distinctive properties.

The origin of the Damascus steel name is almost as mysterious as the steel itself. The assumption is that the steel or the swords were made in Damascus, Syria. It’s just as likely, however, that it comes from the Arabic word “damas” meaning water, referring to the surface pattern that resembles turbulent water. One source refers to swords made by a man named Damasqui, which could also have been the origin of the name.

Damascus steel is both hard and flexible, which made it an ideal sword-making material. The primary and/or precipitated carbides that create the pattern are much harder than the low-carbon steel matrix. These carbides allowed the swordsmith to make an edge – using the precipitated carbides – that would cut hard materials, and the softer matrix allowed the sword to remain tough and flexible.

The beauty of Damascus steel has resulted in craftsmen attempting to duplicate it. Present-day blacksmiths use one of two techniques: cable Damascus or pattern welding. The cable technique began with the availability of steel-wire rope in the 1830s. The wire rope is forged, creating repeating images along the blade similar to the Damascus steel of old.

Pattern welding involves welding different types of steel and iron bars together to form a billet. The billet is drawn out and folded several times during the forging process. Historically, Japanese samurai swords were made with this technique. Typically, the folding and re-forging process is repeated from eight to 16 times, which helps refine the impurities and remove excess carbon. Believe it or not, if you start with a single bar and fold it 16 times, you will end up with 65,536 layers. If, however, you start with a pattern-welded, eight-layer billet, 17 folds will result in 1,048,576 layers! The resulting layers will be aligned parallel to the forging direction, producing superior strength properties as well as a pattern similar to the Damascus patterns of old.