# My First Damascus



## Noah (Jan 31, 2017)

Still working on making tools and acquiring skills that I'll be using to make kitchen knives.

I've decided to enjoy the process and build as much of what I use as is practical/fun. 

While I do have a definite goal of becoming proficient at making kitchen knives, I figure there's no loss of effort in taking it in stages.

Toward that end, I recently created my first billet of Damascus steel, rough forged it to shape, then finished it with grinders, dremel tools and a lot of hand sanding.

The end result is this necklace, which is based on an ancient viking design representing the hammer of Thor, called Mjolnir. I will happily wear it as a reminder of my first mistake-ridden steps along the way to becoming a Damascus bladesmith.

(The steel I used, by the way, is 1095, 15N20, and a little bit of mild steel; all materials I plan to use in making knives.)


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## valgard (Jan 31, 2017)

congrats on your first damascus!


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## Ivang (Jan 31, 2017)

That's awesome


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## milkbaby (Jan 31, 2017)

Looks great! Good job! :doublethumbsup:


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## Noah (Feb 1, 2017)

Thanks folks! It was really an education to make.

I started a bit small, and spent a lot of time in a race against forge scale, despite having tuned my flame fairly rich and being liberal with the anhydrous borax flux.

Next time I'll certainly make a larger billet even though I don't yet have a power hammer or hydraulic press to speed up the work and facilitate larger pieces.

It's all a learning experience, and I'm really enjoying the ride...


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## Nemo (Feb 1, 2017)

Nice work Noah.


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## TheCaptain (Feb 1, 2017)

Well done. Nice tie in with Norse mythology as well.


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