sage52•1mo ago

TIL I was heating my steel way too long for damascus billets

I've been layering 1095 and 15N20 for about 6 months now, always soaking the billet in the forge for 10-12 minutes before each weld. Last week at a hammer-in near Springfield, an old timer saw me do it and just shook his head. He said I was burning off all the nickel from the 15N20 and that's why my pattern was always muddy. Sure enough, I tried a 3 minute soak on my next billet and the layers popped way cleaner. Has anyone else found a sweet spot for soak times with different combos?

2 comments

2 Comments

parkerkim1mo ago

That old timer's advice got me thinking too. I used to run my billets long, like 8 to 10 minutes, and figured more soak meant better weld. Tried the shorter soak on a 1095 and 15N20 stack last week, and the contrast came out noticeably darker and sharper. Heat does matter, but I was holding way past the point where the nickel layer starts to fade. Now I just watch for the right color and pull it sooner, and it saves time on top of it.

rivera.henry1mo ago

You say "the old timer shook his head" like that automatically makes him right. I've been welding 1080 and 15N20 for years and I soak 8-10 minutes no problem. My patterns come out sharp, not muddy at all. I think the real issue might be your forge temp, not the soak time. If you're running it too hot, yeah you'll burn stuff off in 3 minutes just as fast as 12. I'd focus more on dialing in your heat control before you start blaming the clock.