How it's made

All of the knives made by ATELIER185 are made from handforged patternwelded damascussteel of the best possible quality and design.

WHAT IS DAMASCUS STEEL?

The forging of Damascussteel is an almost lost art of bladesmithing.
Thanks to programs as “Forged in Fire” this skill of forging is again brought under the attention.

The art of forgewelding damascussteel was practiced by the best swordsmithts around the world since the beginning of the Iron Age.
The most known were the Japanese swordsmiths, but the ancient Viking bladesmiths were also very skilled in this technique.

Damascus steel or pattern welded steel is created by forge welding 2 or more different steel types together.
In this forging process the individual properties of the base materials complement with each other, but the individual character of the different metals do not completely disappear.

WHY USE DAMASCUS STEEL ?

In addition to the highly attractive visual aspect, repeated manual forge welding of the steel has a very reinforcing influence on the internal structure of the steel.
The crystal structure is refined in such a way that it results in a much harder, sharper and tougher knife.
Only by monitoring all the critical factors in each step of the process a product of a very high quality can be made.

The metallurgical structure was examined and approved by Prof. dr. Coudeville of the material lab of the KU Leuven department of Bruges.

HOW DO I USE DAMASCUS STEEL ?

In my forging process I try to obtain a certain random, natural effect in my damascus steel.

I get my inspiration and use the same techniques as used in ancient weapon and tools, mainly Viking blades, but I try to obtain more abstract patterns in my knives using the same ancient techniques.

HOW IS DAMASCUS STEEL MADE ?

BASIC MATERIALS

As base material for my Damascus steel I use 2 high-alloy carbon toolsteels 1.5634 (75Ni8) and 1.2442 (115W8).

FORGE WELDING AT HIGH TEMPERATURES

In the first phase, 15 layers of high-quality tool steels are stacked together and heated to very high temperatures in a forge.
When the critial temperature is reached the billet can be forge welded together into a solid steel bar.

MULTIPLE LAYERS OF STEEL

The forged piece is divided into pieces and the forge welding process is repeated.
By carefully repeating this proces I obtain high quality Damascus steel.
if required the steel bar is twisted once or multiple times.

HOT ROLLING & STRAIGHTENING

The forged blocks are then further hammered out, hot rolled and straightened to serve as the basis for a kitchen knife of extremely high quality.

SHAPING THE BLADE

The shape of the blades is drawn out on the bar of hot rolled Damascus steel and then cutt out.

STAINLESS STEEL HANDLE

A stainless steel plate is TIG welded to the knifeblade to serve as the internal piece of the knife handle.

MAKERS MARK

After the blades are heated in the forge I mark each blade with my registered blacksmiths mark.

STRAIGHTENING AND SHAPING THE BLADE

The next step is to forge out the shape of the blade and straighten it.

PRE-HEATTREATMENT OF THE BLADE

The blades are heated in the forge and shortly cooled in special heattreatment oil.
Then the blade is annealed in an electric furnace to remove the internal stress caused by the forging process.

HARDENING OF THE KNIFEBLADE

The most critical step of the thermal treatment is the hardening of the knife blade.
The blade is heated to critical temperature and quickly cooled in oil.

HARDNESS MEASUREMENT

The hardness of each knife is measured and recorded at at least 3 places.
The average hardness of the knife is stated on the packaging, which contributes to the individual character of the knife

GRINDING PROCESS

The raw steel blade is ground until the knife gets a cutting edge and becomes a useful tool.

ETCHING OF THE BLADE

The manganese-containing steel reacts faster to acid than the nickel-containing steel.
This reveals the internal patternwelded structure of the damascussteel

SELECTING THE HANDLE MATERIAL

A piece of hardwood, stabelized wood, horn or ivory is selected to be used as handle material.
a piece is cut out, splitt in half and glued on the stainless steel handle.

SHAPING OF THE HANDLE

the glued knifehandle is shaped on the beltgrinder and then completely handsanded to perfect shape.

POLISHING

The handsanded handle is polished to achieve a perfect fit and finish.

ALL AVAILABLE KNIVES

Stay sharp and get in touch with me!

“ The finest steel has to go through the hottest fire. ”

RICHARD M. NIXON • QUOTE OF THE DAY