First two knives using new gas forge, my first billet to come out clean without any scale or inclusions. 1095 and 15n20 forge welded, not sure how many layers I ended up with. Around 200 for first one, 90 for smaller second one.
Previous attempts at folding where I drew out to a bar, notched and folded always resulted in scale in the weld. No matter how much I brushed and fluxed, some bit of crap would get stuck inside. On this one I forged the billet out to a bar; 1/2" thick - 2" wide - 12" long and then ground the surfaces clean, cut into three even pieces and tacked together with TIG welder. Not traditional, but I knew I would get clean scale free welds. Have a second billet ready to start forging into blades and a third stack of steel ready to forge weld once the semester ends. Going to try some different patterns on the third piece.
Damascus is a real art. I have to grind the hell out of it to not have problems when i try some bars. I also use kerosene and borax to keep my welds good.