Mosaics

The sample above has individual stars in the flag. It
was forged into a blade that was presented to President Bush.

Mosaic pattern Damascus has become quite popular in the last few years. Steve Schwarzer, Pierre Reverde, and Hank Knickmeyer have broken new ground with this technique and the patterns in their steels are wonderful and creative.

The basic approach to making mosaic Damascus and where it differs from folded and welded patterns, is that the pattern itself is designed and created by positioning contrasting metals of various sizes and shapes initially in the billet. When the pieces are welded together pattern is established in a solid piece. This is much the same way mosaic tiles create a pattern by the juxtaposition of contrasting colors.

Hank Knickmeyer demonstrated his technique at Batson's Hammerin in Madison, Alabama two years ago. It involved placing bars and rods of steel inside a steel tube. He laid out is main elements so that the ends were configured to his liking and then filled in the spaces remaining with filler bar. The ends of the tube were welded shut, oil was squirted into the can before completely welding shut. The oil burned up when the piece was heated and any remaining oxygen inside the container was consumed making for a neutral environment inside and a scale free weld. He heated the whole container inside a gas forge and when it was at welding heat, he welded the whole billet in a single heat using a hydraulic forging press. Being able to welding in a neutral atmosphere is critical to insure that you get good welds especially when there are so many exposed surfaces. There is one drawback to Hank's method and that is that if you don't get a complete weld on that first heat and there is a pin hole in the container, it will suck in air,  oxiding all unwelded surfaces.

Another method of doing this involves welding the container to a pipe handle that has a valve on the cool end. The container is vacuumed and purged with nitrogen or an inert gas. This is done several times before welding to insure there is no oxygen inside. With this method it is possible to get clean welds on metals that would be nearly impossible to stick in an open fire. This is a method perfected by Steve Schwarzer and allows him to get good welds nearly every time.

Steve and Pierre Reverde have also developed a technique that incorporates modern tools for creating their complex mosaic patterns. Using an edm machine, the design is pierced through a solid block of steel and then another piece is cut to fill the void. This is then welded into a solid piece. Some amazing detail can be achieved in this manner yielding patterns never before possible.

Pierre Reverde

Barry Gallagher, Shane Taylor and Rick Dunkerley have been combining techniques and are creating a whole new category of mosaic that involves folding and welding using shaped dies. The original idea came from a pattern that Darrel Meier developed called "Callico" and together they have spun out a whole new language with the steel.

Contrasting Steels