Ladder Pattern Mokume Gane

This July 18-21 there will be a gathering of the Artist-Blacksmith’s Association of North America (ABANA) in Rapid City South Dakota.  Check out there web site for more details.  It is a very large gathering of craftsmen and women from around the world,  There will be demonstrators from Norway, Canada, Mexico, and Italy along with many from the US.  I have been invited to do some knife related demo’s, three to be exact.  Making Mokume Gane is going to be one of them that I will cover from start to finish.  I will show how to lay up the billett, how to hold everything together, heating and temp control, forging once welded and finally patterning to get all those great colors to come out.  This is a sample piece that I just finished in a ladder pattern.  Mokume is a just like the traditional damascus but it is done with non-ferrous metals.  I will be using copper, brass, and nickel silver.  Also at the demo I will have all the suppliers for the materials that I will be using.  If you have any questions or comments please share them with me.  Thanks