Just finished this one up!

[smithy]

Your knife and sheath are really impressive. Great work...

[Crex]

Lot of nice work there not to have a "Maker's Mark".
Hope you are right about the bolsters. JBW is pretty good stuff, but it can separate from smooth steel with thermal changes. If it were to break loose, you might consider using contrasting through pins say of nickel silver or blued steel. Those damascus bolsters look like fine wrought iron the way you finished them.
Again, nice work.

[metal99]

Thanks for the kind words everyone.

Crex, my makers mark is on the spine in between the bolsters. I should have taken a picture of it. Maybe I will do that tonight. I used ferric chloride to etch the damascus but that's as dark as it would get. It's "over seas" damascus that won't harden so that's why I used it for the bolsters. I hope the bolsters stay on because it would be a crappy job trying to re attach them. I masked off the blade and sanded everything with 100 grit really well. There are two hidden pins going through the blade into the bolsters and four hidden pins going through the front of the handle.

So when you etch wrought iron the "grain" becomes visible?

[Crex]

Definitely, WI etches very nicely. I prefer to use a slow etch with white vinegar instead of the more aggressive FeCl.
I use a lot of WI and really enjoy working with it. Never know what kind of pattern you will get. Once did an broad "S" guard on a big bowie that had a nail forged in as part of the material. Old smiths saved and used all their scrap WI to weld up and make other metal parts, tools, rods, wagon rims, hubs, prison bars, hinges, chain, artistic fencing and gates, etc. Getting harder to find good stock. Wagon wheels and anchor chain are the two most common sources these days.
Here's pics of a pommel/buttcap and a guard of WI (different knives). The black streaks or inclusions are silca and slag that are part of the welding up process. Both of these are from wagon rim. Have to work WI at high yellow to keep it from coming apart or unraveling on you if you are forging to shape.

[metal99]

Awesome thanks for the tips and sharing the pictures. I have a little bit of wrought iron. Maybe I will try to get as much as I can from now on.

[WorkHorse]

I really like the file work and the sheathe. What kind of leather did you use?

[metal99]

Thanks workhorse, I used 8oz vegi tan leather.

[R. Yates]

do you not have a makers Mark or is it just not shown on the knife in the photos ? just wondering as such a nice I would want to know who made it for me if i were getting it .

Sam

[metal99]

Sam, it does have my makers mark on the spine. I got a picture of it today so I will upload it tomorrow maybe. It's nothing fancy, I just did it with tiny letter stamps.

Well the knife is gone now :/ I'm kind of sad in a way lol. I find myself getting attached to these things but then again they don't put gas in the truck or food in the fridge unless you let them go.