Thread: Laminated steel on frameback J.A. Hellberg?

That would be interesting to know! Thanks

Indeed, I guess that is also a good solution I guess

I use a mix of vinegar lemon juice 75/25 lemon being 25, soak for an hour or so, check where the color is may need a bit more for the color, wash it in baking soda water then lightly polish the high spots with 1.5k or higher. I etch 1095 Damascus this way work well. I use a chamber I made pvc tubing, a cap, airline an airstone and aquarium pump to keep the mix agitated.

Originally Posted by DrDalton

I don’t think that it is laminated in the modern sense (the deliberate use of different steel alloys to produce contrasting layers, i.e. pattern welding).

Rather it is an artefact of the steel production, using the cementation process to form blister steel bars, which were then processed into shear steel by forge welding (Cementation process - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia and Crucible steel - Wikipedia, the free encyclopedia @ blister steel).

I believe the subtle pattern is due to the very slight difference in the alloy (as a result of the impurities) of each of the blister steel bars. This effect (and the cause) is similar to that seen in traditional Japanese swords.

This is very interesting! I love history & old pics...........

Take care or the framebacks, please..

I would love to have one. I have several Swedish straights, two of them Hellberg's but not framebacks. I have a Jon Engstrom brass frameback which is a nice little razor. I have a few C.V. Heljestrand's. I'll have to be for the lookout for one. It's a cool razor!

Originally Posted by Frameback

Take care or the framebacks, please..

Absolutely! Especially this one

I reviewed the pictures. That's blister steel for sure.

This thread brought this old ad to mind!


You cannot see it in the blades, at least I cannot!

No question that wire rope, or the like, has been used as material. The pattern in the frameback shown earlier is too random, and less like the expected pattern seen in wire materials. OTOH, if wire is welded and folded, by the time four welds have occurred the pattern will be much more like random and look a lot less like wire.

Plus heavy polishing can obscure the provenance of the material in such cases.

Originally Posted by Mike Blue

I reviewed the pictures. That's blister steel for sure.

Thanks a lot guys!
I learned a lot!