The old timer who said forge welding is overrated got me thinking

I overheard a guy at a hammer-in last Saturday say he never forge welds damascus, he just uses a mechanical press and a mig welder for his billets. He claimed it saves time and gives him more consistent layers without the risk of cold shuts. Do you think skipping traditional forge welding takes away from the craft, or is it just smart efficiency?

2 comments

2 Comments

matthews211mo ago

Respectfully gotta disagree here. Forge welding teaches you heat control and material behavior in a way that running a press and mig never will, and those skills pay off in every other aspect of blacksmithing. Sure it's more efficient to skip the hammer and flux, but you lose that hands-on feel for what the steel is doing at welding temperature.

craig.sage1mo ago

Better heat control and material behavior" ok @matthews21 you can get that feel from a press too if you're paying attention. The way billet stacks crush out under pressure tells you just as much about welding temps as hammering on flux does. And honestly, modern methods cut out a ton of the failure points. Cold shuts happen way less with a press and mig setup because you're controlling the squeeze not hoping your hammer hits land right. Forge welding has a lot of romantic nostalgia attached but the end result is what matters, not the mystical process of whacking hot metal together. If the damascus performs the same and has cleaner welds, who cares how it got there? Tradition doesnt make a better billet, good technique does, and you can have that with or without a hammer.