Cable knives

[DW Dyer]

I know nothing about making knives, but I heard about guys using old pieces of braided cable to forge blades from. If this is a common practice does anyone have any pictures?

[Wampus]

I've made a few but don't have any decent pics that show the pattern.  Wayne Goddard did a nice video about 10-15 years ago that shows step by step how to do it.

Basically just get the cable dull red hot and flux it good with borax, then continue to heat up to welding heat and then clamp one end in a vise and use some big pliers to twist it up as tight as you can get it.  You twist in the same direction it's already twisted, but tighter and it helps to get rid of any voids/spaces between the strands.
After that, you flux it and heat it up to welding heat again and start tapping fairly lightly at first to set the welds and then once you feel/hear it get solid like a steel bar, you can forge it into a blade.  You can cut it and fold it to double it and make a thicker bar (flux it good) and also tends to get rid of any remaining voids when you forge it back thin to blade thickness again.

  http://www.usaknifemaker.com/store/dvd-the-wire-damascus-hunting-knife-by-wayne-goddard-p-652.html

[DW Dyer]

I bet they look awesome.

[Tom I.]

I bought one from a maker I found on another forum (can't remember his name).  It's a nice knife but it's a bunch smaller than I imagined.
The maker had several of them pictured in one pic, all the same size, but without anything to reference size...so I thought I was getting a much bigger knife. Here's a pic.
   

Here's another a little closer so you can see the steel pattern.  Still a little flash glare on the blade, but I think you can make it out.
Tom I.
 

[DW Dyer]

I like it! Thanks for sharing.