I wanted to use some chainsaw chain in a blade but retain the image of the chain so I attemted a Chain over 1080 san mai and it worked(sort-of)
as far as my goal it clearly shows the chain well and anyone who works with a chainsaw should be able to detect the image so I am pleased with my demo try.  welds are very solid w/o cold shuts but I am not sure I can avoid the "voids" left in it with out a lot of pounding?  On my next one I plan to use a thicker piece of 1080 and a little more heat and see if that helps.  As long as I can keep the voids caused by the chain smooshing into the 1080 at the top I will be ok with that.  Along the lines of keeping the forged look in the flats.  First pic is right out of HT - 2nd and 3rd are after a little sanding and a night in vinegar.  I don't plan to do much more finish work on this one as it was a concept knife and I will save my 220 paper for a better one.
 

That is nice.  You can definitely tell what it was made from.

love it my grandfather left me a stack of chains how many to make a blade that size would like to try..

Billets from chain make unique knives but they do not show what they were created from.   This is a san mai of sorts with two pieces of chain forge welded to  a center stick of 1080 steel.  For a knife like this you just need two lengths of chain the size of the knife you want to create.  For a billet of welded chain you will need much more chain depending on the size of the finished knife projected and your forge welding skills.  I am sure if you have more than one or two you have enough to create a billet.

I like this one pretty good!

that is fricking awesome!!! i like it just the way it is with maybe a leather rap handle of sorts.  way to think outside the box.  my one and only question is whats up with the car being used for a photo booth?  lol

KSM - forgive me I had just walked outside of the shop to head home and took the pic w natural light to not get flashback off the blade.  I was sitting still w/o it running.  I really need to set up a photo box to take better pics.  That is a silly iphone pic.

well i dont mind you taking pics in the car , or even while your driving (i dont live there!) lol i just happen to notice thats all, looks good though i like it. things that are completly different from the norm are what catches my eyes.

Very cool!!!!

Steve
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Potomac Forge