Damascus blades, practical or just for collectors?

[Typical-aussie]

Just posted some pics of a Damascus steel knife which I purchased whilst on holiday in India,
I basically stood there and watched a masterful blacksmith make this blade for me based on a
Picture I drew for him on the spot.

[Typical-aussie]

Ok will post pics soon having problem with uploads

[crashdive123]

I must have missed the pics.

[crashdive123]

We posted at the same time. Check the size of your pics, or use a service like Photobucket.

[Typical-aussie]

image.jpgimage.jpgimage.jpg
Ok here are some pics of the knife, he wrote down what metals where used and the mixture was
1095,15N20 and also some nickel it's 182 layers and cost me about $20 Australian

[crashdive123]

Looks good, and can't beat the price.

[Bushman]

question is; 'does-it-work ??'

if it holds a reasonable edge and feels good and you 'want' to use it..........then in my book, it's a 'good knife'

[ElevenBravo]

Ohhh, pretty! He did a nice job!

[Typical-aussie]

Yea he did a great job, it was cool to see the process of making a Damascus steel knife in person
It looked like very hard work and time consuming, after about 2 hours I left and returned the next morning
To find it ready, it has to be sharpened properly still but overall it feels like a nice heavy blade. He sells one or two
On eBay every so often I will post his online store once I find the paperwork again

[Dwane Oliver]

This is JMHO , and an FYI , I'm not trying to down-grade your purchase or piss anybody off.

The India and Pakistani have learned what we(the rest of the knife world) want to hear the damascus is made from. SOME may be telling the truth , but most are not. Alot of it is made from low carbon steel, or recycled railroad track ( which is only about 55% carbon )
This distrust has stemmed from years of "junk" damascus coming from that part of the world.


Here is a test you can try. before you sharpen it , get a good file and see if it "bites" on the cutting edge at about a 45 deg angle. If it "skates" its at least fairly hard, and will hold an edge. I do this to every knife after it comes out of the oven after heat treat.

Here are the positives of your purchase.
1: it looks great
2: the price was right

As to the title question.
Kevin Cashen made a competition cutter from damascus (1084 and 15N20) and won with it.
A damascus blade can be very functional AND pretty at the same time. BUT it has to be made out of proper steels, and properly heat treated.

[Typical-aussie]

Ok mate thnx I will try that out

[Bush Monkey]

As a devout neophyte, I get the impression that performance is not damascus' reason for being.

Damascus steel: http://knifedogs.com/showthread.php?...damascus-steel

[canid]

Again, this pattern welded steel is just that. It is not the same as Damascus steel.

[crashdive123]

Damascus steel was a term used by several Western cultures from the Medieval period onward to describe a type of steel created in India and used in swordmaking from about 300 BC to 1700 AD. These swords are characterized by distinctive patterns of banding and mottling reminiscent of flowing water. Such blades were reputed to be not only tough and resistant to shattering, but capable of being honed to a sharp and resilient edge. Today, the term is used to describe steel that mimics the appearance and performance of Damascus steel, usually that which is produced by either crucible forging or pattern welding.
The original method of producing Damascus steel is not known. Because of differences in raw materials and manufacturing techniques, modern attempts to duplicate the metal have not been entirely successful. Despite this, several individuals in modern times have claimed that they have rediscovered the methods in which the original Damascus steel was produced.

Source: http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Damascus_steel

[canid]

So if I start calling all forms of mass media television; this will make it so?

Damascus steel was Damascus steel. Pattern welded steels are pattern welded steel. This modern p-weld stuff is no more Damascus that the nordic pattern welded composite blades of antiquity, or the japanese nihonto were.

[Camp10]

This is JMHO , and an FYI , I'm not trying to down-grade your purchase or piss anybody off.

The India and Pakistani have learned what we(the rest of the knife world) want to hear the damascus is made from. SOME may be telling the truth , but most are not. Alot of it is made from low carbon steel, or recycled railroad track ( which is only about 55% carbon )
This distrust has stemmed from years of "junk" damascus coming from that part of the world.


Here is a test you can try. before you sharpen it , get a good file and see if it "bites" on the cutting edge at about a 45 deg angle. If it "skates" its at least fairly hard, and will hold an edge. I do this to every knife after it comes out of the oven after heat treat.

Here are the positives of your purchase.
1: it looks great
2: the price was right

As to the title question.
Kevin Cashen made a competition cutter from damascus (1084 and 15N20) and won with it.
A damascus blade can be very functional AND pretty at the same time. BUT it has to be made out of proper steels, and properly heat treated.

Great post. Yeah, if it comes from Pakistan or india, I am leery.
@ Canid.... It needs to go by a name and the industry has taken to calling it Damascus steel. Argue what you want, but its no different than Mopar calling its modern V-8 a Hemi when it is not at all a Hemi. They Market and sell it, they get to decide what the customer will ask for when buying.

[canid]

It's not merely an argument, but a statement of objective fact. They won't see me calling it damascus, and the more people who took the same view the better they could be convinced to properly represent their products.