Anyone use a Damascus CRK?

NM08SRT8

NM08SRT8

Joined
Dec 11, 2011
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Hello.

I did a search but didn't yield any results.

I'm interested in another CRK folder but I've been interested in the beauty of Damascus. With that being said, I use my knives very lightly, packages, mail, plastic bags, paper, etc.

Has anyone used a Damascus CRK? Or had the guts to? Is this something that would be a bad idea?

And what steel would it be equivalent to?


Thanks guys!
 
I use my small spirograph damascus in my edc rotation, and l have been without any issue for over a year now.
No need to worrie...... If it could stand any less use than the s30/s35, l guess he wouldn't have approved using the damascus in his knives.
My experience is that it holds an edge just a little better than the S30/35 does (that could also be caused by a little more careful use ;-) )
The only thing you have to keep in mind is that using your blade will scratch up the pattern a little bit, but it'll still look awesome.
If you can cough up the $$, get yourself one. You definately wont regret it!

Niels
 
The performance if good, and Damascus easily takes a nice fine edge too. My only issue was stated above: you can take the etch off with use.
 
Highly recommend Damascus, as my EDC is a LG! Sharpens easily and is a joy to behold,,,, partial serrations to me are a big plus …. very aggressive cutting. Bart
 
As far as I know, it's a acid dip they take that brings out the layers. I could be wrong though
 
I believe it is folded steel, but in order to bring out the design it needs to be acid etched. If it wasn't etched, the blade would be mostly uniform in color and you would have to really look to see the different layers of folded steel.
 
Ah I see.

I still would prefer the subtle damascus then, as the knives I've had were very subtle and only see the thin layers when patina formed on the carbon part.
 
^what he said is true. Pretty much any damascus steel where you can see the pattern blatantly is etched. I use a raindrop damascus small 21 sometimes in my EDC rotation and love it. There's a simple pleasure that comes with pulling it out and using it, even to open mail, every single time, just because it's different and "fancy." I don't baby it though. The etch does wear, very slowly (I can barely telll on mine, except for a few tiny spots, and it doesn't bug me) and CRK can always restore it to like-new if you want. And the blade takes a GREAT edge, it's not just for show
 
Well I wanted one, then didnt, and now on the fence.

Any CRK is a EDC knife so it will be used daily and probably on the 8000 grit stones daily as well. Think it would hold up (acid etch)?
 
The edge is all the same "silver" steel color, even though there are 2 different steels there, because the edge is not etched. Etching eats away a tiny bit of the steel (well, both steel alloys, but one much more than the other, leaving it that gray color and very slightly coarse to the touch) so you'd basically get super-shallow serrations down the whole edge length if you etched the edge. The sides of the blade, where the pattern IS etched, are not perfectly flat to the touch, you can feel a tiny bit of "braille" from the folded pattern of the steel and the one alloy surface preferentially eaten down by the etchant. Sharpening the knife doesn't change its appearance at all, since it only works the edge, unless of course you ding the blade sides on the stones. I wouldn't sweat it too much, the gray coloring that comes from the etch is not "fragile." I'd say it wears roughly similar to a regular black coating on most production knives, except it's perhaps a tad harder to see scratches on the damascus because the pattern hides it a bit. And like I said, for a very modest price CRK is always happy to clean their knives back up and they do a terrific job, if you just can't live with how it ends up
 
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The Devin Thomas stainless damascus that most of them use is AEB-L and 304. I'm quite impressed with it's overall performance, it's up there with the best
 
Don't worry about it; if you want one, get one - you'll be pleasantly surprised at the performance. IMO, the damascus takes a finer and sharper edge then S30/S35 - I've stropped the edge so keenly I could whittle a Christmas tree from a beard hair. S30/S35 will never do that.

I've used (large) raindrop, ladder and spirograph fairly regularly of the last few years. Cut some coax cable (or maybe it was CAT-5?) with the ladder a while back and it scuffed the finish. The edge was fine though. One of these days (or years), when it's more worn, I'll send it back to CRK to be re-etched. For the most part though, the finish is fairly durable on things like cardboard, wood & plastic.
 
I've been torn!

I had my heart set on a Curtiss 3.5"... But my love is with rhe sebenza. I feel like I need it in my life.. But I want a Curtiss so bad.

I started to think about the starbenza now, small of course.

Grr
 
Question, looking at Devin Thomas' website... Looks like his damascus, if using the right one, actually holds a edge very well.. But he did say that a certain kind of damascus can cause a toothy edge just after one or two cuts.

Not sure if any of you would know this, but which damascus is being used on CRK knives?

http://www.devinthomas.com/damascusSteel.cfm
 
I've seen people suggest the damascus steel used in CRK knives is comparable to spyderco's vg-10; decent edge holding and easy to get scary sharp. My limited use of basketweave has not produced a toothy edge. YMMV.
 
I recommend people with this question watch the Youtube video, "Using Damascus?" Randy, the speaker, uses Sebenzas in his demonstration.
 
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