'Custom Damascus' knives???

[Chris Pierce]

So I've seen a lot of 'custom damascus' knives on ebay. Maybe some of you have as well. Most of them are embellished to a ridiculous degree. File work all over the place, really busy damascus blades, several different materials used in one handle etc. Some of the knives look like they might be good users, others just look strange. And the prices are really really really low (.99 cent, no reserve auctions). Most of these knives seem to be coming out of Canada. But after doing a quick search, one seller, who offers hundreds of different knives (all 'custom damascus') has many different locations listed on his auctions. Some of the locations are in the US and some in Canada. I've also recently seen a seller here on Bladeforums with very similar knives for sale. He claims that they are from Canada as well.

Does anybody know what the deal is with these knives? Are they junk? Are they just a really a good deal? Is there a group of knife makers out there losing tons of money trying to make a name? These knives aren't branded, so I don't think this is the case.....

 

[woodysone]

I believe that they are being sold in the custom section right now here. Maybe the customers from the past sale will chime in?

 

[crunky]

I think a lot of the ones on the bay come from Pakistan. A while back I bought a non Damascus "custom" knife from one of those sellers on ebay, just to see what the deal was. IIRC, this seller was from New York. The knife I got claimed 59-60hrc, from "leaf spring steel". F&F was pretty bad, but it does take a wicked edge and is decent work horse of a knife. Its nearly 1/4" thick, and only a 4" blade. I keep it in the garage, and use it to pound on in the yard and dig with.

 

[Mitchell Knives]

Does anybody know what the deal is with these knives? Are they junk? Are they just a really a good deal?

Absolute junk made from mystery scrap steel. The majority of these are produced in Pakistan.

The owner of one of the production companies in Pakistan some how found me on Facebook, and suggested that I buy his blades for $2 each and sell them as my own. (They apparently try to do this to a lot of knife makers on FB.)

I deleted him about 2 seconds later.

Most quality damascus is at least $12 an inch; making a 9" blade $108 just for steel.

If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

 

[Poez]

I have seen some blades from Pakistan. Not the knives, actual blades. Did not really like them.
Have not seen any Pakistan made "custom" knives with these blades... I think they probably could be good for room decoration - if you like that kind of objects on the wall. Otherwise - do not really know.

 

[Chris Pierce]

Absolute junk made from mystery scrap steel. The majority of these are produced in Pakistan.

The owner of one of the production companies in Pakistan some how found me on Facebook, and suggested that I buy his blades for $2 each and sell them as my own. (They apparently try to do this to a lot of knife makers on FB.)

I deleted him about 2 seconds later.

Most quality damascus is at least $12 an inch; making a 9" blade $108 just for steel.

If it sounds too good to be true, it probably is.

That's nuts. It's amazing what people will do to turn a buck.

Thanks for the insight about damascus prices. I kind of figured that these they were Pakistani junk, but I wanted to make sure.

Do you know what the steel is on par with? 440A? 1050 carbon maybe?

 

[Mitchell Knives]

They are literally scrap steel; melted down refrigerators, man hole covers, etc.

There is no consistency in the material used, so I don't see how you could compare it to any defined steel.

You would be better off buying a Chinese steak knife from the dollar store in terms of quality control.

 

[gooeytek]

One of my clients gave me a damascus linerlock folder after I knocked off $50 from his bill. After I set up his home network, we got to talking about knives since he saw I had one in my pocket (S30V Speedbump) that I used to cut some zip ties with.

Overall, I'd say it's not bad but definitely something I wouldn't set out to buy. It's pretty heavy, has wood scales, what seems to be stainless bolsters and brass? liners. The blade has a random damascus pattern, flat ground with about 1/8" edge and is very sharp. As mentioned earlier, heavy with filework along the spine. There's no blade play but I haven't really done anything with it except cut some paper to see how sharp it was. There are no marks on the blade to indicate a country of origin either. I wouldn't use it for any type of rough work though as it looks like the pivot isn't very robust, but lockup is tight. There's a thumbstud for right-handed opening, but I haven't been able to just flick it open (I've tried). It came with a leather case.

 

[Jimdo]

These knives are indeed Pakistani , they are what they are..... cheap POS knives. Perhaps his "Damascus Custom Knives" are indeed from Canada (but that's only after their made in Pakistan and then shipped to Canada)... Do yourself a favor and pass on these.

 

[Poez]

... I had one in my pocket (S30V Speedbump) that I used to cut some zip ties with.
....

I think that would be Spec Bump. Very nice knife indeed. It is a pity it has been discontinued. Like Kershaw Boa - one of my all time favorites.

 

[gooeytek]

That's kinda what I figured. My nephew and his friends think it's cool-looking. I guess it can be somewhat of a conversation piece.

I think that would be Spec Bump. Very nice knife indeed. It is a pity it has been discontinued. Like Kershaw Boa - one of my all time favorites.

yup, you're right. It's a Spec Bump, the 1596. It's heavily used