Damascus at one year.

J

jackknife

Joined
Oct 2, 2004
Messages
17,619
After one year of edc carry, I'm still impressed by the Thomas damascus, but I'm still puzzled by the finish. It does not seem to have developed much of a patina, but it will stain along the sharpened edge. Maybe the damascus pattern is just a little more subdued than it used to be, but it's still a very vivid raindrop pattern.

Question; do any of you have have Thomas damascus noticed much of a patina?

I admit I've babied this, wiping down the blade after used on any food items with a clean soft bandana or paper towel. Once in a while I've put a small smear of chapstick on the blade and wiped it down. But it's proving to be very resilient material.

Carl.
 
well, there isnt much to say this this other that congrats on getting a knife that makes you so happy :thumbup:

i think (not so speak for too many people) that we are intrigued by damascus bladed knives, but not everyone gets to see what the fuss is all about
I am glad that it has worked out so well for you and your needs
 
Hi Carl,

I just got a Case/Bose with the same Damascus as your peanut. I have already used it on some foods, fruits and green woods and one minor 'surgery' removing a shard of bone from a finger.

I just took this pic yesterday.

SU1HLTIwMTIwMzAzLTAwODc1LmpwZw.jpg


While a few of the materials added to the patina it only took wiping it off on the inside of my shirt tail to buff it normal.

I like the damascus and I think it adds a completely different dimension to a knife.

I will not be babying this knife. It is the first Case I have bought and I am going to give it a run for its money.

I will add some more pics into this thread for you as my uses go on :)

If you would like of course.
 
Carl, damascus is made up of both stainless and non-stainless steels and then etched (same as patina) with some kind of acid to bring out the contrast, because the stainless steel doesn't take the color. In effect, when you get it new, it already has the patina on it.
 
While I am not a fan of Damascus, your little Damascus peanut is like a legend of knives in my eyes. I'm glad to hear its been a great companion for over a year. Having any knife Knut carry a knife for over a year makes it very special indeed :)
 
Hi again Carl,

From what I gathered speaking to Case, it is Rob Thomas Raindrop Damascus. The composition is ~8% nickel and ~92% 1075. They temper it back with a target range of mid 50's on the Rockwell Scale. Just having mine for a short time I can say it takes an edge well. From my experience if a steel is way under hardened you can NOT get a good edge.

The pen blade on mine is razor sharp and tree tops hair and push cuts newspaper. The spear blade I have been using a bit and the edge retention seems okay to me. Not amazing by any means of the word, but it will do. I just touched up the spear blade easily and its also tree topping sharp. It cuts like a demon too.

Here is my most recent pic

securedownload-2.jpg


Seems right at home in one of my favorite spots.
 
Rob Thomas also forges stainless damascus, as does his brother Devin.
 
black mamba said:
Carl, damascus is made up of both stainless and non-stainless steels and then etched (same as patina) with some kind of acid to bring out the contrast, because the stainless steel doesn't take the color. In effect, when you get it new, it already has the patina on it.
Click to expand...

As the makeup is below, your statement is false. I'm not sure of any stainless/carbon Damascus mixtures. The pattern comes from 2 like but dissimilar steels. Usually one has more nickel than the other, which gives the different shades when etched. A bright silver in the Damascus can be given by polishing off the etching from the most resistant steel- the valleys of the softer steel stay oxidized, while the peaks are polished. using nickel isn't as conducive to cutting edge (too soft), but it resists the etch to stay bright.

I've used my Damascus Case stockman since getting it, but not every day. I notice with my Damascus users that they develop color to the etch moreso than a true patina, as the etch is a patina. The reason you notice the edge developing a patina is that you remove the patina/etch when sharpening, and are simply reapplying the etch with a new, natural etchant- work! I notice that my stockman has a bit of blue tint to the pattern now, while my new Alan Davis custom (not traditional) has developed more of a gold hue to the Damascus. I like using Damascus to see how each steel type reacts to use. Usually the pattern remains basically how it started, but occasional surprises do come up.

I'm not part of the cult of the peanut, but do the Damascus dance nearly every day. Glad to see others on the dance floor with me!
 
Carl,

I have a story that I think you might like to hear. Its a factual story that just happened the other day.

I had to cut some cardboard the other day. The knife I was using was S30v @58-59. I have cut a lot of cardboard and my knives are SHARP. This cardboard was different. I had to push HARD. To my surprise tons of little dents/nicks were in the edge after about 20 cuts. Well now, thats not good. Let me grab my 1095 slippy at 57-59 and see what happens. WHAT???....the same result. Then I thought, well why not, let me try my Case Bose on this stuff. Hmmmmmm...not so bad. To my surprise, but thankfully, there was about one little bright spot on the edge. Nothing like on the other two. It took some time to sharpen out the nicks on the S30V and even the 1095. It took two swipes on my barber strop to bring the damascus back to shaving sharp.

I don't know if this is typical or luck of the draw. I am not trying to offer it as conclusive of anything. I just thought you would like to hear this good experience. And none of the knives had a burr to be torn away. They were all finely honed and stropped and the Case Bose having both the thinnest blade profile and edge profile. Go figure.
 
richstag said:
Carl,
I don't know if this is typical or luck of the draw. I am not trying to offer it as conclusive of anything. I just thought you would like to hear this good experience. And none of the knives had a burr to be torn away. They were all finely honed and stropped and the Case Bose having both the thinnest blade profile and edge profile. Go figure.
Click to expand...

Well, if it's the luck of the draw, then I got lucky too. This has been my only damascus knife, and it's proven to be one great cutter. I would definitely buy another Case damascus knife if it was the Thomas damascus stuff. It's weird stuff at that. It seems to stand up to some steady use great. Even when it's lost it's razor edge, it still slices well. A few years back, someone gave me a knife that was the S30v, and it seemed to be prone to edge chipping, and not what it was cracked up to be. I'd take plain old CV or Buck's 420HC before I'd pocket another S30v stuff. My experience with it echo's yours. But I just love the Thomas damascus, whichever Thomas brother made it.

Carl.
 
Sounds good to me if we both got lucky or not ;)

In the defense of the s30v, the spots not chipped seemed just as sharp as before use and this was the first chipping I have run into. Either way when I saw the chipping it seemed like a good chance for a little compare and contrast. The 1075 didn't really chip but it did loose the sharpnees a bit.

I like the damascus. I think the Thomas brother issue is more of an ethical conversation that would only infect this forum with negativety.
 
I've only just gotten mine Carl so it remains to be seen. I have a feeling though it will be babied far more than my Case yellow CV!
I'm so glad I found one of these, it's an awesome knife.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top