Damascus EDC, the start of a journey: Est. 2017 (w. Feb 2024 update).

Joined
Jan 12, 2013
Messages
3,154
Hey all.

On August 1st I started carrying my Raindrop Damascus 21 daily, and plan on carrying it through to the end of December. 5 months of solid carry. The knife has already started to show some wear on the blade as well as lots of snail trails on the slabs (that never seem to show in photos). The typical lightening of the etch around the thumbstud has begun and I have several scratches on the blade.

I plan on using this knife for all of my work and weekend carry, with the exception of specific work-related electrical tasks where I need a sheepsfoot blade (such as skinning thick insulation on large power cable........which is a task that a spear point blade fails miserably at). Cardboard, food prep, camping chores, whittling, stripping smaller wires, light and heavy EDC tasks are all fair game for the Damascus 21. The knife will get no special treatment and will be expected to perform everything I ask of my other 21s, which is a lot.

Even cheese and pickles are on the agenda!

IMG_3855.JPG

Anyways. I will endeavour to take some photos along the way to give everyone considering the same EDC option a really good idea of how Damascus ages. There have been several threads started like this one, but many seemed to dwindle. I'll do my best to keep the dream alive.

My 1st observation is regarding edge holding: It's pretty good, better than I expected. I would not say it holds an edge as long as S35VN (even in the older 58-59 hardness), but is adequate and easily sharpened when it gets dull.

Stay tuned!


Side note: This is my first photo thread on this sub-forum for a while. I gotta admit that the fact many "free" forums I frequent managed to deal internally with the Photobucket hosting fiasco, (and within a few days have all the broken links 100% fixed via server uploads), but a paid subscription forum like Bladeforums did not, left me a little disappointed. So many great threads on this website remain trashed and I hesitate to start another one, even with imbedded photos. I hope this particular effort does not also dissolve. Anyways......enough of my whining. My passion for CRK knives has not diminished.
 
Hi Cody,

great idea. I will follow and be exited about your experience reports to come! Particularly I am interested about what food prep will do to the blade, as it has been mentioned that acids and stuff may effect the damascus blade negatively.
 
This is a great idea, would you mind if others join in? I ask because I have been carrying my damascus Mnandi since it came in on Friday and would be happy to post up occasional wear status pics :)

~Chip
 
Hi Cody,

great idea. I will follow and be exited about your experience reports to come! Particularly I am interested about what food prep will do to the blade, as it has been mentioned that acids and stuff may effect the damascus blade negatively.


I'll be sure to update on this topic in particular.
 
Devin Thomas Stainless

Evening of arrival 8/18/17
Screenshot_20170822-225851.png

Tonight after much fondling over the weekend. There's very slight fading near the nick from my incessant fidgeting, and a scuff or two from some packages but only visible under certain lighting.
Screenshot_20170822-230119.png
Screenshot_20170822-230409.png

~Chip
 
This thread was long overdue! Thanks for your input! I have always asked about damascus etch wear and never got any answers or pics. My biggest complaint about damascus is that no knife maker really tells you what steels are being used to sandwich together to create the blade or its characteristics. I wonder what I am really getting. I know Devin Thomas and Chad Nickols Damascus are high quality brands that can be trusted but not everybody uses them. When a knife is listed as S35VN, M390, D2 or 8CR13MOV, I know what to expect from it. But when the blade material is listed only as "Damascus", it tells me nothing. Does that mean I need to carry around a sharpening stone with me or not?
 
All I've done with my Mnandi is hit it on a balsa strop loaded with gray compound...it responded really well!:D

~Chip
 
I've always wondered about the CRK damascus in terms of perfomance. Infact I wonder about the Damascus in all knives that use it. I don't understand though why can't they just tell us what steels are being used?

In my opinion when companies list blade steel as damascus that feels alot like listing it as "stainless steel." Totally not descriptive enough.

That means for any company's particular damascus I have to test it to find out if it is good. Either that or somehow find out what steels they used so I have some idea of what to expect. Even then they could change the mixture any time and still list it as just damascus. Why can't companies be more upfront about this.

That being said most reviews I have heard of Damascus from reputable makers have been very positive. I know we wouldn't accept "stainless steel" as a descriptor.
 
I've always wondered about the CRK damascus in terms of perfomance. Infact I wonder about the Damascus in all knives that use it. I don't understand though why can't they just tell us what steels are being used?

In my opinion when companies list blade steel as damascus that feels alot like listing it as "stainless steel." Totally not descriptive enough.

That means for any company's particular damascus I have to test it to find out if it is good. Either that or somehow find out what steels they used so I have some idea of what to expect. Even then they could change the mixture any time and still list it as just damascus. Why can't companies be more upfront about this.

That being said most reviews I have heard of Damascus from reputable makers have been very positive. I know we wouldn't accept "stainless steel" as a descriptor.

The composition is listed on the DT website- Of course, this only applies to DT damascus used in CRK.

All Stainless Damascus
Materials Used:
AEB - L and 304

Patterns Available:
Random, Ladder, Raindrop, Bubblewrap, Twist, Firestorm, Sharkstooth, Spirograph, Vines & Roses, Composite Bar, Fireball, Basketweave, Dot Matrix, Herringbone, and Reptilian
 
Always enjoy your threads Cody, you have lots of CRK knowledge.I got this one off the exchange in January
it has seen a lot of use since then, they hold up very well to regular use. I blasted it with glass bead when I got it.
someone had done scotch brite I didn't like it much.
XV9GNEV.jpg
 
The composition is listed on the DT website- Of course, this only applies to DT damascus used in CRK.

All Stainless Damascus
Materials Used:
AEB - L and 304

Patterns Available:
Random, Ladder, Raindrop, Bubblewrap, Twist, Firestorm, Sharkstooth, Spirograph, Vines & Roses, Composite Bar, Fireball, Basketweave, Dot Matrix, Herringbone, and Reptilian

Thank you. Now I'm going to have to get a Damascus Sebbie. :( ........ :) ...... >: )

I know alot of times they list the composition somewhere, I just wondered why they aren't more upfront about, especially since steel types are usually such a big selling point.

When you say 304 are you talking about lowly 300 series stainless, as in even worse than 400 series stainless?
 
Back
Top