damascus from ebay

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malcolm47

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Oct 11, 2005
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Has anyone used some of the damascus billets sold on ebay to make a knife? Some of it seems to be made in India so I am a but leary of the quality. Thanks for any info.
 
i got a 3" x 3" peice from india to check it out and i would say it would be good for guards and such. it is made with mild steel so im not sure i would use it as a blade. you could possibly retemper it and try it out. it takes about 2 1/2 weeks to ship to you
try it out
mike
 
There are several U.S. makers of damascus on e-bay.
Craig Barr is one i can think of right now. He makes good stuff.
I'd avoid the stuff from india...unless you don't care if it will take/hold an edge.
 
The stuff that Brad Vise makes (Alabama Precision Tool) is the big 16"X4" sheets.It is good for general use knives,bowies,etc.The damascus from Chris Marks (Marks Forge)is excellent.He mostly sells his mosaic on ebay.The stuff from India is soft and will only take a moderate hardening.It is OK for guards and such,a bit too soft and such for blades.There are several other US makers selling on ebay,too
 
Thanks for the input. I bought a few of the knife blanks from the India source but my total output with shipping will be only $30. I figured that I'll practice grinding the blades with the cheap damascus, then I will invest in some of the good stuff. Do you have to heat treat the good damascus or is it ready to make a blade out of as is? Thanks again.............Malcolm
 
Everything that I have worked with (not much) has to be hardened. I would save the damascus for bolsters ect and get some cheap mild steel or aluminum if all you want is to practice grinding....but you should be able to sell/ get rid of the blades that you make with the damascus (but please tell people who buy them about the steel used). My 2 cents
 
The damascus from BIGJAKE is good as well as from Sherpa o4. Both come fully annealed and no problems with any of it.
 
I would agree with bladsmth about Alabama Damascus. I have bought several billets from them and they are really good. Great patterns and they heat treat real well. I would definately recomend them for billets.
 
I know Big Jake personaly and know for a fact that his Damascus is great.I also would shy away from the stuff from India for anything but guards bolsters and buttcaps...Remember you get what you pay for!

Bruce
 
World knives damascus is from India and it is junk. Stay away from it. I know from first hand. Dave
 
i bought a pre-made from the india source to check it out. my father works at a large heat treating plant and i had the quality assurance supervisor check it out . he said that it was about 75% mild steel and from what he could tell 1018. he said and i quote"youd be better off using brass" as far as blade quality steel. just thought id throw that in. as long as its not used for structure it will be all right.
 
Ive used Chris Marks stuff on bolsters and currently have a big 4"X20" billet from alabama damascus that I'm itching to cut up. I have also used damascus from Chad Nichols and it was good stuff. One billet I bought from a maker recently had inclusions that i found while grinding, so you just need to be wary. Ebay tends to be a "you get what you pay for" world when it comes to damascus. If someones selling a 30" billet for 50$, chances are its junk.....
 
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