Damascus Khukuri

H2OCutter

H2OCutter

Joined
Mar 11, 2007
Messages
672
I was just curious as to this, has anyone ever seen a Khuk made from damascus steel ? Was imaging something in the 18 inch range, full tang, with an Montana Elk antler handle.
 
I hate to say this, but it seems like a waste of good Damascus to me. There are a few places that make 1911 handles from Damascus, makes me shutter to see them.
 
NO F-Bdy Bs said:
I hate to say this, but it seems like a waste of good Damascus to me. There are a few places that make 1911 handles from Damascus, makes me shutter to see them.
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Why they have been making swords from damascus for centuries.
 
Petr Dohnal has made some Damascus khukuris. The Valiant kopis comes in Damascus flavor, so the HI falcata would be a natural candidate. Previous discussions seem to indicate that the kamis don't use enough heat to forge weld (they use charcoal after all).

NO F-Bdy Bs said:
I hate to say this, but it seems like a waste of good Damascus to me.
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I'm curious; what do you think is the proper use for Damascus steel?
 
Im aware that Damascus has been in use for some time now. In my opinion, I would rather see Damascus used on something with more of an "ornamental" value than on a "chopper"
 
Martini said:
The Valiant kopis comes in Damascus flavor,QUOTE]

I saw the recent ones that were delivered and thought that this would be an interesting and attractive combination especially in a M43 or GRS configuration.
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NO F-Bdy Bs said:
Im aware that Damascus has been in use for some time now. In my opinion, I would rather see Damascus used on something with more of an "ornamental" value than on a "chopper"
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To each their own, but Damascus steel is more suited for weapon grade utility than an ornimental wall hanger IMHO.
 
There are a few smiths that have made damascus kukris before, and I am sure there are plenty others that would be willing to give it a try. The ones that have made them are Jian Ge, Patrick Barta, Vince Evans and our very own Dan Koster.

Currently the HI kamis don't work on forges that are hot enough to be able to make damascus.
 
Skyler R. said:
There are a few smiths that have made damascus kukris before, and I am sure there are plenty others that would be willing to give it a try. The ones that have made them are Jian Ge, Patrick Barta, Vince Evans and our very own Dan Koster.

Currently the HI kamis don't work on forges that are hot enough to be able to make damascus.
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Thanks Skyler for the info. I understand the kamis situation, was just curious if anyone else had given it a go.
 
I started one.....it was one of several well-intended endeavors....:foot:


I see no problem with the idea....the only drawback is that in order to keep the pattern even...the entire blade needs to be hardened...rather than just the edge (traditional method). However...if quality steel is used, and a convex bevel ground in...this should not be a problem.

Vince Evan's stuff is pretty cool.

Kevin Cashen had a Kukri-Like-Knife in the ABS cutting competition a few years back, made of damascus. Had the quickest 2x4 time of the lot...so, it's clearly not necessarily a loss in performance.


That said...many damascus blades made overseas nowadays (including those in India and those made by ValiantCo, IIRC) include low-carbon steel in the mix...easier to work with...performance can take a slight dip because of carbon migration (from the high-carbon to the low-carbon)...resulting in a steel that is tough, but not as good edge-holding.

For example....I have a few pieces from India that are 1095 and mild steel (1018, etc.) with nickel. The 1095 (.95) and 1018 (.18) "average" out to 0.57% carbon...which is just a little behind 5160 - typical for a kukri (0.60%)

Make sense?
 
A coal forge is indeed hot enough to forge weld damascus. The problem is two-fold: quality control and the kamis don't want to be associated with the touristy kukris from India (made with low-carbon damascus).
 
Daniel Koster said:
A coal forge is indeed hot enough to forge weld damascus.
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Quite true...not sure why I had said that they don't work on hot enough forges. They don't heat their forges hot enough to weld at currently though, but I guess they could do it if they wanted. Another problem the kamis may run into would be what other steel they would use in combination with the 5160. I guess they could always just do some folded blades and keep sticking to 5160. I am also not sure how many of the kamis (if any) have experience with damascus or folding.

I forgot all about Kevin Cashen, if I recall correctly he made another one then just the one at the cutting competition.

When you do finish a damascus kukri Dan be sure to post pictures, I for one would love to see it (as well as a damascus/folded HI). :D :thumbup:
 
I think what I'll do is find a custom maker and discribe what I have in mind and go from there.
 
Daniel Koster said:
A coal forge is indeed hot enough to forge weld damascus. The problem is two-fold: quality control and the kamis don't want to be associated with the touristy kukris from India (made with low-carbon damascus).
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Makes sense. Out of curiosity, how difficult would it be to maintain an even pattern using the kamis' traditional methods?
 
Since the kamis forge the blade almost entirely to shape...the pattern would be quite consistent and would look great. It's tempting to send over a bar of damascus...just to see what they could do with it. But that might be a bit fool-hardy.
 
Valiant has a damascus double khukuri but I have never heard tell of anyone with one.

Ariel Salaverra said he could make a damascus khuk for a raffle I envisioned but at the price I couldn't get enough people interested.
 
T. Kardin also has a damascus Khukuri.

td_10tuj.jpg
 
NO F-Bdy Bs said:
Im aware that Damascus has been in use for some time now. In my opinion, I would rather see Damascus used on something with more of an "ornamental" value than on a "chopper"
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"It is said that when Damascus-made swords were first encountered by Europeans during the Crusades, it garnered an almost mythical reputation—a Damascus steel blade was said to be able to cut a piece of silk in half as it fell to the ground, as well as being able to chop through normal blades, or even rock, without losing its sharp edge." -Wikipedia

Personally I'd like to see this stuff in action!
 
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