Damascus questions

Way back, before the industrial revolution, no steel was thrown out. It was forged into other things, old files to knife blades, plowshares into swords (and the other way around) call it recycling.
Those blades and other items weren't etched to show the patterns, they were polished so they'd look like a shiney new piece of steel.

Bruce Evans made me one of his "Frontier Damascus" blades. No high tech stuff here...a ballpeen hammer head, some socket wrenches & a barn door hinge, among other things. This knife is not only pretty but cuts like the proverbial dickens.
If I didn't tell what was in it, no one would know.

A forum member, Gaucho, did a performance test (a couple of months ago) of damascus blades and they held up as well as single steel blades. Rope cutting, leg of lamb, etc...

You can keep the ubersteels, I'd rather concern myself with:
A) The knifemaker
B) The heat treat
C) The Grind/Profile

I only with I had the cash to fund a "Blindfold Taste Test" The same knife made in unobtanium, S30V, ATS 34, 1095, 440C and 5160. Then we could cut & sharpen and see who can tell which is which ;)
 
Dcon67:
AEBH is the SS carbon steel part in AEBH 304 mix. 304 will not harden. It is structural steel as all 300-series steels. Your kitchen sink may be of 304. 304 resists etching better than AEBH and works as nickel in nickel-carbonsteel mix. I personally wouldn't buy a blade with 304 in mix.
General:
I can't belive that you don't remember Damasteels mix: RWL-34 and PMC27 (swedish powder metallurgy versions of ATS-34 and Sandvik 12C27) - both good SS blade steels. I'd rate Damasteel to be as good in edgeholding as ATS-34. That may sound unrealistic as PMC27 is in lesser edgeholding class but that is my experience with it. Prehaps this behaviour is result from the cleaniness of powder metallurgy steels?
 
General, you make my head spin. Where's my rubber boots? I thought nobody but Busse knew the true composition of INFI?

The original poster wants to know about damsascus in a knife for regular use, not about its use in the monstor sword to split rocks.

Damascus is an excellent knife material equal to any of the wonder steels except in "rostfrei." However, damascus is only as good as the maker and some damsacus is not designed for use, but for looks. Buyer be knowledgeable.

Handmade damascus has a lot of heart and soul you'll never get out of a stock removal blade. Damsacus performance is fully acceptable i any normal knife application. However as Morotz indicated, there can be flaws in poorly made damascus, and the heat treat probably cannot be read out of a book or spit out of a computer, but has to be learned through practice. Consistency in damacus requires a good blacksmhith. Does that cut out your "designer" heat treaters?

From the maker's I've spoken to, most make damsacus knives because they like too. I got the impression that making their own steel, forging it into a blade, gives them a more of a kick than cutting it out of bar stock.


I have to agree with Kalanzis and Ebbtide. A well made blade trumps the steel used (rock breaks scissors.)
 
Gus Kalanzis,

I think that knife is great. :D

Did you notice that it has the same blade shape as the CS Trail Master? Missing the False Edge only.

Could be why it won the Cutting Contest, don't you think?
 
Yes I do know what one type of Damasteel is made from, but there is some confusion over Damasteel using partical metalurgy and simply stainless damascus.

You are quite right though if the Damasteel used is the powderd version the performance aught to be similar to ATS-34 and quite simply BG-42 is a better steel being both tougher at the same Rc and holds an edge better. Thus performance drop over BG-42

Brownshoe, I never said I thought I knew the INFI steel secret, only I would like to see such a blade in a direct compotition with these 'super' Damascus steels.

Oh and that picture of the Damascus knife aught to answer all the questions if someone is considering buying...:) Yegads its gorgious!:D
 
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