Damascus steel in Rustic Gent

comis

comis

Joined
May 17, 2013
Messages
1,155
Hi, all.

I recently purchased a damascus Rustic Gent and just curious whether WE knife or anyone that owns it would know what kind of steel is in the knife? I think I read it somewhere it is 'stainless', but more info would be much appreciated.

BGQXtsn.jpg

It's a decent offering, and overall a great job.
 
The core is 9Cr but the rest is apparently top secret. I couldn't even get an answer to how many layers it has.
 
True Talon said:
The core is 9Cr but the rest is apparently top secret. I couldn't even get an answer to how many layers it has.
Click to expand...

Thank you!

I actually just want to know whether it is possible to coffee 'etch' the blade to bring out the contrast of the damascus. I know the method sounds like it would work well on carbon steel, but not sure how well it would work on 'stainless' damascus, and surely don't want to ruin it if it is not doable.
 
It probably won't work but it shouldn't ruin it, unless you left the blade in for days on end
 
If it's anything like the damascus in my Elementum, I'd guess that it's more subtle because it appears to be polished post etch. I like a polished blade, but it does seem to take a little away from the reason I like damascus....the contrast.

If you try it, please come back and show the results. Good, bad, or indifferent.
 
fishface5 said:
It probably won't work but it shouldn't ruin it, unless you left the blade in for days on end
Click to expand...
It's rather likely that it may not work at all, but I probably don't want to deal with the acid which sounds difficult to handle, store or dispose.

bflying said:
If it's anything like the damascus in my Elementum, I'd guess that it's more subtle because it appears to be polished post etch. I like a polished blade, but it does seem to take a little away from the reason I like damascus....the contrast.

If you try it, please come back and show the results. Good, bad, or indifferent.
Click to expand...
I think it may be similar, the photo I took didn't do it's justice. Basically, it's a subdued greyish pattern only more visible under certain angle of light. But it will be stellar if the contrast is more. I will report back on the progress, hopefully with all the cleaning prior to etch, it won't become spotting/inconsistent.
 
Hi， comis:

The main component materials in the damascus steel we use on the Civivi models, according to our supplier, is 9Cr18MoV.

I'm afraid I don't have much information to help on the etching side.

Thank you.
 
Last edited:
WE Knife Media said:
Hi， comis:

The main component materials in the damascus steel we use on the Civivi models, according to our supplier, is 9Cr18MoV.

I'm afraid I don't have much information to help on the etching side.

Thank you.
Click to expand...

Thanks for the reply, appreciate it!

Btw, will we be seeing more damascus Rustic Gent coming out in green micarta handle? They are selling like hot cakes, I hope to see you guys make more.
 
comis said:
Thanks for the reply, appreciate it!

Btw, will we be seeing more damascus Rustic Gent coming out in green micarta handle? They are selling like hot cakes, I hope to see you guys make more.
Click to expand...
I have one of the damascus knives, but I also still want to get hold of the D2 version in tan micarta. Do make more!

Great little knives, and the pocket slips fit a couple of my edc balisongs very well.
 
Hi, all.

Just want to get back to you guys about trying to coffee etch or bring out the contrast of the damascus.

Well, in short, basically it is a failed attempt. I tried dipping it in really strong hot instant coffee(1:2 coffee to water ratio), and checked on it every few hours, even after a day or two fully immersed in the coffee, it hardly does anything.

Then I proceed to dip the blade in 5% vinegar, for long duration of 24 hours(again checking on it every few hours), and it hardly do anything and potentially just 'blue' the stainless part a tiny bit:

iLZWjPO.jpg


However, the previous coffee etch or the vinegar did put on a very mild 'haze' to the whole blade, and I felt the result is sub optimal, so I used Flitz to restore the blade to its original state and just accepted as it is. All I can say is the blade is really 'stainless', though it's difficult to bring out the contrast further, I bet it should be a pretty good user steel able to withstand hot summer in a sweaty pocket.
 
A friend questioned how such a nice crisp damascus blade can really be damascus, but possibly just an etching on the metal. SO, I took some ferric chloride and applied it to the spine of the blade and got this closeup image of the many layers showing here;

IMG_7447 by GaryWGraley, on Flickr

such a nice folder!
G2
 
Gary W. Graley said:
A friend questioned how such a nice crisp damascus blade can really be damascus, but possibly just an etching on the metal. SO, I took some ferric chloride and applied it to the spine of the blade and got this closeup image of the many layers showing here;

IMG_7447 by GaryWGraley, on Flickr

such a nice folder!
G2
Click to expand...

Gary, thank you for the reference. I am wondering what do you think of the contrast of colors on this blade? Would you plan to use the ferric chloride to deepen the contrast?
 
You’re welcome but I only have a little bit of ferric left and only did this to verify the Damascus itself
Down the road if I need to I would try it but I like how mine looks right now
G2
 
It would be excellent (I sound like ‘Bill & Ted’) if we could get the company Civivi to chime in with some images of the steel being made and how they etch the blade with such a high polish I think they could share something without spilling the beans on any proprietary processes and it would put a lot of minds to rest as I have heard that a lot of people believe that it is NOT real Damascus but just a surface etching that makes it appear like it

But I don’t know who to make the request to

G2
 
Thanks it is quite stunning
G2
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top