Damascus steel. Is it a working steel or for show?

Eliteone2383

Eliteone2383

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I have never owned a damascus steel knife so know next to nothing about it. Does it hold an edge well? Is it a steel that holds up well in every day use? Is it a chore to resharpen? It looks really nice but If its not a heavy use steel then I need to eliminate it as an option in my quest for the sebbie or now Inkosi.
 
Damascus steel can be great or garbage.

It can be tool steels or pot metal mixed with pig iron.

The quality of the steel will be determined by the quality of the materials and the heat treat, and skill used in the process.
 
Im thinking Chris reeves knives would use the best material possible so im sure their damascus is really good. Im just wondering if its on par with their s35vn or if its not meant to be used like the s35vn steel.
 
There is a small sebbie 21 with cf inlays for sale on here with a damascus blade. I need to know about that steel before i decide to buy it because its going for $660
 
If it's from CRK then it'll be good. You probably won't see that much difference between the damascus and CRK's S35VN. It's just for looks from his company.

Having said that not all damascus is the same by a long shot. Some may be good, some may be absolute junk. Depends on who makes it.

As far as the CRK is concerned, if you like it, buy it. If not, don't. You won't see a terrible difference in performance. The same cannot be said for other people. Depends on what it's made of and how well they handled it.

You can get some really good damascus for much less than $660 if that's what you're after. Most people view the CRK damascus knives as pure collectables.

Usually most damascus from good companies is made of a mix of 1095 and 15n20, both carbon steels. They'd sharpen like any other carbon steel. Just for looks. If you're talking about damasteel, it's a stainless damascus and is made of RWL and P something or other. It should behave like CPM154.

If you buy crap damascus, it'll act like whatever crap steel it's made of.
 
If it is a good Damascus and etched properly, it can be a great steel. Depending on the steels involved in the pattern welding if that is the kind of Damascus you are talking about. It can be easy to sharpen, develops micro-serrations over time which makes the edge holding a bit better, can have decent toughness, good edge holding. The downside is you may have to re-etch the blade if/when the pattern begins to fade. Not a huge project at all, but still something you would not have to do with a mono steel. I own a few and use them as edc's, but for real heavy use I will use a mono steel.

All in all, if you want a great EDC folding knife, I would go with a mono steel like M390/20CV/204P. It is a great all around folding knife steel!! Others are S35vn, CPM 154, Aeb L, Elmax, CPM 3V, PD1/Cru-wear, etc.

I do love the way Damascus cuts and sharpens, but if I had to choose one knife to carry it would have a M390(or its equivalent steels like 20CV or 204P) steel blade.

Oh, did not read the part about the "Sebbie". Can not speak about it in regards to CRK. I was talking about other knives.
 
CRK uses Devin Thomas Damascus, you can look up their web site and see what steels they use.
Yes, it's meant to be used. I've got a large with raindrop Damascus that's part of my rotation. The only draw back to any Damascus steel is that with regular use the etching starts to fade. Sometimes, they have to be sent in to get it re etched
 
I carry a Phillip Patton EDC bowie in O1/L6 damascus. Amazing user. The patterns help hide scratches too.

 
They're no performance advantages to to the pattern welding, but it truly shows the craftsman's skill and a joy to own.

If you want longer edge holding go for the s35vn
 
Are people still trying to push that "damascus cutting effect" stuff? In pattern welded steel, the carbon migrates and you essentially end up with a monosteel. The only thing that doesn't migrate is some of the alloying element, particularly nickel. Of properly made, what you end up with is the sum of the steels used and maybe a slight reduction in carbon content, although much of the decarbed part ends up on the floor as scale. One type of forge welded steel where you supposedly do end up with decarb is cable damascus. That is why you get the pattern.
 
jdm61 said:
Are people still trying to push that "damascus cutting effect" stuff? In pattern welded steel, the carbon migrates and you essentially end up with a monosteel. The only thing that doesn't migrate is some of the alloying element, particularly nickel. Of properly made, what you end up with is the sum of the steels used and maybe a slight reduction in carbon content, although much of the decarbed part ends up on the floor as scale. One type of forge welded steel where you supposedly do end up with decarb is cable damascus. That is why you get the pattern.
Click to expand...

Interesting, I didn't factor the carbon migration. Makes sense.
Thanks
 
Charlie Mike said:
I carry a Phillip Patton EDC bowie in O1/L6 damascus. Amazing user. The patterns help hide scratches too.

Click to expand...

Geez, that is a beauty.

Not sure because I'm no expert but my understanding is that proper heat treatment is more important than whether it is a mono or pattern welded steel?

I've been eyeing some miyabi's lately but I'm honestly not all that sure if a monosteel kitchen or even sushi knife is all that inferior.
 
Good damascus will perform just as well as a high end steel like S35V, I carry a Sebenza 21 in damascus and it performs the same as my friends normal Seb 21. I think it's more of an asthetic thing, personally I just like the look. If I'm remembering right the combination of the two steels causes certain chemical reactions that can improve the performance, but now that we have better smelting and forging techniques it's obselete. Sharpening and care are the same as normal steel, except you can wear off the etching on a damascus blade after several years of use, it doesn't affect use but does change the look, but personally I love the look of worn/faded damascus. The main problem with buying damascus is that it's normally just listed as "damascus" as apposed to a specific steel. For instance I don't know what steel Devon Thomas uses for the damascus he supplies to CRK, I just know that in use it works well. But sometimes damascus is used as a way to hide bad steel, occasionally the pattern is just painted on even. Many of the no-name ebay and amazon damascus knives are cheap damascus that won't hold an edge yet are still called damascus.
 
Damascus is primarily a show steel.
For performance? You get what you pay for. Good damascus costs money. If you buy good damascus, chances are you'll never notice the difference until you use the living snot out of it.
 
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