ib2v4u has good info.
Alabama Damascus ( on ebay) is a good damascus maker. I know Brad, and his stuff is well made and at a good price. The blade supply catalog companies sell damascus,too.
The stuff from India is usually either unhardened, or if hardened - not all that hard. It won't hold an edge .The steel is anybodies guess. It is fine for wall hangers, I suppose, but won't often make a usable knife.
I was in a discussion at Blade with one of the suppliers from India years back, and he made the funniest comment. When I asked what a certain maker ( name deliberately omitted) used for his steels, the reply was, " OH,he is my cousin..... he uses man-hole covers !". In a later conversation, I found what that statement meant. There are several foundry/forge companies in India that provide to the replica/museum/cheap blade markets that use any scrap steel they can get cheap. The standard joke is that they steal the man-hole covers off the streets to forge into knives. Translation- any steel they can get their hands on.
There is one ( probably others) well known seller on the show circuit who buys these cheap blades and sells them. Some he makes into knives and others he sells as is. He claims that he makes them all by hand, and fully hardens them. They are all soft and useless. I can't believe that he sells so many, but sadly, many buyers look at the pattern, and don't know anything about the steel. It is sort of like buying a car because you like the color, but don't have any idea if it runs well or not.
Stacy
