Damasteel performance?

T

Thejax

Joined
May 11, 2016
Messages
212
Hi all,

Any Damasteel users here can chime in on their performances in EDC (edge retention, corrosion resistance) and hard-use (toughness, strength) settings? I’m considering getting a custom blade in the steel, but there’s not much reports on what they are like when used in these settings... Any information is appreciated 🙏
 
Victorinox uses it yearly and it seems to be OK, on their (not hard use) blades, when used, from what I recall. I think they are in the low 60s in hardness.

You may want to specify the type of blade you are interested in, to help with your definition of hard use.
 
calm said:
Victorinox uses it yearly and it seems to be OK, on their (not hard use) blades, when used, from what I recall. I think they are in the low 60s in hardness.

You may want to specify the type of blade you are interested in, to help with your definition of hard use.
Click to expand...
I’m thinking of a bowie type of knives, meaning I can bring it camping; doing many type of woodworks, food preps, without fear of chipping if accidentally hit by a bone, or dropped on the ground even if tip first; or can come back to shape even when bent, when used unreasonably like batoning... Hope that expands on my definition of hard-use.

Any one who is not afraid of using their pretty Damasteel, please let me know if they did survive when pushed/abused like so. Always love a survival story.
jfk1110 said:
I love mine!! No rust issues.. Out in rain and snow!!! Good edge holding ... Eats cardboard for breakfast/ATTACH]View attachment 1922297View attachment 1922299
Click to expand...
Those are very nice!
 
Damasteel is not for hard use, no. Can it do those things you're asking? Maybe. But it's fundamentally a powder metallurgy blend of RWL34 and PMC27, which are basically CPM154 and 12C27, neither of which is an ideal performer for use in a fixed-blade field knife. Fundamentally it's a poor and expensive choice for a knife you want to dress game without chipping, drop on its tip into the ground, pry laterally, or baton through hardwood. Damasteel will perform fine as a knife, though.
 
Here's a video I saw a long time ago that had me hooked!!
I'm not beating any harder on mine so plenty tough for me!!!

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I own a lot of Damasteel knives and I have carried one regularly. I love the steel. It takes a great edge, holds it well and is easy to resharpen. However if you are building a hard use knife for extreme conditions there are steels specifically designed for that like 3V or INFI.

A 6mm Damasteel billet wide enough and long enough for a big bowie will be extremely costly and honestly the question you have to ask is..is it worth it? Especially for something you are going to beat on.
Remember if the blade is damaged during grinding or heat treating you are going to throw a lot of money away.

Personally I would go and buy a BUSSE, CPK or any one of a number of other brilliant knives designed specifically for that application and made with the appropriate steel. With those you will also get a warranty against any future problems.
 
“Damasteel” and “performance” belong together like “Ford F-350” and “fuel economy”. You don’t buy Damasteel because of edge retention or toughness, you buy it because you want to look at the pretty polished swirly pattern.

I’ve owned several Damasteel and Damascus knives over the years… I would never choose it over m390/20cv/204p if it came to it.
 
It is worth re-emphasizing that Damasteel is not a poor-performing cutlery steel, it's just poor at the uses for which a large survival knife may have to perform. It's a fine performing steel for a knife. Just not for an axe, machete, shovel, crowbar, Halligan tool, or sword.
 
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