Did you ever got a knife just for the looks?

[Larrin]

Any time anyone buys a damascus Sebenza, it's based on looks. Same thing with many other Damascus knives. If we didn't buy knives based on looks, all knives would probably use micarta handles.

But this thread is about buying knives based on "only" looks. There are people who buy damascus sebenzas for more reasons than just because they look cool.

 

[woodybushman]

yep, i too am aflicted with this condition....my local tackle shop has a display case consisting of a big stump, with tons of knives imbedded in it....damned if i dont buy a new skinning knife or folder when i walk in there to pick up a few new dry flies....... The staff rub their hands with glee when see my truck pull up..... LOL!!!!!

 

[Walking Man]

But this thread is about buying knives based on "only" looks. There are people who buy damascus sebenzas for more reasons than just because they look cool.

Such as? I believe that Chris Reeve himself even once wrote that Damascus is a trade off. I didn't see it on his site just now, but I believe it was on there once.

 

[Bob W]

I should've answered, "Not today, yet."

-Bob

 

[Planterz]

MT Vector, looks awesome in the ads until you get one and see how small it is. Still looks neat I guess.l

I know what you mean. It never really piqued my interest, but it always looked like a big honker in ads. Then I saw one at the mall, and I let out an uncontrollable giggle for a brief second. It's weird that even though you might have the specs, some knives you can't appreciate their size (or lack thereof) until you see it in person.

 

[Boink]

I bought some for looks.

 

[spydutch]

I once bought a Scimitar(Coldsteel) Very disappointing. The handle felt cheap
bladeplay in both directions( despite the titanium lock they raved about) and the knife started to rust while only lying in my display. It looked very nice in the brochure though..

 

[Larrin]

Such as? I believe that Chris Reeve himself even once wrote that Damascus is a trade off. I didn't see it on his site just now, but I believe it was on there once.

Such as me. Maybe I'm one in a million. Damascus is not a trade-off. It's a circulated myth on these forums. The trade-off is price.

 

[Walking Man]

Such as me. Maybe I'm one in a million. Damascus is not a trade-off. It's a circulated myth on these forums. The trade-off is price.

Could you please explain your self a little better, please? Exacly why do you prefer damascus on a Sebenza? Thanks.

 

[Walking Man]

This is from Anne Reeve:
"I am sorry that I am not going to "blind you with science"!! The opinions that Chris has about Damascus of all kinds is opinion and is not backed with any kind of scientific testing, records keeping or comparison figures.

For an all-round, working knife, BG42 is, at the moment, the best choice. There are other materials that individually, have greater toughness, or edge retention, or stain resitance, or are more easily obtainable or easier to machine, but, in Chris' opinion, BG42 is the best in all of these factors.

Damascus steel is lovely to look at, can be made into some phenomenal knives. We use it willingly on our high end knives with spectacular results. However, we do not promote these as performance knives.

It is not feasible to hardness test Damascus because you will get different readings on the different layers.

As a general rule, stainless does not etch and contrast as well as the 1095/nickel that we use. Not too long ago, we got some of Devin Thomas' stainless but have not made it up yet, so can't comment.

We have not experimented with any of Mike Norris' material. Chris has used Damasteel on a custom knife but has not made Sebenza blades from it. "
.
And for those of you reading this, please send me back some green points, because some of the uninformed people felt the need to give me some reds. and I think I know who you are.

 

[book'em]

Saw the Busse Meaner Street in an ad in Blade magazine and as if by magic it appeared at my house. My wallet's lighter though! It is as cool as it gets.

 

[djolney]

I bought my Fallkniven NL2 because it was so beautiful that I just had to own it. Thankfully, it has turned out to be as sharp, tough, and functional as it is beautiful.

 

[Larrin]

Could you please explain your self a little better, please? Exacly why do you prefer damascus on a Sebenza? Thanks.

I guess I haven't explained myself well enough. I am the son of Devin Thomas. I know that his steel performs just fine. The only thing better about S30V than my dad's damascus is edge retention, and that is because of vanadium carbides, which also make it harder to sharpen. His AEB-L stainless damascus (stainless, ladder, and some sharkstooth and basketweeve) steel will be extremely easy to sharpen, as tough or tougher than S30V, as stain resistant as 440C (excluding the carbon damascus), and have edge retention to equal 154-CM. I know this from use, toughness and edge retention numbers, etc. The biggest knock to damascus is that some people find that the soft nickel or 302/304 in damascus can sometimes give a "toothy" edge to damascus that some people don't like. However, in my father's damascus, the amount of nickel or 302/304 is usually around 8-11%, and I have never noticed any toothiness in cutting, though I may just not cut enough things. The 440C damascus my dad makes (the exotic patterns) will perform as well as 440C. So, if you consider 440C unfit for use, than I guess it's not for you. My dad has made some double high-carbon damascus in the past that Chris Reeve has used in very limited numbers (in fact, you may not know if you have it or not) that has no soft material that doesn't have a toothy edge if you don't like it. The soft nickel or 302/304 does add toughness to a blade; however, so it can be seen as an advantage, especially if you are of the crowd that prefer a toothy edge to a polished one. You'll find that people that say damascus shouldn't be used either have never actually used it, have a bias towards it in the first place, or used some second rate damascus.

 

[Carl64]

Sure... that's how I got all of these POS knives from Case.

 

[deputy tom]

dialex,I never bought a knife because I liked it's looks but did buy a few because I needed to have their looks.I needed a Skein Dubh and a Dirk to wear with my Kilt when Piping.I bought the propper knives and moved on.But I haven't been so moved that I would buy a knife just because it's looks appealed to me.I like cutting performance,blade configuration,edge retention,ergos,etc.tom.

 

[yuzuha]

Yeah, I bought a really cool looking Canadian slip-joint years ago. Unfortunately, I lost it somewhere and never found another one like it.

 

[allenC]

I have a slight fetish for traditional slip-joints in yellow, so it's hard for me to pass up a stockman or congress with yellow scales.

I have several yellow Case folders and the entire Camillus Yello-Jaket line.

The really weird thing is that I don't even carry them.


Good luck,
Allen.

 

[Franciscomv]

I do it all the time.
When I was in Spain last month I decided to go and buy three Navajas: one for me, one for my dad and one for my brother. I ended up buying four Navajas, a Fallkniven WM-1, a Marttinni puukko, a SWAK (hey, you always need another SWAK), a Spyderco Paramilitary and an Aitor "SAK".

 

[Walking Man]

I guess I haven't explained myself well enough. I am the son of Devin Thomas.

Yes, that was a much better explaination. Thanks for taking the time to write that.

 

[C Ben Susrool]

Surely I have bought knives on looks alone. The latest was when browsing through a local gun and knife show, ran across a BM 630, and upon examining it thoroughly I bought it on the spot. Good price and a great knife.