How Hard is Damascus

[SVanderkolff]

How hard should non hardened damascus be. I have a couple of bars of damascus that test out at 31 rockwell and I am not sure if I need to anneal them or if I should just go ahead and grind them down. The bars are O1 and L6 . I tested some raw O1 and it came in with a rockwell of 17.
Thanks
Steve

 

[Kentucky]

that dosnt surprise me..Depending on the source L6 can air harden to a good degree because of the moly...Its up to you, you can anneal them or grind them it wont hurt just use some extra belt life with the 31rc over completely annealed...that is my very favorite Damascus combo, O1 and L6..Its also the most consistant Damascus mix I think personally as far as hardness goes..good stuff

 

[jdm61]

I was going to say that you should consider yourself lucky if anything contain L6 ONLY got to 31 Rc.