- Joined
- Jul 23, 1999
- Messages
- 1,409
From a Bladesmith's perspective.... MUCH more time, effort, and knowledge is required to produce top quality damascus steel. Anyone can take a piece of straight carbon steel, heat it up, whack it a few time with a hammer and call it "forged". But it takes someone with knowledge and experience to make the forging count in the performance of the end product.
When it comes to creating damascus, in order to accomplish it successfully, the individual needs to have a knowledge of each alloy used in the billet, not only a knowledge of how the individual alloys react, but also how the vairous alloys react when joined. I don't think there is a Bladesmith out there who would argue that finishing damascus is difficult... I find the finishing the easiest part of the process, although it is more time consuming that straight steels.
Should there be a huge price difference? It depends on the damascus. For what I consider "common" patterns such as random, twist, and raindrop, beyond the time and effort at the forge, there isn't a lot of extra work involved. There are additional steps and processes that require extra time and equipment, and higher material costs than if producing a straight steel blade, so some price difference should be expected.
When you delve into the composite and mosaic arena, that changes dramatically. Both of these processes require huge amounts of material compared to a straight steel blade or "common damascus", and when it comes to mosaic, the Bladesmith can generally expect a 50+% lose of material during pattern development. When creating Mosaic Damascus, the Bladesmith is forcing materials to weld together in a manner that is neither easy or natural for the materials. This in itself requires that the individual Bladesmith be well versed and skilled to complete the process successfully. It's all about the amount of materials, time, effort, and skill. I doubt that any respectable Bladesmith is trying to "fleece" anyone with the prices they ask for their damascus knives, your simply paying for the things I've mentioned previously.
Again, there are more steps (and therefore more chances of failure) when a Bladesmith goes this route. ("Mosaic") Is it worth the extra money that we charge? That is up to the customer. I know what I have in a knife as far as materials, time, effort, and skill go, and price my work accordingly.
There are SO many factors that go into how individual Bladesmiths price their work that it's impossible to compare from Maker to Maker, however, the bottom line is what the market will bear.
There is also another factor, that I feel is very importanat, to consider; That being Sole Authorship. This is often overlooked, but I personally believe that an individual who can produce their own damascus, and turn it into a beautiful, useful product should be charging more than one who purchases the damascus from an outside source. An indiviudal who can do that, has spent the time and effort to acquire the skills and tools necessary to do everything themselves, and I consider them a more well rounded Maker. That's not to take anything away from anyone, it's just how I view things.
It all very likely boils down to supply and demand. Just like any other arena that draws "Collectors". It's the value beyond the item itself that drives the price. The knowledge of what it took on the craftman's behalf to create it, and the knowledge, skill, and quality that the item envelopes.
Hope that made some sense. I've sat here for the past 1/2 hour re-reading what I've written, and cannot find an easier way to express it.
When it comes to creating damascus, in order to accomplish it successfully, the individual needs to have a knowledge of each alloy used in the billet, not only a knowledge of how the individual alloys react, but also how the vairous alloys react when joined. I don't think there is a Bladesmith out there who would argue that finishing damascus is difficult... I find the finishing the easiest part of the process, although it is more time consuming that straight steels.
Should there be a huge price difference? It depends on the damascus. For what I consider "common" patterns such as random, twist, and raindrop, beyond the time and effort at the forge, there isn't a lot of extra work involved. There are additional steps and processes that require extra time and equipment, and higher material costs than if producing a straight steel blade, so some price difference should be expected.
When you delve into the composite and mosaic arena, that changes dramatically. Both of these processes require huge amounts of material compared to a straight steel blade or "common damascus", and when it comes to mosaic, the Bladesmith can generally expect a 50+% lose of material during pattern development. When creating Mosaic Damascus, the Bladesmith is forcing materials to weld together in a manner that is neither easy or natural for the materials. This in itself requires that the individual Bladesmith be well versed and skilled to complete the process successfully. It's all about the amount of materials, time, effort, and skill. I doubt that any respectable Bladesmith is trying to "fleece" anyone with the prices they ask for their damascus knives, your simply paying for the things I've mentioned previously.
Again, there are more steps (and therefore more chances of failure) when a Bladesmith goes this route. ("Mosaic") Is it worth the extra money that we charge? That is up to the customer. I know what I have in a knife as far as materials, time, effort, and skill go, and price my work accordingly.
There are SO many factors that go into how individual Bladesmiths price their work that it's impossible to compare from Maker to Maker, however, the bottom line is what the market will bear.
There is also another factor, that I feel is very importanat, to consider; That being Sole Authorship. This is often overlooked, but I personally believe that an individual who can produce their own damascus, and turn it into a beautiful, useful product should be charging more than one who purchases the damascus from an outside source. An indiviudal who can do that, has spent the time and effort to acquire the skills and tools necessary to do everything themselves, and I consider them a more well rounded Maker. That's not to take anything away from anyone, it's just how I view things.
It all very likely boils down to supply and demand. Just like any other arena that draws "Collectors". It's the value beyond the item itself that drives the price. The knowledge of what it took on the craftman's behalf to create it, and the knowledge, skill, and quality that the item envelopes.
Hope that made some sense. I've sat here for the past 1/2 hour re-reading what I've written, and cannot find an easier way to express it.
By the by, just because 2knife is thick skinned and capable of his own response doesn't mean he shouldn't be supported. I certainly don't share his love of Fowler's work, but I can fully understand why he may be underwhelmed by a lot of damascus. I don't think his love of Fowler (who I despise on many levels) and his dislike of damascus preclude his ability to recognize art or greatness in a knife.
).
