Kershaw Damascus - Worth It?

O

OhioMike

Joined
Aug 20, 2009
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Can you guys that own a "Damascus" blade chime in for me

I am looking at a Kershaw Shallot Damascus folder

Will the knife have a sharper edge from the factory?
Is it worth the extra price for the Damascus steel?

Thanks in advance:D
 
OhioMike said:
Will the knife have a sharper edge from the factory?
Is it worth the extra price for the Damascus steel?
Click to expand...
In this day and age, damascus is generally more for show than for any practical advantages it might offer.

Back when metalugry was much cruder than it is today, damascus steel could produce a blade with superior properties to any contemporary plain steel. Now, with the vast increases in metals technology, anything that damascus can do, one of the newer steels can probably do better.

So, if you want a knife that is unique and attractive while still being a usable cutting implement, go for the damascus. If on the other hand you are looking for a knife with superior sharpness or edge holding, consider one of the Shallots with the CPM-110V steel or 14C28N/ZDP189 composite blades. Both are great blades and offer a noticable improvement of the standard Sandvik blade.
 
I have a Damascus Skyline:
dskyline.jpg


I'm a relatively light user so I can't really comment on the steel except that I have no problems with it. I'm not sure if it actually has any performance benefits over the regular steel, but I would say it is EASILY worth the extra money.

Either way you're going to have an awesome knife that is very functional, but with the damascus it's also a beautiful gentleman's knife, conversation piece, collectible.
 
Personally...on metal-handled knives like the Shallot the damascas looks odd. The metal handles with damascas just doesnt work for me....visually.

Looks much better with wood or stag/bone handles as you see on many customs.

A nice option is get the knife and get it re-handled. It's quite reasonable and looks great.
There are some on here that do just that and do great work...just ask.

Can't comment on your steel questions...
 
The only Kershaw Damascus I own is a Nakamura, and it is VG10 core with damascus laminate. So performance wise it is VG10, and appearance wise it is damascus.

I like this particular knife, but not sure how it compares to the Shallot.

Kevin
 
Dag-nabit said:
The only Kershaw Damascus I own is a Nakamura, and it is VG10 core with damascus laminate. So performance wise it is VG10, and appearance wise it is damascus.

I like this particular knife, but not sure how it compares to the Shallot.

Kevin
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Can you post pics? I've never heard of this at all :confused:

NDJeep said:
Personally...on metal-handled knives like the Shallot the damascas looks odd. The metal handles with damascas just doesnt work for me....visually.

Looks much better with wood or stag/bone handles as you see on many customs.

A nice option is get the knife and get it re-handled. It's quite reasonable and looks great.
There are some on here that do just that and do great work...just ask.

Can't comment on your steel questions...
Click to expand...

I think it looks great, especially with black handles:
KS1840CKTDAM.jpg
 
The Damascus used by Kershaw is a quality american made carbon steel damascus. I'm not sure what RC it's run at but it IMO sharpens like what it is. Using DMT diamonds it seems somewhat like 5160, or Case CV ( run a tiny bit harder).

I takes a great edge and will get very sharp. IMO, it doesn't have the wear resistance of the stainless steels like 154cm/vg10/S30V, etc.

It will rust and or lose it's color. I use A.G.Russells Silicone lube on it and have had no trouble keeping it looking good. Joe
 
Generally speaking, Kershaw has some of the sharpest OTB knives around. My wife carries a small Onion design with damascus for her daily work around our shop. She's never complained about it's edge holding or usage.
 
mdauben said:
In this day and age, damascus is generally more for show than for any practical advantages it might offer.

Back when metalugry was much cruder than it is today, damascus steel could produce a blade with superior properties to any contemporary plain steel. Now, with the vast increases in metals technology, anything that damascus can do, one of the newer steels can probably do better.

So, if you want a knife that is unique and attractive while still being a usable cutting implement, go for the damascus...
Click to expand...

...best answer to the question...you'll pay a premium for its unique look...

i had one in a fixed knife years ago; a hard use field knife, looked great and quick to sharpen...but it sure did rust easy...i wouldn't do it again in a fixed blade because there are better steels now with greater performance and less cost...
 
You have to understand what "damascus" means. It's a way of making steel or a way of mixing steels. It is not a specific steel in itself. It can be carbon or stainless or both. What the specific damascus you buy is made of will determine how to maintain it.
 
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I've got a number of damascus folders from Kershaw, and they are very good. I'm pretty sure Kershaw is getting their damascus from Alabama Damascus Steel, and they have a pretty good recipe (52100, 203E, 5160 and 15N20.)

They were all beyond shaving-sharp out of the box. Just be warned: These should be oiled after each use and stored with a coating of oil on them, because they will rust easily.
 
I have to preface this with the statement that "I have never been able to handle a Kershaw damascus bladed knife in person".

From what I've seen in photos, Kershaw's damascus blades don't look as nice as other damascus blades that I've seen. I think that for me, I've seen nicer looking damascus patterns than the one used by Kershaw.

Do they look better in person than in pics?
 
From what I've seen in photos, Kershaw's damascus blades don't look as nice as other damascus blades that I've seen. I think that for me, I've seen nicer looking damascus patterns than the one used by Kershaw.
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What was the cost difference? Are you comparing production knives to hand-made customs? You may have to pay much more.

Also, some of the really 'pretty' damascus pattern-welded knives are all for show and can't hold an edge, while Kershaws will really cut for you.
 
Yup, Alabama damascus. It's a random pattern damascus that's been around for years. Most notably, I've seen it in Bear MGC knives for a couple decades. I'm not sure if Kershaw/Kai is doing any special heat treat, but that could improve performance over what has been the norm for the steel.

It doesn't have the complex tight patterns of the custom damascus out there, but it works well as an EDC blade. Kershaw has given us a great way to be introduced to the beauty of damascus, but there are better performing blades out there than that. You'll have to pay a bit more, as well.

I prefer the VG-10 sandwhich style stainless damascus coming out of Japan these days, as you get the hard edge, plus the beauty and ease of care.

Daniel
 
In response to the request for a photo of the Nakamura, here it is. I must appologize, it is not a damascus laminated blade, the bolster is damascus, the blade is VG10 laminated with, I believe, 420J stainless.

I have too many knives to keep them all straight.

You can see the mamination line.
KershawNakamura-1.jpg



These Fallknivens are Cowry X steel, laminated with damascus. The damascus pattern is hard to see on the HK9 because it is polished as opposed to etched on the NL5 Idun.
Fallkniven-NL5cxandHK9cx-1.jpg


Kevin
 
Kershaw used both random pattern and ladder pattern Damascus from Alabama Damascus.
The use of that particular brand of Damascus came from the distributor ordering these. Blue Ridge

DAMFAMILY2.jpg

1600DAMX3.jpg

1620DAM.jpg

Leeks4.jpg
 
Dag-nabit said:
In response to the request for a photo of the Nakamura, here it is. I must appologize, it is not a damascus laminated blade, the bolster is damascus, the blade is VG10 laminated with, I believe, 420J stainless.

I have too many knives to keep them all straight.

Kevin
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Hehe, no worries. I have a Nakamura, that's why I was so puzzled, lol. You are correct, the outside later is 420J2.
 
I had a Damascus Kershaw folder... oiled it, took care of it, it still rusted like hell at the pivot point.

Sent from my SM-G935V using Tapatalk
 
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