New EDC time... Damascus as an EDC?

R

Ring

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Jan 27, 2006
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I have been carrying the Ka-Bar Dozier in D2, time for an upgrade...

I am looking at spending some money on something nice..

I am not a hard user, but I am not afraid to use a knife whether its cheap or expensive.

How does Damascus blades hold up? The one I am looking at (custom EDC type) has a stainless Damascus... I have read that Damascus can be not real Damascus but acid etched...

Any advice or experiences to share?
 
Damascus like all steels is varied in the type of steel used and how hard / durable it can be when heat treated and tempered.

You will need to evaluate each knife individually. I don't see any reason why a good quality damascus wouldn't work well for EDC.

I'm not an expert by any means so if I err here, someone will set it straight. I think a lot of damascus is acid etched to bring out the pattern. Different steels are folded together during the forging, and the steels react differently to the acid.

Damasteel is an etched pattern made to look like damascus.

You can also get high end steel core knives laminated with damascus. I have a few VG-10 / damascus laminated blades that look great and perform above standard.

Kevin
 
I am currently EDCing a Damascus Mini Grip with no problems. I don't see a reason why Damascus wouldn't make a good EDC. I think it is just like every other steel. If it is made right, it'll work fine. Plus, Damascus looks damn cool. I used to EDC a satin Griptilian and I get less "scared" looks with the Damascus blade.
 
> Damasteel is an etched pattern made to look like damascus.

I would like to add that Damasteel is considered a high end product using a complex non-traditional process, it yields damascus steels that are stainless (cheap damascus often ain't).

Perhaps the OP was referring mainly to cheap knives with some kind of damascus pattern which are not real damascus. Yes they exist, but not from the brands you really want.

> You can also get high end steel core knives laminated with damascus. I have a few VG-10 / damascus laminated blades that look great and perform above standard.

Specifically, Mcusta is doing this very very nicely. Indeed it's not Damascus in the classic sense, rather a novel approach, but it's really nice and a quality product, and as all Mcustas very well suited to edc.

> would it stain with say food preparation?

Classic carbon steel-based damascus may well stain. I have a really cheap pakistani laguiole that is actually much better made and nicer looking than it ought to, but I don't dare to use it on food out of fear to blemish the pattern. You won't have that isssue with damasteel or with Mcusta-like laminated damascus.
 
Good damascus will work great on an EDC, but it does cost more and does not, in my opinion, offer any advantage. If you want it for looks, and also want high quality, you can definitely get that.
 
ipm said:
would it stain with say food preparation?
Click to expand...

Some of my kitchen knives are laminated VG10 / damascus and I have no staining problems with them.

As already mentioned, carbon steel damascus could/would stain like any carbon steel.

I don't know the composition of the damascus on my kitchen knives, but they may be a stainless variety.

Kevin
 
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