newbe question - how to tell a quality damascus blade?

[Grapeman]

I see several damascus knife blanks on ebay. Some are priced pretty cheap. How can you tell a quality damascus blade?

 

[jdm61]

If they are cheap, then they are not "quality." The consensus on here is probably that if you go any cheaper than say Alabama Damascus products, you are taking a risk.

 

[Matt Rochester]

Best bet is to buy from a reputable source. Think about(or research) what goes into making a Damascus billet, profiling, and grinding bevels. $20 would never cover that. Look at some small billets or cutoffs from well known sources and go from there. What type knife are you looking for?

 

[Stacy E. Apelt - Bladesmith]

Check out Alabama Damascus. They have lots of blank styles and their damascus is a good quality general damascus. Nothing fancy, but it hardens and it cuts. They also sell blanks that have been ground and hardened.

 

[weo]

To answer your initial question, the only way to tell the quality of a billet from an unknown source would be to grind a knife, heat treat it, then use it.

I'm avoiding suggesting cutting off a piece and then heat treating it because it's possible you could get a biscuit that hardens properly, indicating that the appropriate steels were used, but that doesn't necessarily mean that the entire billet was welded without any inclusions or delaminations.