opinion on these damascus blades

TiSurvival

TiSurvival

Joined
Jul 7, 2006
Messages
1,030
Ive been talking to a gentleman from Pakistan who owns a business which makes Damascus billets and blades. The materials they use he told me are the following: J2 steel, carbon steel 1045 and soon, they will use carbon steel 1095.

I am no expert and have heard of cheaply made Damascus blades overseas. Can you guys give me your opinion on these blades, I will provide a link to his site where he has several billets and blades. They can make the blades with up to 700 layers. How much are these blades worth in your opinions, and are they decent looking? He said they are 100% hand forged.

http://www.ranaas.com/damascus_knives_new1.htm

http://www.ranaas.com/billets.htm

Your opinions are greatly appreciated, thanks in advance.

-Esteban
 
The first real question is what is J2 steel. There is a Chinese SUJ2 that is somewhat similar to 1095 with 1.5% chrome, but you need to find out the metallurgy. !045, if used as the low carbon steel in the billet, might be acceptable as a using blade. If it's the high carbon part, you have a wallhanger.

Find out the chemical composition of the steels and then you can make an informed decision. J2 is an unknown, relatively, at least as to which J2 it is.

Gene
 
I'm sure that you'll get a variety of opinions on this and some will be stronger than others. My $.02 is based solely on rumor and pessimism, so please take that into account.

I have no doubt that it's possible that this company is producing an excellent product and providing it at an affordable price due to the much lower cost of production in Pakistan. However, it is constantly rumored that various Pakistani companies are producing damascus made from whatever scrap material they can get their hands on. I have no barometer for the truth of either of these, and that's where pessimism comes in.

Depending on your tolerance to risk, my suggestion would be to have them send you a few pieces to test. Then you should test them...exhaustively. Make sure they harden, have the resultant hardness measured, and if you can have the composition of the steel analyzed. In short, make sure you know what you're getting and that it meets your standards. If you're happy with the product, order more and continually spot-check what you're sent.

Now, expect that if you tell your customers where the steel comes from that it MAY drive some of them away. It's simply a fact of life that many folks will not want to support the Pakistani economy in any way, or have heard the same rumors of poor product quality that the rest of us have heard. If it were me, I'd make certain to have proof of analysis, etc on-hand to show prospective customers to ease their concerns.

Of course, the other option is to cut out some work and risk for yourself and just buy from an established maker of damascus such as Delbert Ealy (I know he's lurking around the forums...).

-d
 
thanks for the help, I value the opinions of others here , when it comes to knives, more than my own. Thanks for the help, I will try to get more info based on what you guys have said
 
I have no experience with that company and I certainly don't wish to paint others with a single brush.

I have secured "Damascus" from one company in South Asia that advertised as 1095 and mild steel and it was suppose to arrive at about RHC55 - :rolleyes: - more like RHC 25. - but is was attractive to practice with and for bolsters etc.

The other company in S Asia I ordered from sold me 6 sizeable bars in various patterns with a nice mix of 5160, 1095, 15N20 and ??? It took a year of nagging to get them to ship and I only received 2 of the six bars. They no longer respond to emails.

I've had problems trying to get horn and bone from the area as well - enough problems that I now only order from identifiable suppliers in reach of the North American legal system. Caveat Emptor!

Rob!
 
this particular company is in pakistan and the gentleman is offering me to send some samples if I cover the shipping. The shipping will be about 50 or 60 dollars id imagine, for about 5 blades, even if they are bad they can still be sold, maybe on ebay or something, but I rather not waste time if someone in here can tell me otherwise.
 
Here is what he had to say about the hardness and about the JD:

The Hardness of our Damascus @ 54 - 58deg on Rockwell scale.

J2 is a kind of steel. In other words it is known as 420 Stainless Steel.
 
Expect a lot of bad welds with a stainless/non stainless mix. Ther's a reason why you don't see it offered much. If that's what they are doing now, I don't think I'd buy any of the "better" stuff. Is he replacing the 420 or 1045 with the 1095?

As has been said, buyer beware. Are you willing to warranty the knives you'll be making and selling from this stuff?

Gene
 
Exodus, good combos frequently seen in the USA:
1080 (1075, 1084)....15N20
1095..........15N20
O-1...........L6

There are others, but those are a good bet because the steels are pretty close to each other with a healthy amount of carbon. The second steel in each pair has nickel in it to provide the contrast.

There are other good combinations, but those seem to be some of the most popular right now.
 
His site is using photos from the site of Alabama Damascus Steel which he is probably using without permission. One picture is of Brad Vice at the forge. He may have permission but I doubt it.
 
Diggerdog said:
His site is using photos from the site of Alabama Damascus Steel which he is probably using without permission. One picture is of Brad Vice at the forge. He may have permission but I doubt it.
Click to expand...


lol, enough said.

moving on to greener pastures

can anyone direct me to the best place to get damascus? I got 2 blades from damascus USA for about 60 bucks and the blades looked good, but I would like to try to get them less expensive. I guess the best bet would be to make your own, then ull know whats in it.
 
You must log in or register to reply here.
Back
Top