Welcome back Richard, glad to see you back on the forums!
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Pakistan Damascus, You Guys Are Wrong!
- Thread starter Uath
- Start date
Welcome back Richard, glad to see you back on the forums!
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Here's a few pictures of one I bought a few years ago.
This was advertised as cable damascus, I didn't buy it to use, so I have no idea how well it holds an edge.
I didn't expect much , but it does look good. I was going to put it in a display case.
I agree with Richard J, I don't think it would RC for more than the mid 50's
As long as the OP knows he will need something better to dress a deer or make kindling for camp, he'll be ok.
For a wall hanger it might be the "best" damascus.
^What Thomas said. Those aren't just voids either--those are HUGE freakin' voids! You can see other ones running down the length of the blade but that blade has actual pockets in it!
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Just keep remembering that you do not care.
The hide of deer is often full of grit like cardboard from China. That makes it a test of edge-holding.
I have never used a piece of glass to dress out a deer (or anything else), but indigenous people used volcanic glass and flint. Issues of toughness aside, both materials are harder than steel ( See "flint and steel" fire.), so I am sure it can be done.
Others have used food can lids. So not especially relevant.
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57 is about as low as I would want for a knife blade. Lower than that is better suited for axes. If the blade is too soft it won't be easier to sharpen because it will never take an edge. The problem is you don't know what you are getting, Richard j was seeing blades that tested in the 20's and 30's. Glass is much harder than steel, I think the hardness is somewhere in the 80's.
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I've butchered my own deer my whole life. This is something I know about.
Here's some of my crappy photography:
This isn't Damascus. This is the sword I got from the Witchcraft Site. It's hammered 1055 steel from India. I THINK it's Windlass. Years ago, they had one like it they called "The Barbarian Sword." This is just to show that India-made goods can be VERY good. I've cleared kilometers of trails with this baby. I LOVE it.
Here's my Cable Damascus I just got... UGGG The Pictures. I'm usually a pretty good photo taker, oh well.
Here's some of my crappy photography:
This isn't Damascus. This is the sword I got from the Witchcraft Site. It's hammered 1055 steel from India. I THINK it's Windlass. Years ago, they had one like it they called "The Barbarian Sword." This is just to show that India-made goods can be VERY good. I've cleared kilometers of trails with this baby. I LOVE it.
Here's my Cable Damascus I just got... UGGG The Pictures. I'm usually a pretty good photo taker, oh well.
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- Oct 25, 2003
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I Hate to whine, but it's hard for me to really USE any knife. I've got this auto-immune thing going with my hands. I'm an illustrator. There are days (depending on how my fingertips are) where I can barely hold my pen to draw. It's not going to KILL me, but I've had several gashes going for over two years with never a break. I WISH I could go out and chop!
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Which is better? CNC machines in china, CNC machines in the USA or Hands in pakistan? For me if Im spending money the answer is whichever gets me the best product for the least amount of money. And in my experience that would make pakistan the odd man out as Id take a machine made knife from china over a handmade knife from pakistan any day of the weak? What good is "handmade" if the quality isnt there? I can break a bottle over the back of my head and make a "handmade" knife but id still take a boker plus over it. And I dont really think we are luxury manufacturers of anything really. I cant think of one thing that we can claim that we are the absolute best at making without the real feeling the its pride forcing that decision. Watches are usually swiss, japanese or german if you want the best. Luxury cars are European and japanese. What are we luxury makers of? Knives I can see us having a good stake in but "best" is truly a relative term when you consider brands and custom makers from other countries. Maybe the most good makers in one country is a better way to say it though.
And hammers? I prefer hammers that wont give so many joint problems but to each their own. The knife you bought is pretty. But i dont think most people on this forum are going to lie to you and say something is garbage without due cause. You seem to think that pakistans reputation for poor quality is here say. I would think though its more trial and error that leads to people spreading the word about it. With that said, Ive had tremendous success with chinese knives lately and have never had a pakistan knife worth the few dollars Ive paid for them. You may shrug that off and scoff at the idea of a chinese knife, but one thing that has happened in china that isnt happening in pakistan is technology. China has access to the same machines we use in the USA to produce knives. They have access to better steel and are working harder everyday to make a better product. From what ive seen pakistan has been more concerned with aesthetics than functionality.
I've owned locking folders that became essentially slip joints because the locking bars were too soft. I've seen Pakistan fixed blade badly chip during use.
On the damascus models the big thing wasn't the fit and finish work, it was the softness of the steel and delamination that that has been a sticking point. I've seen it happen when the knives are actually used. Someone here recently had a cheaper Colt bowie that it happen to after a few weeks of work.
They've come a long way from just a few years ago, but they are still more hit or miss than most countries.
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I have. It was a clone of a Buck 500 Duke. The lockback sheared and the spring broke. Wouldn't hold an edge. Good thing it was gifted to me by a well-meaning family member that found it free at a yard sale.
And there's nothing wrong with mid 50's RC for a knife in my opinion, but dropping below 50 is unacceptable, let alone the 30's and 20's as mentioned prior in actual verified testing. That's SOFT. And just because you CAN skin a deer with a shard of glass doesn't mean that it's the best tool for the job or that it'll be pleasant.
And there's nothing wrong with mid 50's RC for a knife in my opinion, but dropping below 50 is unacceptable, let alone the 30's and 20's as mentioned prior in actual verified testing. That's SOFT. And just because you CAN skin a deer with a shard of glass doesn't mean that it's the best tool for the job or that it'll be pleasant.
Do Machete's count? They were so bad our local Lowes stopped selling them years ago.
I sure have. Personally I've seen these pakistani made damascus blades at flea markets they look like they were made of pot metal. Plenty of welding issues, crap fit and finish.
Also seen two "damascus knives" made in pakistan in sword forums delaminate because the damascus wasn't properly forged.
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Pakistan knifes and swords are the biggest peace of junk that is out there. I use to sell out at a flemarket before I became disabled and I use to sell there swords 1/10 of the real ones that they copied. they have a very big rust problem. I hope you well and if you are happy with it then good on you.
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Do you propose that as the sole standard for judging quality in knives? Tent pegs - perhaps.
You will now see pictures broken Pakistani knives.
But at least you don't care, and thank God for that.
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How do you gather there is "NO evidence"? The issue here is, we've all already had run-ins with cheap Pakistani knives and recognized through use that they were utter garbage, but you want to get worked up because you refuse to see the same thing? I think maybe if you attempted an upgrade to a real knife, you would feel a little silly about your baseless arguments about a knife you have yet to use.
A woman fending off a rapist isn't funny......