Pakistan Damascus, You Guys Are Wrong!

Also, reference was made to "damascus" being famously from the Middle East...there are two kinds of damascus: pattern welded, and wootz. Pattern welded steel (sometimes called mechanical damascus) is what the blades in this thread are done in, and are comprised of layers of forge-welded steel that comprises the patterning. This style can be found all over the world but it isn't "true" damascus. Pattern welding was originally used as a homogenizing process post-smelting for certain iron/steel manufacturing methods or to piece together small pieces of ore back when iron was scarce.

True damascus, or wootz (also sometimes called watered steel or crucible steel), is the stuff made famous in the Middle East and drew its patterning from carbide banding intrinsic to the metal itself due to trace carbide-forming elements in the ore, which was extracted from a few specific mines in southern India. When worked via a particular process, those trace elements formed bands of carbides. It had superior qualities as a blade material for its time but isn't as high performing as modern steels. Only a few makers produce wootz today, and the only production company I know of that uses it in a few pieces is Hanwei.

Important distinction. :)
 
Uath said:
Has anyone here ever PERSONALLY had a Pakistan knife break??

(I dont want to believe its so)
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I fixed your quote. But to answer your question YES. I have had knives from pakistan break. One was a butterfly knife that a handle fell off of. Another was a boot knife that the handle split and fell off. In most cases the blades dont snap. This is because the steel is very soft. Being soft it bends instead of breaks. And whether it breaks or bends it doesnt matter neither one is good. Can someone in pakistan theoretically make a decent knife? yes. Does it happen all the time? No. They have a reputation for a reason. And honestly the cleaner the work the worse the knife is going to be. You may ask "if it looks really well made then why would you say its worse?" its because they dont have advanced methods of manufacturing. If they make a knife that looks really good its probably because the materials are soft and therefore easier to work. Its fine if it will be on a shelf to stare at. But if its a working mans knife Id say look elsewhere.
 
when I was selling at the flemarket before I had to quit I found a box of there boot knifes. I was in front of my booth and I was giving them away. people where asking where they worth something and I said they where a peace of shoot and that is why I was giving them away.
 
Uath said:
Has anyone here ever PERSONALLY had a Pakistan knife break??

(I didn't think so)
Click to expand...

hmm... I've broke several just for kicks. The ones that didn't break can bend into a nice horse shoe shape. Bad steel is just bad. I have a Fox and Hound Damascus, and that thing wouldn't hold an edge to save my life.
 
On a related note, I would love to see what Pakistani farmers and laborers actually use for knives. I imagine that there are probably some very nice edged tools that can be found in the region, but they're probably made by local artisans that don't export at all.
 
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