performance of CRK damascus blades? if anyone uses them? lol

cooldaddyfunk286 · Feb 28, 2013

hey all, I just had a thought about the damascus sebbies...are they tough? is it anything like s35vn, as far as performance and mainly edge retention? ease of sharpening?... or not at all? I have never owned a damascus blade. please give me the pros and cons...I kinda think they are for show? but would love to try if its usable (medium duty at best, never hard use)

also, suppose im wrong and damascus is pretty good as a light to medium user steel...would CRK put a damascus blade on a sebbie if you pay for blade different and shipping n labor??

any info on this would be great...just tossing some things around in my head.

thanks yall!

Colog · Feb 28, 2013

I really like all my damascus CRK blades. My large and small sebbies have Devon Thomas damascus(rain drop, one stainless, one not stainless), not sure who made the blade on my mnandi. But, yes, I feel they preform very well. Sharpens easily enough. Holds a good edge. Give it a try, if you don't like it, sell it. You won't lose money.

Haze · Mar 1, 2013

Damascus steel blades are as useable as any mono steel blade. They only time there would be a problem is when the maker has poorly matched steels that don't cooperate during heat treat or it is a mix of steel and non ferrous metals, like nickel damascus.
I have no idea where the misconception came from that damascus is not tough or useable simply because it's pretty. My own personal user is a damascus fixed blade that has just about been to hell and back and it's still kicking as hard as it ever did. :thumbup:

_user_removed · Mar 1, 2013

I just picked up a mnandi with ladder damascus that was an EDC for over a year. It still looks great and is razor sharp. I can't answer most of your questions with first-hand knowledge because I've only had it a week or so, but I do know I'll have no issues with continuing to put the knife to good use....as much as a mnandi is meant to handle anyway.

Part of the reason I wanted the ladder damascus was because Devin Thomas did it, and he's a legend when it comes to knives. His AEB-L ITK 240mm gyuto that currently sits in my knife block has been put through everything I can throw at it while never failing to perform spectacularly. His damascus will do the same. Check out his website to learn more about him and his steel, or you can talk to him at kitchenknifeforums.com where he has his own subforum.

cooldaddyfunk286 · Mar 1, 2013

yeah, I just wanted to double check. I always had the idea in my head that demascus had to have been strong because its many layers of steel blended together. I only have 1 Sebenza 21 that I just got, I mean I kinda wanna just keep it original because I love the stone washed blade, but do you think if I paid for it and sent it to CRK, would they put a Damascus blade on it? I may wait until I get another sebenza 21 or 25.

thanks for all the great info guys, I'll take as much as I can get!!

sk8n · Mar 1, 2013

cooldaddyfunk286 said:
...but do you think if I paid for it and sent it to CRK, would they put a Damascus blade on it? I may wait until I get another sebenza 21 or 25.

CRK will add a damascus blade for a fee. You would need to contact them and order the blade. Once it is ready you would send your Sebenza in for fitment.
If you are thinking of purchasing a second Sebenza, I would buy a new one with the damascus. At this time you cannot get damascus for the 25 though.

masterserg · Mar 1, 2013

A damascus blade could be put to hard use no problem. The etching would probably fade but other than that you would not have issues (it can be re-etched at some point). I don't know the composition of DT's damascus blades, but they are hard enough. I've sharpened ladder and spiro and can definitely attest to this (it is more difficult than S30/S35, for me at least).

As sk8n says above, you can add a blade to your knife but you'll have a long wait and it won't be cheap. If you buy a knife that's already made, you can also check that you like the pattern, as there are variations.

Haze also mentioned, there is some damascus that is geared for show. The current iteration of DT's as used by CRK is good for anything even if (in my opinion) it doesn't look as good as his previous high carbon variations.

This is not used but it is definitely sharpened

Just for comparison purposes, here's what older high carbon looks like. This would have rust issues if not cared for properly.

LargeSebenzaUCGDevinThomasRaindropDamascusCopy_zps57bab068.jpg

Presa canary · Mar 1, 2013

This is my 1 mnth old edc. I use it daily. Cuts cardboard, food prep, plastic ties, rope and drywall so far. Looks new... But I have kept it in the leather sheath as of now
Day I received it

Today it looks like new

Presa canary · Mar 1, 2013

And that carbon Damascus above is sick man!

T. Erdelyi · Mar 1, 2013

I don't have a damascus CRK but I have a few damascus blade, in stainless and high carbon steels, I use 'em regularly, they perform better this any of my stainless or high carbon steel blades alone..

The process of forging/forge welding makes for a stronger blade, if ya Google damascus you'll find a lot more info than I could include in my reply

sk8n · Mar 1, 2013

ganagati said:
I just picked up a mnandi with ladder damascus that was an EDC for over a year. It still looks great and is razor sharp. I can't answer most of your questions with first-hand knowledge because I've only had it a week or so, but I do know I'll have no issues with continuing to put the knife to good use....as much as a mnandi is meant to handle anyway.

I carried it for a few weeks short of two years. I will admit that I used it lightly and never let anyone else use it though. I am happy it ended up with someone who appreciates it as much as I did.
I am now carrying another bark, but with raindrop this time. I have no worries using Damascus as an EDC.

jonnyquest · Mar 2, 2013

The good thing about Devin Thomas Damascus is that it is made to be used. If you have a SS blade then is it made of Swedish AEB-L which is a fine grained razor blade steel. If you have a carbon blade it is O-1 tool steel. Rockwell is usually about 60-61. It is good to see you guys using them.

Rob Thomas

http://thomasdamascus.com/

Honed_Edge · Mar 16, 2021

masterserg said:
A damascus blade could be put to hard use no problem. The etching would probably fade but other than that you would not have issues (it can be re-etched at some point). I don't know the composition of DT's damascus blades, but they are hard enough. I've sharpened ladder and spiro and can definitely attest to this (it is more difficult than S30/S35, for me at least).

Other than knives, I'm studying necromancy part time. I hereby bring this eight year old thread back to life! Live once again old thread.
It's great finding someone else saying this, pure luck running across this old thread.

I have been doing my part cleaning the last of the left handed damascus 21's from the limited inventory available online. In the last few months I've sharpened a new ladder, basketweave and raindrop. CRK has 57-58 on the birth cards for damascus. They've all felt every bit as hard, or harder, compared to the regular 59-60 s35 blades. The raindrop was shockingly hard to sharpen. It always takes a while to set a nice new bevel and remove that yucky rounded thing that comes on the knife. But, I even commented to my wife how long it was taking to wear away the raindrop's steel. It really slid over the XC DMT plate. It seriously felt similar to some Maxamet that I had sharpened last week, close but not quite.

For comparison, I just sharpened a new Join or Die in s35 and had the primary ground on both sides in 10 minutes compared to twice or three times that for the raindrop. The s35 felt soft and easy after three ss damascus blades.

Opinions from others who have sharpened both would be appreciated.