POLL: Will Damasteel fade over time?

[shqxk]

It will if you use it and it won't if you keep it in the safe.

 

[J. Doyle]

At the time this picture was taken, I had carried this knife all day, every day for two and a half years. It was used significantly, sometimes roughly and admittedly not very well maintained. It was wet dozens of times and not taken apart and dried off much. To be fair, there are some stains and discolored spots that don't show very well in the pic but obviously that means they're pretty minor and not much of an issue. This is carbon steel Damascus of 1084 and 15n20.



How deep the etch is and how much use the blade gets are by far the two biggest factors in how visible the pattern will remain. The pattern won't fade just from time and oiling it won't preserve the pattern nor will it remove the pattern. That goes for any type of damascus.