San Mai III -VS- Damascus Steel?

Depends on which "san Mai" you are talking about and which "Damascus".

San Mai is three layers of steel. One high carbon alloy in the center between two sheets of low carbon high toughness steel. The intent is to end up with the edge retention of the high carbon layer combined with improved toughness. So the performance you end up with depends on which alloys got used.

Pattern welded Damascus can be made from any number of layers and all sorts of alloy combinations. The steels known as "Damascus" today are not the same as those of Saracen fame in the middle ages. The intent is mostly to look pretty,
 
Spontoon said:
Well, referring to Cold Steel's version and what ever grade Damascus they use on the better made, more expensive custom made knives.
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There are literally hundreds if not thousands of different types of steel combinations ranging from simplistic 1095 and 15n20 to quad steel composition with 5160, 52100, 15n20, and L6

This probably doesn't even cover proprietary damascus either
 
San-Mai can utilize damascus steel for cladding. E.g. Shun knives... In theory one could put damascus in the core of the san mai blade too, makes little sense, but still. Anyway, it all depends what steels are used in each.
 
In my opinion, I'd go with the San Mai for a user knife of today. As stated, unless you know what's in the damascus, you never know what you have - it will be pretty but maybe not the best using steel.
 
Again you need specifics.

Let me put it to you this way, your question is like asking "which is better for racing; Ford or Chevy?" But your not stating which models are being tested
 
Cold steel vs Custom made damascus? I'd go for Cold steel. Cheap certainty against pretty but costly mishmash of different steels. -No disrespect intended towards knifemakers.
 
Spontoon said:
Well, which is the more preferred blade?
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You are asking the wrong question.

There isn't any "preferred" blade or steel, just like there isn't anything that is "best". You need to select knives & steel based on YOUR application.

Modern steels will outlast your lifespan. Just choose what you like and start using it. Stop wasting energy on figuring out what is best and enjoy your knives. After about 20 years, you'll have some opinions based-on YOUR experiences. Even then, your opinions may or may not be applicable towards others.
 
Spontoon said:
I ask because I just had a custom knife made and wondered if I should have had it made in Damascus steel.
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No. Damascus has no functional superiority to current alloys.
 
Damascus steels are like Japanese custom vans

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They're pretty and often awesome to look at...but that's pretty much it.
 
Equal in usability? Well, they're certainly sitting equally used on a towel protected from hard labor found outside. :p
 
Spontoon said:
I ask because I just had a custom knife made and wondered if I should have had it made in Damascus steel.
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Damascus steel is now an artform and not used because of any functional superiority. I don't think there is any technical advantage to damascus except that it is forged and that theoretically will improve the performance of the steel by a little bit. I don't know if the better stock removal knives using straight stainless or carbon are as good as a forged knife now or not, forged used to be superior. I think a lot of people doing damascus are more interested in picking steels for the sake of creating the patterns vs. creating steels for the performance. And if nothing else damascus will cost more. If you want a using knife and extreme corrosion resistance isn't critical, pick a carbon steel knife from someone that makes strong knives for hard use, such as a forged carbon steel Randall.
 
Properly made damascus is the sum of its component steels. Notice I said properly made. Price being no object, given the choice between Cold Steel San Mai III and say a properly made damascus blade from something like Kevin Cashen or Del Ealy O1/L6 damascus heat treated in salt baths.........well, lets just say that the Cold Steel knife wouldn't even get a first look. For what they get for some of those San Mai II knives, you could probably find a knife with a blade made from something like CPM 3V.
 
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