The “Damascus” Scam

eveled

eveled

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SilverAlert said:
Well...it's doing the thing Damascus does. (There's a reason it's not a frontline metal anymore. 😝 )
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Copied from another thread about a delaminated blade.

Allegedly: At one time Damascus or Pattern Welded steel was as good as it gets. A way to stretch premium materials.

Now it is at best art, a way to make pretty patterns in steel. There are much better performing steels. IMHO (like 1095) 😂

My question is why people still think it is desirable in a user.

We wouldn’t accept inclusions, seams, veins, voids, stress risers, or layers in any other material. Yet we are willing to pay extra to get those if it is called “Damascus”?

We are so gullible.
 
eveled said:
Copied from another thread about a delaminated blade.

Allegedly: At one time Damascus or Pattern Welded steel was as good as it gets. A way to stretch premium materials.

Now it is at best art, a way to make pretty patterns in steel. There are much better performing steels. IMHO (like 1095) 😂

My question is why people still think it is desirable in a user.

We wouldn’t accept inclusions, seams, veins, voids, stress risers, or layers in any other material. Yet we are willing to pay extra to get those if it is called “Damascus”?

We are so gullible.
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We accept (and in many cases desire/require) layers in many materials, such as micarta, carbon fiber, kevlar, plywood, etc.
 
Unless someone is actually marketing Damascus as performing better, I don't see how it's a "scam." It's a purely aesthetic choice and that's fine. There are many steels that perform worse than a particular Damascus combo, but people still use them just fine. Not everything has to be optimized, they can just be "good enough."
 
It's not about the steel performing well, but rather me performing well. Damascus is a 'special occasion' steel.

Cutting up the turkey and looking good doing it. And Damascus can change the topic fast once people see it. Blue vs Red? How about Ladder vs Raindrop instead.
 
Synov said:
Unless someone is actually marketing Damascus as performing better, I don't see how it's a "scam." It's a purely aesthetic choice and that's fine. There are many steels that perform worse than a particular Damascus combo, but people still use them just fine. Not everything has to be optimized, they can just be "good enough."
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I almost used illusion instead of scam.

I was referring to its mystique, not necessarily the maker saying it’s better.

For some reason many new users have the opinion that it is superior the makers don’t have to tell them it’s better. They already believe it’s better.

IDK if it stems from the mystique of the unbreakable Samurai swords, or something else. But it practically sells itself.
 
Wouldn’t call it a scam but for similar reasons I had a rule against buying Damaskus knives.

Then again, a few weeks ago I bought one. The perfect pattern, scales, etc., so much so that the Damascus didn’t bother me, didn’t cost extra and every rule needs an exception … and now I think it’s pretty :)

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Delgadonine said:
It's not about the steel performing well, but rather me performing well. Damascus is a 'special occasion' steel.

Cutting up the turkey and looking good doing it. And Damascus can change the topic fast once people see it. Blue vs Red? How about Ladder vs Raindrop instead.
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Raindrop everyday of the week and it's not close. Now boomerang would make for a hard choice.
 
I have several damascus knives and I bought them singularly because they're pretty. That's it, that was the purchase reason. I know and understand completely that a blade of a modern steel would outperform in every conceivable metric, but as my cutting needs just aren't that serious these days, I'm not concerned by it.
 
Maximumbob54 said:
I know two guys that no matter what I tell or show them believe "damascus" to be a superior steel. I don't know where this collective knowledge Mandela effect started from.
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Marketing is a helluva drug. I seem to recall heavy suggestiveness from pre-internet catalogs that turned the name of the process from its legendary roots in the world's oldest city to the Kleenex of kitchen steel.
 
Maximumbob54 said:
I know two guys that no matter what I tell or show them believe "damascus" to be a superior steel. I don't know where this collective knowledge Mandela effect started from.
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Probably due to either growing up with fantasy sword & sorcery movies as a kid and watching Forged in Fire where it seems like 85% of all knives/swords made are from Damascus.
 
Mannlicher said:
and bear in mind that some of that so called "Damascus" steel is poorly made with inferior steels in places with bad reputations and passed off as something it's not. All Damascus, wootz or pattern welded steels are not the same quality.
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What about The damascus CRK uses?
 
It's pretty, but doesn't interest me as a user. The only Damascus steel I have, is the barrel of a rather old, side-by-side shotgun. Never shot it, never will.
 
It's just up there with katanas being the most superior edged weapon ever made, or that 'folded steel' is better. There's a lot of good damascus. It's really not that hard to figure out what's good and what's not. Is it a reputable maker who is open about where he or she sources the steel, and if he or she is forging the steel themselves, what steel they used for it? Are they charging prices commensurate with the materials and quality of workmanship?

Damascus is currently a looks-only sort of thing. No one buys damascus for pure performance. The best damascus, the way we make it now, is just the sum of its component parts. Did you make it from 1085 and 15N20? Well, unless you buggered up forging the damascus billet, the knife is going to perform pretty much like it would if you'd made it from 1085 or 15N20. Is your knife Damasteel? Well, it'll probably perform like CPM154 on account of the ingredients in it are RWL34 and PMC27, which are more or less CPM154 and 12C27.
 
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