The “Damascus” Scam

I don't see flaws at all. A flaw indicates something like an unintentional inclusion, void or crack. I would also say for folks looking to retain the performance of a mono-steel with the beauty of damascus, san mai using damascus outer layers and a core of (pick a steel) offers the best of both worlds.
 
shunsui said:
I can tell you what I saw at a museum when I was about 9 years old. There was a display of Japanese swords (no handles) and I got about three inches away with my near sighted eyes. There were extremely tiny lines in the steel and it looked like thousands packed tight together all the way to the edge.
It didn't look like anything I'd ever seen, it looked alien. There was an element of craftsmanship that was unreal.
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Not contesting the evidence of your eyes . . .yet again, my understanding is that all that folding serves to create uniformity of the steel and remove inclusions. Other laminating techniques served to combine hard, sharp steel with softer or more resilient steel to provide a shock absorbing characteristic to the blade. I have seen drawings of several increasingly complex arrangements that range from a hard edge with a softer back, to three layer (San Mai?) and on up to a soft core surrounded by steel of varying hardness on the edge, sides and back.

en.wikipedia.org

Japanese swordsmithing - Wikipedia

en.wikipedia.org en.wikipedia.org

And now blasphemy: Reading the description of traditional Japanese steel making, it seems pretty crude and haphazard with spotty results as to the quality of steel produced. They may have had to do all that folding, laminating and so on to get a sword length blade from the amount of quality, harden able steel produced.

The Wootz steel blades produced in India during the 16th through the 18th Centuries were at least as good as Japanese blades when comparing "best quality"blades from both smithing traditions.

Just my opinion. . .pease be gentle.
 
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Years ago, I saw a pattern welded blade made from a stainless stel and a carbon steel. It had been aced etched and then blued to realy mke that difference show up.

Looked really reat, but I'd hate to bring it in and out of a sheath often and risk polishing off the bluing.
 
About 25 years ago, I read an article in Blade magazine. It was about a guy making Katana, Wakazashi and Tanto knives from cable steel.

He's still in business, his son now makes blades also. He was doing classes on making them, not sure if he's running them still.

Not the same as damascus, he said that his billets have thousands of folds.

Check out Dragonfly Forge.

thumbs_Hamidashi Tanto Blade.jpg
 
mitchnola said:
I consider the super steel rat race a scam.
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Well I suppose looked at that way . . .
Space travel is "JUST" a scam.
still
I'm not sure how I got here , on this backward little planet; been here a looooong time.
Can't wait to hitch hike and get back out there .

PS : fine wines are just a scam !
Though I never touch the stuff ; gives me a head ache.
 
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