The Road to Damascus

[Confederate]

I feel like blowing some money on a decent Damascus knife. In the past I've bought
BEAR & SONS, and have liked it quite a bit. It has 512 layers of hammer forged steels
arranged in beautiful patterns. So thus I find myself interested by this beauty:

In the Smoky Mountain catalog, it has two models, one about twenty five bucks more.
It's a little bit more than an inch longer. My only gripe with Bear is that often the tips
are somewhat rounded and not as sharp as I'd like. This particular model is gorgeous
and has a nice blade shape.

Then there's MARBLE'S. These knives are substantially cheaper and I know nothing about
them. Still, this one seems quite nice for $80:

Some Damascus is made using automated means, but I don't know which are the good
ones and which to avoid. Well, I know to avoid BW. There are many Damascus offerings
at Smoky Mountains that just show photos and offer no manufacturer's names. What's
with that? Do people buy this stuff without knowing anything about it?

Thanks for any info! Syria-ously!

 

[Confederate]

Does anyone know if Marbles has a website or if anyone makes their Damascus blades for them? I haven't found anything regarding how it's made or what the quality is.

Meanwhile, I just came across this beautiful folder. It sells for $475:

This great new limited edition Lone Wolf knife "Damascus Lobo" features exotic
black palm wood handles and a forged stainless steel Damascus blade. The black
palm wood is cut to size, stabilized, hand fit to each knife and then highly polished
to bring out the natural beauty of the wood. The Damascus blade is polished and
then double etched to bring out the wonderful patterns forged into each blade.

The new Lobo automatic is a double-action automatic knife that can function as
a one-hand-opening, locking-liner knife or fully automatic. The Lobo has a 3.5 inch
blade to handle any cutting chore and a convenient stainless steel pocket clip.

The automatic firing mechanism is hidden under the handle and is activated by
sliding the left side handle scale towards the top of the knife. Because there
are no apparent buttons on the outside of the handle the fact that the Lobo
is an automatic is known only to its owner. This makes the Lobo convenient
to carry and use anywhere.

The blade is 3.50 inches of forged stainless Damascus steel for great
edgeretention, toughness and beauty. The liners, pocket clip and internal
components are stainless steel. The handle is exotic black palm wood
that is beautiful and tough with the rich look and feel of a fine high-end
gun stock. The Lobo has the high tech performance of a modern tactical
knife with the fit and finish of a fine custom knife. Literally the best of
both worlds in knife performance and good looks. The Lobo is smooth,
rugged and lightning fast to open.

Features:
Make and Model: Lone Wolf Damascus Lobo
Blade Material: Hakapella Stainless Steel Damascus
Handle Material: Black Palm Wood
Blade Type: Modified Drop Point
Blade Length: 3-1/2"
Closed Length: 4-1/2"
Weight: 4.5 oz

 

[rosconey2]

i just had this made for a whole lot less- its 3-1/8 twisted w damascus-ti framelock

give Chuck Gedraitis a shout -http://cgknives.blademakers.com/

also take a look at the new kershaw damascus leek for 85 buck or so-its real nice

 

[Confederate]

Nice knife, but I'm looking for a nice display Damascus. The Marbles looks fairly good, but since no one seems to know much about it, I'm taking a pass. I do have about three Bears and I'm very happy with them, though I checked eBay and saw one of the Kershaw Damascus Leeks with black tinged patterns. Very nice. Still, I'm after a 4.5-inch or greater blade. Smoky Mountain seems to have as good a price as anyone.

Just out of curiosity, can you tell me more about your blade? How many patterns, how it was made, etc.? Thanks.

 

[Natch]

Great thread title, Confederate!!!