-
The BladeForums.com 2024 Traditional Knife is available! Price is $250 ea (shipped within CONUS).
Order here: https://www.bladeforums.com/help/2024-traditional/
Ugly Damascus
- Thread starter Mark J
- Start date
- Joined
- Jun 28, 2007
- Messages
- 3,215
Yeah, that is weird. But I still like the Damascus pattern.
It looks like Cable Damascus and I've always liked the way that stuff looks.
It looks like Cable Damascus and I've always liked the way that stuff looks.
Last edited:
black mamba
Gold Member
- Joined
- Oct 21, 2009
- Messages
- 23,704
That was my first thought, too-- cable damascus. I liked that one a lot, but don't get the cutout between two sections of sharpened edge at the rear of the blade. It can't be a chip, it's too semi-circular in shape, but I sure don't know why they would design it into the blade!?!
This is one of my favorites that I own. Raindrop on the flats down to tight lines that follow the recurve.
- Joined
- Dec 5, 2005
- Messages
- 2,018
There are lots of old knives with very nice (and rather large) semi-circular chips in the blades- caused by prying- the function of which unknowing collectors now attempt to imagine. In other words, if it looks like a chip, then it is a chip (Even if it looks "too round"). It doesn't take too much searching in Bernard Levine's forum to find evidence of the old knives with circular chips being mistaken for special purpose blades.
I really don't like most of the damascus made today. Especially the raindrop patterns and most of the repetitive pattern stuff. Cable damascus and motorcycle drive chain damascus are both especially ugly to my eyes. I do like the feather damascus that I have seen on blade forums a couple of times. And, there was a bowie in the custom forum a week or so ago made with 540 layer damascus sandwiched between two layers of 180 layer damascus. That was really pretty. I also like the look of twist or herring bone pattern welded steel. I agree that much of the damascus sold today is too dark. I would really prefer a blade that was polished (and not etched-yes it can be done) to show the grain. I guess beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
I really don't like most of the damascus made today. Especially the raindrop patterns and most of the repetitive pattern stuff. Cable damascus and motorcycle drive chain damascus are both especially ugly to my eyes. I do like the feather damascus that I have seen on blade forums a couple of times. And, there was a bowie in the custom forum a week or so ago made with 540 layer damascus sandwiched between two layers of 180 layer damascus. That was really pretty. I also like the look of twist or herring bone pattern welded steel. I agree that much of the damascus sold today is too dark. I would really prefer a blade that was polished (and not etched-yes it can be done) to show the grain. I guess beauty is in the eye of the beholder.
Below is my Buck Custom Shop 110 in teardrop Damascus, nickel silver, and flaming koa wood, a Bear MGC 597D Damascus and stag, and a Kershaw Damascus Leek.
Not shown is my cocobolo handled Bear MGC Bowie, a heck of a lot of Damascus. Bear's subsidiary with them there in Jacksonville, Alabama Damascus, also makes Kershaws Damascus blades. They use 512 layers - an integer power of two as the heated steel is folded and hammer welded, folded again, etc. Their steel is good for cutting - not paring - as it has micro-edges caused by the multitude of carbides - and fresh edges. A little etchant, like ferric chloride solution (Eelectronic circuit board etchant.) and they all look better - just stabilize it when you like it's looks!
Stainz
One thing
Not shown is my cocobolo handled Bear MGC Bowie, a heck of a lot of Damascus. Bear's subsidiary with them there in Jacksonville, Alabama Damascus, also makes Kershaws Damascus blades. They use 512 layers - an integer power of two as the heated steel is folded and hammer welded, folded again, etc. Their steel is good for cutting - not paring - as it has micro-edges caused by the multitude of carbides - and fresh edges. A little etchant, like ferric chloride solution (Eelectronic circuit board etchant.) and they all look better - just stabilize it when you like it's looks!
Stainz
One thing
- Joined
- Nov 17, 2008
- Messages
- 3,654
IMHO, no-one has posted any ugly damascus in this thread yet.
safetyman
Gold Member
- Joined
- Sep 8, 2008
- Messages
- 3,766
Exactly what I was thinking.
- Joined
- Aug 9, 2007
- Messages
- 761
For those in the know - I am not - damascus can rather easily be hammered together willy-nilly to produce a random contrasting pattern; you see a lot of that on the cheaper damascus blades.
Which, to me, is ugly because it appears as though so little thought and effort went into it.
But well-made damascus, with perfect contrast and an almost tesserating pattern in the steel, are extremely delicately constructed by extremely skilled craftsmen, and the end product reflects one of the most geometrically complex art forms on earth.
Now *that's* pretty.
Which, to me, is ugly because it appears as though so little thought and effort went into it.
But well-made damascus, with perfect contrast and an almost tesserating pattern in the steel, are extremely delicately constructed by extremely skilled craftsmen, and the end product reflects one of the most geometrically complex art forms on earth.
Now *that's* pretty.