What combination of steels makes for the hardest damascus?

Motega

Motega

Joined
Jun 20, 2006
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I'm sure there are some steels that simply don't work well or can't be pounded into damascus.
Heat treatment aside, what's the hardest damascus - that is, what 2 or more steels forged together generally make for the hardest damadcus? Separate question, but how about the all around "best" damascus (best compromise of hardness, toughness, etc.) ?
 
Are you trying to purchase a knife made by someone else or are you looking to make some Damascus?
 
Motega said:
Heat treatment aside
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Proper heat treatment (and geometry) is what makes any blade "better"
"Better" as in "tougher", less likely to chip, roll the edge, or break, and to some extent ease of sharpening, and ability to hold an edge.
You can't disregard the heat treat.
 
I've never made damascus but I have made many damascus knives. I'm not sure how we can set heat treat aside as its the heat treat that makes the steel hard isn't it? My high carbon damascus knives run 60RC and the stainless damascus ones (including quite a few from steel made by Larrin's dad), 62-63RC. The hardness is determined by the steel type and the heat treat. I could have my high carbon blades heat treated to 55 RC if I wanted to, I choose not to. Same with the stainless damascus blades. On all this stuff I'm just a layman though with tons of hands on experience. Larrin Larrin can give you the technical answers. He IS the guy there.
 
I'm not a smith, just curious about the current state of damascus in terms of the newest steels and which combination of them is likely to produce the best results for an edc knife.
I put things in quotes and mentioned heat treatment because otherwise we get bogged down in "best".
I was going to hear about combinations of M390, Maxamet, S90v, etc.
I guess that I am looking for "the" knife, that is one that will satisfy the urge to research and collect for a while : )

Right now I am really interested in TM-100 and NiTinOL (which I realize are not steels at all). I have been hunting down someone willing to part with a Stinger by Ferrum Forge in tm100.
 
Motega said:
I'm not a smith, just curious about the current state of damascus in terms of the newest steels and which combination of them is likely to produce the best results for an edc knife.
I put things in quotes and mentioned heat treatment because otherwise we get bogged down in "best".
I was going to hear about combinations of M390, Maxamet, S90v, etc.
I guess that I am looking for "the" knife, that is one that will satisfy the urge to research and collect for a while : )
Click to expand...

I'm confused in general by what you're saying here. Damascus steels are a style choice, not a performance-optimization thing at all. As a result, the most important thing is that they perform okay and have enough difference when etched to show the pattern.

Motega said:
Right now I am really interested in TM-100 and NiTinOL (which I realize are not steels at all). I have been hunting down someone willing to part with a Stinger by Ferrum Forge in tm100.
Click to expand...

In addition to not being steel (and not damascus either, as far as this thread goes), nothing I've read about SM-100 or other titanium alloys suggest anything special is likely, performance-wise. Unless you really need a blade to be non-magnetic for some reason, why the interest?
 
Motega said:
I'm not a smith, just curious about the current state of damascus in terms of the newest steels and which combination of them is likely to produce the best results for an edc knife.
I put things in quotes and mentioned heat treatment because otherwise we get bogged down in "best".
I was going to hear about combinations of M390, Maxamet, S90v, etc.
I guess that I am looking for "the" knife, that is one that will satisfy the urge to research and collect for a while : )
Click to expand...
The majority of Damascus is produced with 1084 and 15N20. Some stainless is available in AEB-L/304. Damasteel makes RWL-34/PMC27. There is some san-mai stuff available with XHP or Elmax core, and Damasteel has started offering steel with a Vanax core. "Performance" Damascus steel has been a pretty small product category.
 
The interest in sm100 is in the coloration, corrosion resistance, and performance.
Same for a damascus in something more exotic than the usual 1084 and 15n20.
There is something to be said for form as well as function in your edc gear.
 
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