THINGS TO KNOW ABOUT DAMASCUS STEEL

[Billy02]

If you want to know about Damascus steel and what can be made out of it then this article is right for you, learn a thing or two, enjoy https://swordsswords.com/blog/things-to-...cus-steel/

[CharlesHarris]

I would much prefer Swedish Sandvik 12C27 steel, which was vacuum melted, argon-oxygen decarburized and ladle refined and not pounded by a Neanderthal with his hammer to disperse impurities throughout the structure.

We have advanced a long ways in metallurgy since the Middle Ages and I would advise no one to pay good money for an artsy fartsy, but INFERIOR product.

[Pete Grey]

Yes Charles steel making technology has really come on over the years.

New alloys are being developed that produce blades that hold a better edge, keeping sharp for longer and are more flexible and thus not brittle. There are also better ways of heat treatment with temperature controlled furnaces.

But there are some good videos on youtube of knife/sword making by some fine craftsmen that are a pleasure to watch, though often these are more decorative than practical, and would be too expensive for every day use.

Most of our best knives are Finnish hunting knives bought from a local gun shop in the late 80s and are still razor sharp, we also have some blades i made from EN45 silicon manganese spring steel, even these are better than most middle ages blades would be.

[CharlesHarris]

A $20 Mora or Boker is the full equal, if anything superior to, the knives carried by explorers, mountain men and soldiers who conquered North America in the 18th and 19th Century.

People confuse knives as semi-jewelry items rather than as sturdy, but expendable tools.

I once had a custom Loveless chute knife, which was a costly absurdity, which was used an an expedient piton to hoist a stokes litter up a cliff to evac my wounded buddy, who lived.

Telling the story to our parachute rigger, he had be sign a receipt for a carton of ten Ontario aircrew survival knives and said, "quit whining", next time you won't take a custom blade on a mission.

[Talon]

Pakistan has a rich history of knife making .As does India. As a tool
though I’d struggle to think of a worse steel for a dependable knife than one of those cheap Pakistani “Damascus” knives . An unknown mix of materials with variable to non existent heat treating, poor edge retention and very prone to rust .
As Charles stated a Mora would be a vastly better choice .
You can get extremely well made pattern welded knives, but you’ll pay for that and they offer no benefits to a modern steel . And yes I do appreciate the beauty of a well crafted Damascus or patten welded knife or sword. Especially from the migration era .
Also Billy I’m tired of you touting sh** products from your store .

[Mortblanc]

I do not think Bill02 is really there,

I suspect that he is an autobot posting to any unfiltered website on the internet.

Charles, I have read the inventories of trade goods for both the American Fur Company and the Hudson's Bay Company and has always amazed at the quantity of knives they shipped to the posts on the frontier.

It was not unusual to see invoices for several crates of "common knives, 100 dozen, no handles" going to single trade stations.

They were packed without handles in wooden crates coated with oil. You open the big wooden box and see 1200 neatly paced blades all lined up in rows.

I have often thought that they were probably given as gifts, boot on a good trade. I now that the U.S. government trade factories gave small blades away as favors. Those blades were about 3" long and shaped like an SAK main blade. They had a narrow "push tang" so they could be plugged into anything looking like a handle.

Of course the Mora, the Ontario made Marine K-bar, the Pilot Survival knife, all of the famed Old Hickory butcher knives (also made by Ontario), and the Old Forge butcher knives made by the Case company, are all forged from 1095 steel.

What does that mean for us? Realistically it means that if we are ever in a serious social situation when we grab a well chosen knife from the kitchen counter it can be of the same strength, quality, and capability as many of the excellent combat blades on the market for the past 75 years.

But then again, when you have access to a forge you use some strange stuff for blades. The knife I have used most for "bushcrafting" is a blade I forged from a horse drawn hay rake tine. It has an antler handle and has been a loyal companion for decades when I was spending more time under canvas than under a real roof.

[CharlesHarris]

Indeed, probably the last 125 years!