Apart from the obvious aesthetic appeal, is there any real advantage in a blade of this sort?

Damascus blades, when sharpened, seem to produce a micro-serrated edge, which aids in cutting. think of a Spyderco knife edge on a very small scale. if you look at a Damascus edge under magnification, you will see the micro-serrations.

quote:

Originally posted by jdollar:
Damascus blades, when sharpened, seem to produce a micro-serrated edge, which aids in cutting. think of a Spyderco knife edge on a very small scale. if you look at a Damascus edge under magnification, you will see the micro-serrations.

Makes sense, thanks.

I have only owned one,it was easy to sharpen and held a edge great,but i allways worried about it rusting,I would keep it oiled and greased up good until next hunting trip and never had a rust problem...allways kept it super clean and sharp...& dry in a big zip lock bag to help keep air moisture off it while stored between seasons..if wet or blooded and put up dirty they will rust up QUICK..

First of all, it depends on what the "damascus" is made of, some of them are basically for show. That said, I own and have used several over the years and find the ones I've used to be relatively easily sharpened, as mentioned they seem to cut fairly aggressively, however they also seem to dull fairly quickly. Personally, I'd rather have a good modern steel (such a S30V) for using but it is hard to beat the look of damascus.

just FYI, Damascus steel is readily available in a number of stainless steel varieties. obviously they will still rust if abused, but are much less upkeep than non-stainless ones.

The very best pattern welded damascus would be made of materials that can be heat treated to a Bainite structure. This structure has some unique properties ... it is very hard, and yet quite flexible and tough. Will hold a terrific edge and yet won't chip and is almost indestructable.

Bainite is obtainable from some carbon steels and some mixes that might be made into damascus. Is virtually impossible to make without computer controlled salt pots for heat treating.

Mike:

What mixture of steels would be best for the Bainite structure? Do you know of anyone making such a blade and doing the correct heat treating?

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Apart from the obvious aesthetic appeal, is there any real advantage in a blade of this sort?

Not since the Bessemer process came on board.

I have a number of carbon steel Damascus blades. They take a good edge, but I would not say they are better than well heat treated 1095. I have never seen material property data on Damascus steel, it would be interesting to see how the ultimate, yield, hardness, and fatigue cycles to failure is on the steel.

The stainless steel Damascus knives are “art” knives. They are beautiful, expensive, and the kitchen knives I own, perform well. But they are essentially created for the esthetic appeal.

I do believe a laminated steel, one with a super hard core, is the best combination of a knife steel. I have one Japanese carbon steel knife that is made this way, wicked sharp.

Gat,

The mix I know will HT to Bainite is 1084/L6. Howard Clark can do the HT as he does with some carbon steels. His work is considered to be some of the best on the planet and is priced accordingly.

We do it as well, but not often as it is a considerable endeavor.

It's amazing to see a blade tested to destruction by being bent to over 90 degrees without even a chip in the edge.

BTW, 1095 can make a very, very good blade ... better than most stainless steels. However, I know of no one who has access to something like an Instron tester that has gathered the ultimate yield, hardness, and fatigue cycle data for any pattern welded blade in direct comparison to a carbon steel or stainless steel blade.

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Originally posted by pichon1:
Apart from the obvious aesthetic appeal, is there any real advantage in a blade of this sort?

Apart from the aesthetic appeal, the only advantage is the extra dollars in the maker's pocket!

I would just as well live with a good old solid steel blade, shaped properly, for the job it is made to do! The handle shape, and size is just as important as the blade.

Like many other things a knife should feel like an extintion of one's hand in use!