Damascus Blade, Bog Oak Scales

[midnight 657]

I hate it ha ha .

Not really , I dislike the economic side of the job .

In a few weeks I will have organised ordered and paid for some laser cut blanks . They are all ways popular and allow people to just crack on being creative with handle and sheath design , effectively the steel work is all in the bag and good as it can be .

I won't be offering that in the Damascus tho.

Not many people will pay what it costs so it's not viable .

If I had the money I would 100% just pattern weld steel.

Sell blanks , flat stock , billets and finished blades.

There is nobody in the uk doing it and I think it would be well received ?

One day I will have my life as I want it ?

[Hareydave 1,214]

I thought Damascus blades were just steel dipped in acid

[midnight 657]

I thought Damascus blades were just steel dipped in acid

not by a million miles

[GruffaloGriff 1,859]

Sorry for hyjacking the thread but Midnight is giving some good advice. Stainless steel, i never realy liked it in a blade, but mayby just not had the right stainless, prefer high carbon for keeping an edge, saying that thinking of a stainless blade for a sea fishing knife where it is in contact with salt water a lot. What flat stock should i look for or do i just stick with my carbon steel knives and clean/oil regularly.

[midnight 657]

The only stainless steel I think is worth using is rw34 its a super steel and about as advanced as steel gets . It's really expensive and needs a really expensive heat treating done professionally, also it's cryo tempered in liquid nitrogen ...

I think k I would go carbon and just clean it well after use .

[GruffaloGriff 1,859]

Cheers midnight, if any of your upcoming blanks are rw34 let me know.

[midnight 657]

There will be some for sure but I need a couple of thousand to invest in it first ? I have real issues with getting the heat treating done, as of yet Iv not had confirmation that the large company I use in Sheffield will do it . All ways seem to want really big volume at once ..

[lksopener 105]

http://forums.pigeonwatch.co.uk/forums/topic/306958-damascus-blades/?do=findComment&comment=2770759

 

 

Matt are these that cheap indian shite?

Edited March 4, 2015 by lksopener

[midnight 657]

Yep every last one !!!

Made from baked bean tins and car bumpers !!

Little bit of luxury there ?

[Patterd Ales 59]

I can never seem to get anything as sharp as a I can my old opinel. Is this to be expected?

[lksopener 105]

Haha thought they might have been!

[lksopener 105]

Ps patterdales you need to try one of matts to see what a sharp knife is! You can literally shave your arm with it, they are surgically sharp! Matts a real master craftsman and well well underpriced. Buy one of his knifes he has for sale you won't go wrong.

[midnight 657]

I can never seem to get anything as sharp as a I can my old opinel. Is this to be expected?

 

It's because it's good carbon steel with a hard temper and the blade cross section is fine / thin.

The finer the cross section the better it cuts , the down side is its prone to snapping or chipping out the edge because of the hard temper . As kids we snapped them loads !

Openiels aren't hard working knives there just cutting tools . Really hard work they will fall to bits , but I believe they where designed as utility knives so a very very good design that stands the test of time .

Use the original fieldcrafter as an example . We wanted a knife that cuts fine like a razor . (Higher sabre grind than usual) strong enough that you can hammer on it to split wood (almost 6mm thick steel, tempered 57-59 Rockwell , hard temper but just a little softer than most , this is so its possible to comfortably restore the cutting edge and lessens the risk of chip out or snapping )

to be able to hold the knife safely and securely in every possible hold imaginable (cylindrical handle with two very subtle radius to lock with fingers or thumb webbing )

I truly hard working knife designed to do as much as possible . I always try to avoid organise/natural handle materials simply because they just aren't tough enough . Multipal , appropriate fixings for added mechanical bond of blank and handle scales . Satin finished because it's the most practical and easily restored Finnish to a knife .

3.5mm leather for the sheath (it's as thick as I can get) dyed black (hides signs of wear much better than brown )

There is so much thought and design in a good knife , I think most of it goes unnoticed , but it's there hidden away and working for its owner 24/7.

 

 

It's not enough to make a knife shaped object , repeat the speeches you read on other knife descriptions and claim it your own , or think you have nailed it .

I live and breath this stuff , I never stop thinking about it , what's next how to improve , thinking of endless designs to cater for requests of customers , and in the past killing myself to do it all as cheap as possible .

 

So when I ask not to buy Indian damascus it's not because I want the customers money , I just don't want people thinking they got a Armani suit at primart prices , it doesn't happen unless it's the early stages of an honest makers career , where they feel uncomfortable charging top prices for there learning experience .

[leethedog 3,071]

 

I can never seem to get anything as sharp as a I can my old opinel. Is this to be expected?

It's because it's good carbon steel with a hard temper and the blade cross section is fine / thin.

The finer the cross section the better it cuts , the down side is its prone to snapping or chipping out the edge because of the hard temper . As kids we snapped them loads !

Openiels aren't hard working knives there just cutting tools . Really hard work they will fall to bits , but I believe they where designed as utility knives so a very very good design that stands the test of time .

Use the original fieldcrafter as an example . We wanted a knife that cuts fine like a razor . (Higher sabre grind than usual) strong enough that you can hammer on it to split wood (almost 6mm thick steel, tempered 57-59 Rockwell , hard temper but just a little softer than most , this is so its possible to comfortably restore the cutting edge and lessens the risk of chip out or snapping )

to be able to hold the knife safely and securely in every possible hold imaginable (cylindrical handle with two very subtle radius to lock with fingers or thumb webbing )

I truly hard working knife designed to do as much as possible . I always try to avoid organise/natural handle materials simply because they just aren't tough enough . Multipal , appropriate fixings for added mechanical bond of blank and handle scales . Satin finished because it's the most practical and easily restored Finnish to a knife .

3.5mm leather for the sheath (it's as thick as I can get) dyed black (hides signs of wear much better than brown )

There is so much thought and design in a good knife , I think most of it goes unnoticed , but it's there hidden away and working for its owner 24/7.

It's not enough to make a knife shaped object , repeat the speeches you read on other knife descriptions and claim it your own , or think you have nailed it .

I live and breath this stuff , I never stop thinking about it , what's next how to improve , thinking of endless designs to cater for requests of customers , and in the past killing myself to do it all as cheap as possible .

So when I ask not to buy Indian damascus it's not because I want the customers money , I just don't want people thinking they got a Armani suit at primart prices , it doesn't happen unless it's the early stages of an honest makers career , where they feel uncomfortable charging top prices for there learning experience .

like most things in life you get what you pay for quality costs

[Patterd Ales 59]

Iksopener, I have had one of Matt blanks. Very nice it was too.