A lot of confusion would be remedied if everyone would just list the steels used in their damascus just like how they list regular blade steels. It's so stupid to me that it isn't required by us the knife people. It really allows companies to produce pretty mediocre damascus steel imo. Yes including damasteel which is pretty mediocre compared to many of our super steels.
Prior to the 19th century (don't reference me on that, this is a very general time frame) Damascus used to mean Wootz Damascus, which is basically a crucible steel with multiple types of steel. All the slag (impurities) would raise to the top, you'd remove that, then cast into ingots before forging out. Metallurgic history is fun.
Hi! I’m beginning to consider you an important part of my mini pocket knife collection! I’ve learned more about knife steel in the last 5 months than I thought possible. Great explanation on Damascus and other blended steels! I just added a Ltd. Edition WE Snick with Damasteel blade and lovely flame anodized titanium. I’m extra happy I spent the bucks after watching this video. Nice work! Thanks!
So much this. Being forced to go on a long, tedious hunt for such basic information boggles the mind. I mean, I can see it's bloody damascus. That's pretty darn obvious. Might as well just list the actual steels used.
You are a wealth of knowledge, thx for sharing. I love Damascus for the aesthetics in general carry but also have a number stronger, more durable bladed knives for heavier use.
You did a fantastic job of explaining the differences and similarities between them. Over a year ago I watched a rather long youtube video about Damascus... the real one. I may be wrong but I think it was done for the History Channel. This fellow spent years studying all he could about the steel like where in Persia it first appeared and so on. He found that the items that made up the steel were very precise and he thought that he now knows and did produce the original steels as verified by electronic scanning. I'll see if I can find the video if you're interested.
Don't want something that's going to rust if you look at it wrong.!.have a great machete that does that. I do keep it oiled. Looking at a replacement Paraxis.had not!am plain silver &g10 versions nice .going for looks. This time and I'm sale!
A few confusions: The way/pattern that the Damascus steel is layered has effect on edge retention...toughness...etc. Usually ladder patterns are the weakest. Random patterns are preferred. The more layers there are...the finer the carbonite crystal structure...resulting in more toughness and edge retention...although the affects seem to be minuscule. Conclusions: Damascus steels are not better than homogenous steels for any sort of tasks. Since the performance increased the more layers there are (the closer it gets to homogenous steel)...it is safe to say the true purpose of Damascus Steels are the fact that they are pretty to look at. We are far beyond the days of Wootz steel in terms of pure performance and science.
It would be really cool to see some of you knife guys to set up a chat with some of the blacksmiths on RUclips! I’d love to see you having a chat with someone like Alec Steel about Damascus!
IMO, the biggest upside of Damasteel products is the knife maker is buying a product with a known performance. All you have to do is follow Damasteel's guidelines and you will get the intended performance.
Steel has been recycled for centuries, we are left with the " best guess" of it's exact composition unless you're a master metallurgist, or accept the advertised description. Damascus steel if done properly will give a micro serration on the edge from the layers of steel taking and retaining two different aspects of the sharpening process. Just as heat treat, few are capable of doing it properly. That's my story cuz it just seems logical, however this is the world of logic being absurd, so I could be corrected at any moment.
Totally off subject question. I know that it's best to buy from a dealer , like BHQ , etc. But if they are out of stock all the time. Are there any reputable sellers on eBay that you would recommend ? I see lots of knives on there that I've been looking for, ordered one, hopefully it's not a knockoff.
Bro you need to stop reading my mind. I was wondering the difference between all of these not even 24 hours ago!! I’ve been in the game for a minute just never really was interested in Damascus! Thanks for the info!
MC, an excellent presentation as always! Understanding that there is a WIDE variety of "Damascus" steels and knife price points, I'm still a bit puzzled as to how to tell definitively, if a "budget" knife such as the "QYGMGS Damascus Steel Pocket Knife" ($44), is truly "Damascus steel", OR simply made to "appear" like Damascus via acid-etching a single steel blade? Thanks again sir.
MC, thanks for the explanation, for years I thought the blades on knifes that had that pattern, a least for me were found in gasstations but as I became more of a"knife guy " so to speak I learned that they are very different lol
I simply love Damascus (and any other variant of it).. I'm particularly fond of the Civivi since they produce almost all of their knifes in damascus and they are on the border of what I would ever pay for the knife (around 100$). Their Elementum and Baby Banter in damascus come to mind with some of the most beautiful damascus designs I've ever seen.. My holly grail is the James Brand The Carter in damascus but this is the 300$ knife with shipping and taxes and that is way out of my league.. Well maybe for my 50th birthday but then again I also love and collect watches and I've already decided to buy something special in that department for the half century mark.. Who knows...
So, if Civivi is labeling their Damascus "stainless", then it must not contain any d2 right? Or does blending d2 with another steel bring the # up enough to classify as stainless? If it's mostly 9cr18, which is what I'm hearing, then what's the 2nd steel?
It really is the combination of both steels that determines whether or not it's stainless. Technically, one could be d2, and the other could be something extremely stainless, bringing the overall corrosion resistance to what would be labeled as "stainless". Does that make sense?
Forged I'n fire show named a 6 layer taco bend type on one of the showes.rabbit holes everywhere!!!not going down the Damascus hole.thanks for condensed explanation!BALANCE!that's what s important! Not only with shives!EVERYTHING..L8R MC.
Even the true stuff won't perform like modern Damasteel and Damacore though. Technology has allowed us to create MUCH more performance oriented compositions, and control the outcome with razor precision.
@@metal_complex I'm not denying that in any way. I was simply correcting the oart in the video where you said the art of wootz was lost. It was a sad day when al pendray passed.
Im lerning new stuff all the time im from Sweden but i had no idea this DAMASTEEL/DAMACORE even excisted and that it is from Sweden? But i know Swedish people are pretty industri-os people so it would be something that we make and we have a big iron mine in Kiruna that is in the North of Sweden it is verry cold there moast of the time but no polar bears of course :) Anyway great video!
Oh, timascus is made by etching, not anonizing. I have a lion steel ROK 50 limited edition knife which has an integral handle of Timascus. Expensive but beatiful.
Man, this would be so much easier if we stopped calling things that arent Damascus damascus, and just called these pattern welded and listed the metals used.....
As a collector of Damascus steel pocket knives: wait collecting until you have won the big lottery. Otherwise, it will suck you dry in money (oh, but your eyes will be pleased). Hm, are my Damascus knives worth over 100K? I'm afraid they are. Better have gotten cheapier mistress ;-)... Less expensive.
Have you ever heard of fake damasteel? im buying a damasteel knife without paperwork and I see it has many layers when looking at the blade from the top so that is telling me its real. But Im just not sure if they are faking damasteel out there
@@metal_complex It's a benchmade gold glass with damasteel. I know very often faked but i have looked at all the "clones" and none have came close to replicating the entire knife perfectly. I was just wondering if you have ever seen a china faked damasteel before. All the fake damascus blades ive seen dont have layering on the top of the blade
@@mike212916 that's tough. eBay is notorious for fakes. Honestly id back off from it unless the seller has incredibly positive sale history and lots of sales dating a long ways back.
You end (and middle) many of your sentences with an unnecessary and meaningless "right." It's a distracting verbal tick that you could train yourself out of in order to come across more fluidly.
Knife guys: Not all Damascus blades are the same
Our inner Crow brain: But they are all pretty
*Mangekyou Sharingan*
A lot of confusion would be remedied if everyone would just list the steels used in their damascus just like how they list regular blade steels. It's so stupid to me that it isn't required by us the knife people. It really allows companies to produce pretty mediocre damascus steel imo. Yes including damasteel which is pretty mediocre compared to many of our super steels.
people think its stronger, is why they can get away with shit steel damascus
Damacore sounds like the newest Metal genre.
So essentially, Damascus is a process, Damasteel/Damacore is a brand name and a specific formula of Damascus.
They also have a proprietary process to Damasteel products but yes you are pretty on there.
Prior to the 19th century (don't reference me on that, this is a very general time frame) Damascus used to mean Wootz Damascus, which is basically a crucible steel with multiple types of steel. All the slag (impurities) would raise to the top, you'd remove that, then cast into ingots before forging out. Metallurgic history is fun.
Hi! I’m beginning to consider you an important part of my mini pocket knife collection! I’ve learned more about knife steel in the last 5 months than I thought possible. Great explanation on Damascus and other blended steels! I just added a Ltd. Edition WE Snick with Damasteel blade and lovely flame anodized titanium. I’m extra happy I spent the bucks after watching this video. Nice work! Thanks!
that actually cleared a lot up for me. I always hate just seeing Damascus as the knife steel not very helpful ! tell me what steel was used lol
So much this. Being forced to go on a long, tedious hunt for such basic information boggles the mind. I mean, I can see it's bloody damascus. That's pretty darn obvious. Might as well just list the actual steels used.
@@SomeVagrant exactly its the equivalent of it just saying its stainless steel
Stainless Damascus has really changed the knife industry! Civivi's 9cr based is incredible value
You are a wealth of knowledge, thx for sharing. I love Damascus for the aesthetics in general carry but also have a number stronger, more durable bladed knives for heavier use.
For my 12th birthday my friend got me a damacore dagger with a brass pommel and the handle was made out of camel spine 😍. Love Damascus.
I need pics now. Never seen a spinal handle knife lmao.
Thank you very much! Very thorough and cleaning up all my confusions especially regarding damasteel and damacore. I appreciate it!
You did a fantastic job of explaining the differences and similarities between them. Over a year ago I watched a rather long youtube video about Damascus... the real one. I may be wrong but I think it was done for the History Channel. This fellow spent years studying all he could about the steel like where in Persia it first appeared and so on. He found that the items that made up the steel were very precise and he thought that he now knows and did produce the original steels as verified by electronic scanning. I'll see if I can find the video if you're interested.
Did you ever find that video?? Sounds interesting and worth a watch! Post a link PLEASE!
@@shadeshiest22 sorry but I never did but I haven't given up yet.
What’s the name of the 3rd knife? The one after Spyderco
I need answers!
@@Digital3ch0 Sharp By Design MICRO EVO (discontinued) :(
Sharp By Design MICRO EVO (discontinued) :(
Good one! Lots of confusion on this topic. 👍🗡️👍
Thanks MTC! Really informative for a neophyte like me. Will you make a video on serrated vs non serrated knives? Pros, cons, uses, combo edges etc?
Don't want something that's going to rust if you look at it wrong.!.have a great machete that does that. I do keep it oiled. Looking at a replacement Paraxis.had not!am plain silver &g10 versions nice .going for looks. This time and I'm sale!
What’s the Damasteel knife called?
A few confusions:
The way/pattern that the Damascus steel is layered has effect on edge retention...toughness...etc. Usually ladder patterns are the weakest. Random patterns are preferred.
The more layers there are...the finer the carbonite crystal structure...resulting in more toughness and edge retention...although the affects seem to be minuscule.
Conclusions:
Damascus steels are not better than homogenous steels for any sort of tasks. Since the performance increased the more layers there are (the closer it gets to homogenous steel)...it is safe to say the true purpose of Damascus Steels are the fact that they are pretty to look at. We are far beyond the days of Wootz steel in terms of pure performance and science.
Did you ever do a review on the Tacit? cant seem to find it if you did.
It would be really cool to see some of you knife guys to set up a chat with some of the blacksmiths on RUclips! I’d love to see you having a chat with someone like Alec Steel about Damascus!
Start at 2:58
IMO, the biggest upside of Damasteel products is the knife maker is buying a product with a known performance. All you have to do is follow Damasteel's guidelines and you will get the intended performance.
Steel has been recycled for centuries, we are left with the " best guess" of it's exact composition unless you're a master metallurgist, or accept the advertised description. Damascus steel if done properly will give a micro serration on the edge from the layers of steel taking and retaining two different aspects of the sharpening process. Just as heat treat, few are capable of doing it properly. That's my story cuz it just seems logical, however this is the world of logic being absurd, so I could be corrected at any moment.
mate you have no idea what you are talking about
Sam, if you're going to tell him he's wrong, you have to explain why. Otherwise it isn't helpful. So far we're left to assume YOU don't know either.
the micro serration part
also damascus isnt one metal its typically two so there is no set recipe
@@samtinapple3025 well there you go, I stand corrected! How absurd to think to different metals would sync differently.
Where are the links to explain Damascus further?
I laughed when he said, “simple explanation”
I mean... it was lol. Did you check my links? Those articles make my upload seem like an episode of Sesame Street.
Right Lol
Totally off subject question. I know that it's best to buy from a dealer , like BHQ , etc. But if they are out of stock all the time. Are there any reputable sellers on eBay that you would recommend ? I see lots of knives on there that I've been looking for, ordered one, hopefully it's not a knockoff.
Sometimes Ebay is fine. Look at the feedback. If they have lots of sales and the overall feedback score is high, you're probably ok.
Bro you need to stop reading my mind. I was wondering the difference between all of these not even 24 hours ago!! I’ve been in the game for a minute just never really was interested in Damascus! Thanks for the info!
thanks for the great explanation. any idea on how to get an artisan tacit?
MC, an excellent presentation as always! Understanding that there is a WIDE variety of "Damascus" steels and knife price points, I'm still a bit puzzled as to how to tell definitively, if a "budget" knife such as the "QYGMGS Damascus Steel Pocket Knife" ($44), is truly "Damascus steel", OR simply made to "appear" like Damascus via acid-etching a single steel blade? Thanks again sir.
MC, thanks for the explanation, for years I thought the blades on knifes that had that pattern, a least for me were found in gasstations but as I became more of a"knife guy " so to speak I learned that they are very different lol
Nice overview. What is your opinion of the Artisan Cutlery Tacit is it a good buy for the price?
Very nice explanation for a novice to understand. Thanks!
I simply love Damascus (and any other variant of it).. I'm particularly fond of the Civivi since they produce almost all of their knifes in damascus and they are on the border of what I would ever pay for the knife (around 100$). Their Elementum and Baby Banter in damascus come to mind with some of the most beautiful damascus designs I've ever seen..
My holly grail is the James Brand The Carter in damascus but this is the 300$ knife with shipping and taxes and that is way out of my league.. Well maybe for my 50th birthday but then again I also love and collect watches and I've already decided to buy something special in that department for the half century mark.. Who knows...
Could you please provide the names of all the knives?
What’s the name of that first knife? I can’t make out what he says!
So, if Civivi is labeling their Damascus "stainless", then it must not contain any d2 right? Or does blending d2 with another steel bring the # up enough to classify as stainless? If it's mostly 9cr18, which is what I'm hearing, then what's the 2nd steel?
It really is the combination of both steels that determines whether or not it's stainless. Technically, one could be d2, and the other could be something extremely stainless, bringing the overall corrosion resistance to what would be labeled as "stainless". Does that make sense?
@@metal_complex Got it👍. This video cleared some things up, Thanks!
Hey civivi’s Damascus is still pretty sexy
@@desertsmeagol7073 Yes! I have the Asticus coming.
@@_MiMo_ dope! I’m trying to get the exarch or the McKenna because I need a front flipper
What is the Damasteel knife (3rd knife from the left)?
Found it: Sharp By Design MICRO EVO (discontinued) :(
I know I’m a year late on this but what is the middle knife?
really help me a lot, good explanation
Forged I'n fire show named a 6 layer taco bend type on one of the showes.rabbit holes everywhere!!!not going down the Damascus hole.thanks for condensed explanation!BALANCE!that's what s important! Not only with shives!EVERYTHING..L8R MC.
The recipie for wootz style steel is not lost it's just expensive and pretty bad by modern standards.
Even the true stuff won't perform like modern Damasteel and Damacore though. Technology has allowed us to create MUCH more performance oriented compositions, and control the outcome with razor precision.
@@metal_complex I'm not denying that in any way. I was simply correcting the oart in the video where you said the art of wootz was lost. It was a sad day when al pendray passed.
What. Model knife was the carbon fiber?
You should do a video of the best knives in 154cm because I’ve never had a knife in that steel but I’d love to check one out
Chech out a Kizer mini sheepdog.
Great explanation.I really enjoyed this video.
I Appreciate this channel. 👍🏾
Anyone know what steels civivi use in their damascus?
9CR/10CR
Throughout the video..MC just pick up that Herman. He did, got to change my underwear now.
"RMP18-CKAK carbon steel mixed with... powderized stainless blah blah blah..."
Me: wowee pretty knife!
Im lerning new stuff all the time im from Sweden but i had no idea this DAMASTEEL/DAMACORE even excisted and that it is from Sweden? But i know Swedish people are pretty industri-os people so it would be something that we make and we have a big iron mine in Kiruna that is in the North of Sweden it is verry cold there moast of the time but no polar bears of course :) Anyway great video!
Oh, timascus is made by etching, not anonizing. I have a lion steel ROK 50 limited edition knife which has an integral handle of Timascus. Expensive but beatiful.
They DO bring the colors out with anodizing in some cases.
Don't forget Mokume!
hey man you forgot the "etched damascus" from the shadow realm of cheapville.
He said modern knife steels like m390 and maxamet and I’m carrying a microtech in m390 and a pm2 in maxamet😂
Good stuff👌🏼
Soooo..... Pretty pattern metal good
Man, this would be so much easier if we stopped calling things that arent Damascus damascus, and just called these pattern welded and listed the metals used.....
It is confusing but this video helped me out thank u
I’ve been obsessed with Damasteel for about a year, buying up whatever I can...
As a collector of Damascus steel pocket knives: wait collecting until you have won the big lottery. Otherwise, it will suck you dry in money (oh, but your eyes will be pleased). Hm, are my Damascus knives worth over 100K? I'm afraid they are. Better have gotten cheapier mistress ;-)... Less expensive.
Lmao sureeee
Have you ever heard of fake damasteel? im buying a damasteel knife without paperwork and I see it has many layers when looking at the blade from the top so that is telling me its real. But Im just not sure if they are faking damasteel out there
Who makes it? Model?
@@metal_complex It's a benchmade gold glass with damasteel. I know very often faked but i have looked at all the "clones" and none have came close to replicating the entire knife perfectly. I was just wondering if you have ever seen a china faked damasteel before. All the fake damascus blades ive seen dont have layering on the top of the blade
@@mike212916 where are you buying it from?
@@metal_complex ebay
@@mike212916 that's tough. eBay is notorious for fakes. Honestly id back off from it unless the seller has incredibly positive sale history and lots of sales dating a long ways back.
Imagine a maxamet/ rex121 damascus...
The factory would retool every shift
Starts @ 2:56
Good info
Right
You end (and middle) many of your sentences with an unnecessary and meaningless "right." It's a distracting verbal tick that you could train yourself out of in order to come across more fluidly.
Na. We all do stuff like this. It's just something that comes along with my videos.
Right
Puedes poner subtitulos en español porfavor
"Why would I buy it?" .....because it's purdy! Damasteel for the win!
Hello!
I had to stop listening. Please stop saying, "right"
Simple explanation doesnt start until 3mins into video😢 bro was blabbing😅
Welcome to the channel. I'm well known for it.
And I mean WELL known 👍
I was just wondering cause I have some Damascus core otfs some with a straight core and some wavy you can see in the spine