Wat kind of leather knife is this?

[Mablung]

You know, was just reading something indicating Wootz steel was actually a form of particle metallurgy, not a means of pattern-welding, as I thought.  So, I may need to stick my foot in my mouth over this one; that will have to wait for tomorrow.  But, figured I'd throw that out there, since I probably made a few eyes roll, and may have proven the maxim from the Book of Proverbs, "It is better to be silent and thought a fool than to speak and prove one's foolishness."

As I think about it, I think I do need to walk back my rant about the two methods of manufacture being essentially the same; they aren't.  But, given that true Damascus was a particle steel, I wonder what would happen if one were to etch currently popular particle steels, like the S30V a couple of my knives are made from.  Interesting question.

Then there's the point the article I read made, which is that it's not clear why "Damascus steel" is called that, with one theory being it was a derivative of the Arabic word for water, "damas," and that being applied because of the wavy appearance of Damascus steel.  That makes me wonder if my rant against pedantry still has some basis, albeit on different grounds, but that is a question for tomorrow.

Edited January 4, 2024 by Mablung
Sticking my foot in my mouth.

[chuck123wapati]

8 hours ago, Mablung said:

You know, was just reading something indicating Wootz steel was actually a form of particle metallurgy, not a means of pattern-welding, as I thought.  So, I may need to stick my foot in my mouth over this one; that will have to wait for tomorrow.  But, figured I'd throw that out there, since I probably made a few eyes roll, and may have proven the maxim from the Book of Proverbs, "It is better to be silent and thought a fool than to speak and prove one's foolishness."

As I think about it, I think I do need to walk back my rant about the two methods of manufacture being essentially the same; they aren't.  But, given that true Damascus was a particle steel, I wonder what would happen if one were to etch currently popular particle steels, like the S30V a couple of my knives are made from.  Interesting question.

Then there's the point the article I read made, which is that it's not clear why "Damascus steel" is called that, with one theory being it was a derivative of the Arabic word for water, "damas," and that being applied because of the wavy appearance of Damascus steel.  That makes me wonder if my rant against pedantry still has some basis, albeit on different grounds, but that is a question for tomorrow.

nothing would happen to  s30v if you etched it unless maybe you clay tempered it the Hamon might show up. I've done one blade with that technique and it didn't appear very well.  the difference is one is a lost art done by master craftsmen who spent a life time learning how. the other is done by just about anyone who can weld, buy a forge and power hammer and can get high carbon steel they have no idea where or how it was made lol. A lot of modern "Damascus" is simply steel cable forge welded so not a lot of learning involved in the process. Get it the right color, hammer , repeat.

 I love the look of the blades made from whatever you want to call it and have a couple myself but i also cant tell any difference in how they perform over a regular  blade forged and tempered to the same hardness. Its use is a matter of looks now days not so much for flex and strength. here is some interesting info along these lines.https://knifewear.com/blogs/articles/the-truth-about-damascus-steel

[Mablung]

19 minutes ago, chuck123wapati said:

nothing would happen to  s30v if you etched it unless maybe you clay tempered it the Hamon might show up. I've done one blade with that technique and it didn't appear very well.  the difference is one is a lost art done by master craftsmen who spent a life time learning how. the other is done by just about anyone who can weld, buy a forge and power hammer and can get high carbon steel they have no idea where or how it was made lol. A lot of modern "Damascus" is simply steel cable forge welded so not a lot of learning involved in the process. Get it the right color, hammer , repeat.

 I love the look of the blades made from whatever you want to call it and have a couple myself but i also cant tell any difference in how they perform over a regular  blade forged and tempered to the same hardness. Its use is a matter of looks now days not so much for flex and strength. here is some interesting info along these lines.https://knifewear.com/blogs/articles/the-truth-about-damascus-steel

I guess the lack of prevalence of fighting with swords obviates the need for very strong but flexible steel of the type. The knives I have are probably just prettier than others of similar steel. Still, I like it. It's snazzy. Sometimes, that's enough. 

Anyway, enough of my thread hijack.