Damascus head knife

[whinewine]

Has anyone used Tandy's new offering, the 'Damascus' round knife yet? I'm wondering about the quality of the steel (sus410- or somesuch) used in this knife. How does it compare to the W. Rose knives of old, the modern osbornes & other modern steels? Do they keep an edge well?

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[bruce johnson]

I am a bit interested in the Damascus as well, but haven't heard if the stores got them in yet. They were hoping November, but I haven't heard of anyone getting one yet. I kind of figured somebody would pop for one and give a testimonial either way with this many people on the forum if they were out. The modern Osbornes are not the Osbornes of old. The old Rose knives are a peach when you can find them. If I was looking at spending $75 for a knife, I'd add $15 more to it and order a Gomph from Lonnie. Best knife bargain going I think and they aren't making any more of them.

[DCKNIVES]

My inclination is they are not all they are cracked up to be.Alot of the commercial damascus on the market today comes from overseas, hence the cheaper prices.But alot of it is made with questionable steels.There is some very good quality Damascus being made here in the US but the price is much higher.But Damascus in itself doesn't make a blade any better than the steels its made of.You would be just as good to buy a good quality carbon steel head knife from a quality maker,unless of course you really like the looks of damascus.Dave

[TTcustom]

The Tandy here has them in stock. I did not purchase one but did examine one out of the packaging. This is just my opinion mind you. It is comparable to the modern Osbornes currently available but with a "Damascus style" blade. So if you're happy with a modern Osborne than this knife will be the one to get. It does look cool. Looks cool. As with the regular Osborne's out of the box the edge will benefit greatly from some tuning up. The black handle is a disappointment to me because I would think a cocobola handle would add to the visual more. The handle almost looks like black imitation wood plastic. But again a damascus knife does look cool. While I was there a customer bought all three of the knives available in damascus so there are buyers.

For me, just my opinion, it isn't worth the money. To make it worth me shelling out my ever increasingly rare funds they would have to make some changes. Better handle wood, Better wood to steel fit and better handle to blade fit, and finally damascas that did not look like it was just sitting on the surface like it was done with an acid etch process instead of a true damascas. This is just my opinions of what I saw and felt when I looked at one. Your results may vary. :D

If I was buying a round knife right now I would follow Bruce's observation and buy a Gomph.

DC how good of a round knife could you make when you were 8? Those Chinese kids are doing the best they can! LOL

Edited November 29, 2009 by TTcustom

[Tkleather1]

The Tandy here has them in stock. I did not purchase one but did examine one out of the packaging. This is just my opinion mind you. It is comparable to the modern Osbornes currently available but with a "Damascus style" blade. So if you're happy with a modern Osborne than this knife will be the one to get. It does look cool. Looks cool. As with the regular Osborne's out of the box the edge will benefit greatly from some tuning up. The black handle is a disappointment to me because I would think a cocobola handle would add to the visual more. The handle almost looks like black imitation wood plastic. But again a damascus knife does look cool. While I was there a customer bought all three of the knives available in damascus so there are buyers.

For me, just my opinion, it isn't worth the money. To make it worth me shelling out my ever increasingly rare funds they would have to make some changes. Better handle wood, Better wood to steel fit and better handle to blade fit, and finally damascas that did not look like it was just sitting on the surface like it was done with an acid etch process instead of a true damascas. This is just my opinions of what I saw and felt when I looked at one. Your results may vary. :D

If I was buying a round knife right now I would follow Bruce's observation and buy a Gomph.

DC how good of a round knife could you make when you were 8? Those Chinese kids are doing the best they can! LOL

One thing about the Gomph knives that you may want to consider, I met with Lonnie at Pendleton and was informed that they will not be making the knives that they are anymore. And at that time they had no more of the smaller knives.

Tim Worley

[whinewine]

Thank you. I know that this is not true damascus- I do have a true damascus dagger blade I got from India to build a custom dagger (mild steel, mind you, but still real damascus, and it's meant for show, not for work). Tandy's damascus blades are etched. You can tell by the look that they are not fold-weld-forged as real damascus are. Still, they do look cool. However, I was more concerned about how they would compare, steel quality-wise & blade quality-wise, to the range of blades out there, from my W. Rose down to the cheapy imports. Googling the internet, I noticed that many expensive chefs knives are made by sandwiching a very high carbon steel between layers of SUS 410, which is a (apparently a much lower and) softer carbon stainless steel. I'm not exactly sure what the advantage of that is as far as sharpening & keeping an edge (maybe it has to do with ease of sharpening?- I don't know & if someone can explain it, it would be appreciated here), but the damascus round knife is not a sandwich- it's totally made of SUS 410. So is there any advantage to something made totally of this?

Any blade makers here that can give insight into these considerations?

Again, thanks for the comments. I've decided to keep my money for higher quality merchandise.

russ

[Frank]

Just figured I'd add my 2 cents worth. I bought one the other day. I was given the opportunity to use one prior to purchasing mine. They are definitely worth a shot and I feel they are a lot better than the Osbornes. Yeah, there are a couple things that could be changed but they are worth the money in my opinion. I was shocked that out of the box they will cut Tandy's 13-15 oz saddle skirting with ease, and not to mention skiving it as well. I belive they have a 17 degree angle on the blade. I used the 50% off coupon and got it for $75 flat. Just check your local store and maybe they have one behind the counter they will let you use prior to purchasing.

[electrathon]

Not sure about the quality, but Tandy has it on sale for $58.82

http://www.tandyleatherfactory.com/search/searchresults/35010-05.aspx?feature=Product_2&kw=damascus

[MADMAX22]

I looked hard on google when they came out and the words "Damascus style" just keep glaring at me. Why do they ad style to the word?

Everything that I found was chef knives, basically for a medium end knife this was the steel that was used. Everyone of them listed it as Damascus style also instead of just calling it damascus which you would think they would if it was a true to the design.

I have no doubt it will cut good when sharp and maybe it will hold a edge for a while which is all ya can ask for I guess.

I tell ya one knife I wont ever consider and that is the regular al stohlman brand, I got that thing before I new anything and must say it doesnt hold a edge to save its life.

[particle]

I looked hard on google when they came out and the words "Damascus style" just keep glaring at me. Why do they ad style to the word?

I believe because it's not "true" Damascus, but is instead recreated by modern fabrication processes. Sort of like those new diamonds that are formed in a machine under intense pressures - it's still a diamond, but it's not what most women would appreciate on their wedding band...

Check out this 4-part video series - lots of babbling, but they show a bit of the process of making modern Damascus steel, and I think they explain why it's not true Damascus that they're creating.

I don't think the Tandy Damascus steel is simply laser etched. There is probably some legal reason why they can't call it Damascus, and thus the reason you always see "style" appended to it... But I'm no expert...

[Storm]

I have seen and held both the new Damascus and the Al Stohlman round knives. The new one is impressive  but I will have to concur with what some have said. I have my doubts about whether or not it is a true Damascus stell blade. The way Tandy has been operating of late I would suspect if it was really the case. Besides a truely well made Damascus knife would be very pricey. I gravitate toward the Al Stohlman but even here we find that most of them have exposed brass pins in the handle that rise noticeably above the surface of the handle itself. Good steel and craftsmanship coupled with some sort of decent quality control is what we need to see. I would rather buy a high end Gomph for twice the money knowing that I was getting top drawer. Remember the old horse traders admonition:

"You never remember the price you paid for a very fine horse and you will never forget the price you paid for a bad one!"

Oh Ya and there is always Caveat Emptor....Let the buyer beware!

[particle]

Okay - having just gotten back from Tandy, where I held in my not so graceful hands the new Tandy Damascus head knife, I must now say It may be a laminated steel, but it's really hard to tell. The layering pattern seems to stop shy of the blade, right where the edge is ground down. If it were true layered steel, you'd still see the wave pattern carry all the way to the edge. Perhaps it's nothing more than a chemical etching process. Maybe it really is layered/laminated steel, with a REALLY thick center layer - but if that's the case, what's the point?

[hidepounder]

I've seen the damascus blades at Tandy and hefted it and looked it over...did not have an opportunity to cut with it. I thought the handle was not very well done and I just didn't get the feeling of holding a high quality knife. I'm sticking with the old Gomphs and Roses' that I have on my bench for the same or less money. I would rather spend more money and order a Dosier that will retain it's value rather than have a questionable damascus import. I'm not saying that they are bad....I just think there are better proven knives at that price level.

Bobby

[Tkleather1]

Okay - having just gotten back from Tandy, where I held in my not so graceful hands the new Tandy Damascus head knife, I must now say It may be a laminated steel, but it's really hard to tell. The layering pattern seems to stop shy of the blade, right where the edge is ground down. If it were true layered steel, you'd still see the wave pattern carry all the way to the edge. Perhaps it's nothing more than a chemical etching process. Maybe it really is layered/laminated steel, with a REALLY thick center layer - but if that's the case, what's the point?

In my opinion, the only point is that to someone who does not do any reasearch and is fairly new to the trade that knife "looks neat and different" than the rest of them. They are just trying to get some "curb" appeal is all.

The one that I looked at felt CHEAP and was dull as a hoe. Much like the Stohlman.

Just my opinion.

Tim Worley

TK-Leather

[Frank]

Warning to anyone contemplating getting one of these knives. I did purchase one because I was allowed to use one prior and I found it to be super sharp right out of the package and never had a problem with it until today. While stropping the knife, the blade actually started to turn inside of the handle!! I'm damn lucky I didn't lose a finger or two. I called Tandy and he wants it back immediately. I'm guessing since they were a new arrival, pushing to get them out before the holidays, that some got overlooked on Q.A. I was extremely happy with the knife up until this point. If you have purchased one, check the tightness of the blade before an accident happens.

[Romey]

Damascus, or properly termed Pattern welded steel is only worth the parent steels and the proper heat treat of such. Pattern welded steel is all looks and no better or worse then however the person could make said item in straight steel. after that, its all looks.

Edited December 26, 2009 by Romey