Damascus on Ebay

I was searching ebay and came across a rather large selection of what is labeled as Handmade damascus. The majority of these knives come from Pakistan and India and are in the price range that I would not think a handmade item would be even if it is from Pakistan and India. Most of the knives are visually striking I am just scared of the quality since you almost always get what you pay for. Curious if any one has purchased any of these or just has thoughts on them. My first thought is to buy a clever that way I can see the quality and not be put out if it is low since a clever is not a precise instrument. Any thoughts would be apreciated.

Do a search, and I think you will find where somone took a chance on one of these last year and the blade required a ton of work by one of the custom knifemakers to get it anywhere close to useful. Plus I htink the hardness was pretty low, so it did not hold an edge too well.

I think your instincts are correct here. You get what you pay for.
WB is correct. Someone did try one. It wasn't a very high quality item, IIRCC.

They're thick and rough....

The damascus razors are of equal quality.

What no chop said. I got one.

Welcome Flawless Victory!

aside from being thick and rough

it's a random crapshoot.

you'll get more chances of getting crappy stuff than getting good or decently made steel.

either they're too soft to hold an edge or they're too brittle and chips a lot.

Manhole covers and soup cans...

Welcome to the forum!

don't do it! run away! run away as fast as you can!

yep run as fast as you can. I got one and Randy from HHH tried to do something with it. Well not worth the price at all. here is the starter thread that leads to Randy's thread.

http://www.kitchenknifeforums.com/showthread.php/5250-Bowie-vs-Chef?highlight=bowie