Are there any good "Damascus" Kitchen Knives for up to 300$?

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Messer Mojo

Messer Mojo

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I'm looking for good, but rather inexpensive Damascus knives kitchen knives, e.g. with a quality core like VG-10.

I know these are not true Damascus knives, but I'm looking for decent rather inexpensive alternatives.
 
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If you mean they are not Wootz but pattern welded, they are still "real" damascus knives.
The only "not real damascus" knives would be surface etched only and as far as I am aware they don't exist in Japan
because VG10 core damascus knives priced $100-300 are so abundant.
What type of knife are you looking for? Gyuto? Santoku?
 
KenHash said:
If you mean they are not Wootz but pattern welded, they are still "real" damascus knives.
The only "not real damascus" knives would be surface etched only and as far as I am aware they don't exist in Japan
because VG10 core damascus knives priced $100-300 are so abundant.
What type of knife are you looking for? Gyuto? Santoku?
Click to expand...

Thank you.
For now, I'm looking for any kind of good Damascus knife within that price range, no matter if Gyuto, Santoku or European style.
Throw anything in here and I will then check out each knife do my research.
 
Go with SG2, I avoid VG-10 like the plague. Get a sukenari SG2 at knives and stones for $329, or if you want a factory knife I like the miyabi birchwood that you can find on sale quite often.
 
You can find "decent enough" AliExpress stuff for a hundred or so. They are made in China of "VG10" damascus or whatever. I bought one, a 210mm k-tip from a brand called Hehzen, just to see, and, while it will never be a favorite knife, it also gave me a damascus blade to play with and practice on. I sanded one side all the way down to a mirror finish, then etched it right back to wavy damascus action with hydrochloric acid, something I never would have done on a 400 euro+ knife. It's also a relatively pretty knife, and I'll probably give it away at some point in time and someone will be super happy. It cuts pretty well for what it is, and it takes and holds an edge well enough.
 
James said:
Nothing wrong with well treated VG10. Ryusen makes some very good knives from the steel
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I mean if you are spending $300 it's just lacking compared to SG2 in almost every regard, besides VG10 being able to strop better. It's less tough, and doesn't hold an edge as long. I don't see any reason for it.
 
jedy617 said:
I mean if you are spending $300 it's just lacking compared to SG2 in almost every regard, besides VG10 being able to strop better. It's less tough, and doesn't hold an edge as long. I don't see any reason for it.
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In what regards is it lacking? I've owned knives in both and they're both good steels when done well. Vg10 has much better toughness and stain resistance. Sg2 has marginally better edge retention and ease of sharpening. If deciding between two knives at the same price, I'd look at maker before steel. I preferred the way my ryusen performed when compared to my sukenari. One was vg10 and one was sg2
 
James said:
In what regards is it lacking? I've owned knives in both and they're both good steels when done well. Vg10 has much better toughness and stain resistance. Sg2 has marginally better edge retention and ease of sharpening.
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I just said, it is lacking in that toughness and edge retention are both worse than SG2. It's just an inadequate steel past a lower budget knife. If you are giving me low toughness, at least give me decent edge retention or vice versa. SG2 is tougher even at a higher HRC. If it's a $150 knife for example, I wouldn't feel that bad having VG-10, but going past that there are just better options right now. Feel free to read up or talk to Larrin on the forums: VG10 and Super Gold 2 - Takefu Stainless Steel Properties and History - Knife Steel Nerds
 
Under $300 is definitely a sweet spot where there’s tons of great options available. Unless you’re interested in appearance only, it would be best to fill out the questionnaire @osakajoe linked above which can help narrow down the options to factors that you’re specifically interested in.
 
jedy617 said:
I just said, it is lacking in that toughness and edge retention are both worse than SG2. It's just an inadequate steel past a lower budget knife. If you are giving me low toughness, at least give me decent edge retention or vice versa. SG2 is tougher even at a higher HRC. If it's a $150 knife for example, I wouldn't feel that bad having VG-10, but going past that there are just better options right now. Feel free to read up or talk to Larrin on the forums: VG10 and Super Gold 2 - Takefu Stainless Steel Properties and History - Knife Steel Nerds
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Good article. When choosing knives, steel is not on my high list of priorities. Grind and profile are more important to me. Given the same knife in the two different steels, it'd be a tossup for me and would be up to price. I'm a simple home cook so edge retention does not matter to me as much as it does for a pro
 
James said:
Good article. When choosing knives, steel is not on my high list of priorities. Grind and profile are more important to me. Given the same knife in the two different steels, it'd be a tossup for me and would be up to price. I'm a simple home cook so edge retention does not matter to me as much as it does for a pro
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Understood. I mean for most people (even me included) VG-10 really is fine, and I hear well forged and heat treated VG10 is better than stock removal knives with it. It's just at a certain price point where you are getting to a few hundred dollars where I like to see a little bit of an upgrade. Even at $300 if the rest of the knife is perfect for someone in terms of geometry and size, etc I don't think it's a huge deal getting VG-10, it's just not my preference out of everything available.
 
KenHash said:
If you mean they are not Wootz but pattern welded, they are still "real" damascus knives.
The only "not real damascus" knives would be surface etched only and as far as I am aware they don't exist in Japan
because VG10 core damascus knives priced $100-300 are so abundant.
Click to expand...

To me, "real" Damascus is a blade made from Damascus steel, where the Damascus steel is the cutting edge.
Salem Straub, Devin Thomas, Delbert Ealy, Halcyon Forge, for example, make "real" Damascus knives often with carbon steels like 1080 and 15n20. These knives do not have a core steel. They are made like mono-steel knives but from a Damascus billet.

I would describe the typical Japanese Damascus knives as "Damascus clad", not "real" Damascus.
These knives have a core steel and a "real" Damascus cladding, but are still clad knives.
The "real" Damascus knives from Japan are referred to are "Coreless "Damascus" and often blend VG10 and VG2.
https://www.seisukeknife.com/produc...ef-knife-240mm-wtih-nomura-white-stone-handle
 
Hitohira GR is a cool option; blue steel, gigantic for their stated size (210 could definitely make you believe it's a 240), ground super thin, nice handle. On mine I felt like with a bit choil rounding and bevel flattening (typical in this price range) it represented a really killer deal at just over 200 USD.
 
jedy617 said:
Yep just like my ealy damascus: WTS - Delbert Ealy 250MM Damascus Gyuto

Also for someone relatively new if you don't know the difference, a way to check is if the spine carries the damascus pattern to tell if it's "real" damascus or a clad. Sometimes makers polish the spine anyway, but even still sometimes you can see a faint pattern or even feel it
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Very nice knife
 
Delat said:
Under $300 is definitely a sweet spot where there’s tons of great options available. Unless you’re interested in appearance only, it would be best to fill out the questionnaire @osakajoe linked above which can help narrow down the options to factors that you’re specifically interested in.
Click to expand...

I'd like to hear as many suggestions as possible and I'm also looking for a wider variety of knives.
Main criteria:
- Type: Guyto/Chef's knife/Santoku
- Style: European/Japanese
- Location: Europe/Germany
 
parbaked said:
To me, "real" Damascus is a blade made from Damascus steel, where the Damascus steel is the cutting edge.
Salem Straub, Devin Thomas, Delbert Ealy, Halcyon Forge, for example, make "real" Damascus knives often with carbon steels like 1080 and 15n20. These knives do not have a core steel. They are made like mono-steel knives but from a Damascus billet.
I would describe the typical Japanese Damascus knives as "Damascus clad", not "real" Damascus.
These knives have a core steel and a "real" Damascus cladding, but are still clad knives.
The "real" Damascus knives from Japan are referred to are "Coreless "Damascus" and often blend VG10 and VG2.
https://www.seisukeknife.com/produc...ef-knife-240mm-wtih-nomura-white-stone-handle
Click to expand...

Yes perhaps technically. But for marketing purposes to the general public Pattern Welded is considered "real damascus".
Five Myths About Damascus Steel - Knife Steel Nerds
 
Yes, there are quite a few.

As already mentioned, if you want specific recommendations, you should fill out the questionairre so that we can narrow your requirements down.

If you are new to knives (Edited to note that while you only have 50-odd posts, you have been a member since 2014, so perhaps not new to knives?) , you should be aware that while damascus can look pretty, it adds to the price and adds nothing to the knife's perfomance. Damacus is also a pain to deal with when it comes time to thin your knife. You will need to refinish and re-etch the blade after each thinning. This has the added detriment of discouraging maintennence thinning.
 
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