Damascus, yay or nay?

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Damascus

  • Yay!

    Votes: 37 39.8%

  • Nay!

    Votes: 56 60.2%
  • Total voters
    93
Jovidah

Jovidah

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Wondering if I'm unique in my tastes. Personally... I just really don't care for damascus. It's not just that I don't care for it because it's purely aesthethics and not functional (on most knives).... I don't even care for the aesthethic at this point. Maybe I've just been turned off by it because it started to show up on just about every entry level garbage knife at this point... so it gets ruined by association, who knows. But at this point I probably even prefer bog standard factory belt finish over a damascus.
The only thing that occasionally tickles my fancy is well-executed feather damascus.

Am I alone in this preference?
 
Nay.

My knives are more tools than drawer queens and trying to preserve a finish is just not in the cards with the time I have, plus the Damascus draws too much attention in a professional setting and can cause a knife to grow legs and disappear if you're in a kitchen with a lot of turnover or stagiairs.
 
Mostly agree with this. I like feather dammy (especially Joe Schrum's, like the one below) but can't justify paying the premium for those pieces. Sometimes topographic, twist, or very high or low layer patterns will catch my eye--typically ones that look more organic. A lot of the more regular ones e.g. most of the stuff Damasteel does just doesn't appeal at all.

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Depends on the maker. 90% of them I really dislike. Shig, Rader and Kato are exceptions and dammy versions from those makers I would acquire if the prices were not so crazy.
 
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I quite like the aesthetic but not nearly enough to justify the downsides.

Unless it's a wide bevel, fancy blade finishes make thinning a real pain, as the whole blade will need to be refinished. To be fair, all non wide bevels need refinishing after thinning but standard satin or migaki finished knives are much easier to put a decent approximation of the originalfinish on.

This tends to discourage any thinning, let alone maintenance thinning, so the knife can quickly become a sub-optimal performer.
 
Yay all the way!

All jokes aside, I’m not a fan of factory produced Damascus (I.e, Shun), but really enjoy seeing what individual makers are capable of producing. If we‘re honest, most of us here are collectors to some degree. If performance was the only driving criteria, I would have stopped at a Ryusen Blazen 240 (and wouldn’t have multiple 240 gyutos) but it’s fun to try all the different makers, steels, grinds, etc.

I view Damascus as another place for the maker to showcase their skill and what they are capable of—just like a fancy handle or wrought cladding. For guys like Joe and @DevinT, it shows how wildly talented they are, and that talent and ability also comes through in their grinds, profile, and heat treats, so I’m a big fan of Damascus from the top makers and appreciate all the work that goes into it. For example, the multi-bar twist in the last @Xerxes drop was a masterpiece, and showed forging skills few can replicate. Same for any of Devin’s stainless damascus—very few makers who can pull that off period, much less with the array of patterns he offers.

That being said, while I use all my knives, I also really enjoy a pure, monosteel work horse and will gravitate to those for knives that I know I’m going to use hard and sharpen regularly—trying to get my hands on a magnacut monosteel from Devin for just that reason.

On a related note, I’d be curious to know how many people are on the wrought clad bandwagon and big into polishing, but don‘t like Damascus, as i think all the arguments against damascus apply equally to wrought cladding and polishing.

In the end, I like them all and enjoy all the different variations and focuses, which has made this a very expensive hobby 😂
 
I'm not one to yuk another's yum, that's what reddit is for... but while I was initially taken in by damascus, at some point I just got over it and was no longer interested. My first purchase of a Japanese knife since I hung up my pro chef hat in 2009 was a damascus, purchased not long after the onset of the covid plague. I still have it, my daughters would be heartbroken if I let it go, so it will end up with one of them one day and I'll probably buy the other one too. I did pick up a Masakage Shimo at some point, it had a very unusual damascus pattern, very subtle and sublime, but I let that go a while back.
Here is a pic of that first one, a Shiki Black Dragon made by Masui Hiroaki, it is also a very decent performer when the going gets choppity chop.
shiki-1.jpg
 
For me,
Bad:
67 layer AliExpress vg10
Stainless damascus (except Yoshikane black and takamura)
Super high contrast etched
Super geometric patterns (including feather, ladder, or super low layer heavy contrast)

Good:
Twisted or random-ish pattern
Carbon non etched or lightly etched dammy
KU dammy
Takamura
 
a few months ago I’d vote yay, now with experience with the stuff my vote is nay with the cadveat being unless you get the high end performance Damascus like a powder metallurgy mix made by a masochist, or damasteel.

The standard stuff that folks tend to forge by hand just seems to be run so soft you have to touch it up or strop it everyday to maintain a nail biting edge. Just isn’t worth it.

I’m also a sucker for a fine feather pattern though
 
I guess I fall in the 'yay' category ... in my defense it took me > 10 years to get the Devin Bubblewrap I had so "desperately" needed after seeing one on his web site ... but then couldn't find/buy one ... so I looked in other directions but then voila DT was back in the saddle (which is fantastic on so many levels).

Left to right; Devin's, Haburn's, Artificery, Maumasi, Halcyon, Dalman and Tansu ... All stainless ...

IMG_0491.JPG
IMG_0492.JPG
IMG_0493.JPG
 
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MontezumaBoy said:
I guess I fall in the 'yay' category ... in my defense it took me > 10 years to get the Devin Bubblewrap I had so "desperately" needed after seeing one on his web site ... but then couldn't find/buy one ... so I looked in other directions but then voila DT was back in the saddle (which is fantastic at so many levels).

Left to right; Devin's, Haburn's, Artificery, Maumasi, Halcyon, Dalman and Tansu ... All stainless ...

View attachment 263385View attachment 263386View attachment 263387
Click to expand...
Holy smokes. That is quite the collection. Please let me know if any of those Devins or Haburns are ever looking for a new home. Two of my favorite makers and hard to come by.
 
Definitely a yay from me. Although I’m more on the lookout for specific or unique types of damascus these days. I should be checking off the lazy twist box shortly with a Henry Hyde, although if my number ever comes up with Milan I’ll be asking him for a deep etch lazy twist.

I’m currently keeping an eye out for a feather pattern that I can actually afford, as they seem to run pretty steep.

For my real workhorses though, i.e. the knives I grab regularly, those are not damascus. The fancy knives I grab every once in a while, but it’s more of an occasion and conscious decision when I do. So I won’t really need to worry about thinning any of them of them for many years.
 
Hard nay for me. Just has never interested me. I have a simunigashi petty just because I fell like I should have some representation of pattern welded steel in my collection, but I hardly ever use it and never had the desire to own any other Damascus.
 
You're just complaining because you have not used the pinnacle of the art, the Pakistan gas station Damascus.

Seriously, I think a lot of Damascus looks cool, but I know it's not for me, because I would ugly it up. It seems aimed at someone who would treat it like art, not turn it into a well-used tool.

Exception: I picked up a Toyama Damascus, because it was subtle and it would be easy to not even notice it was Damascus unless you looked closely. That kind of subtlety appeals more to me than flash.
 
MontezumaBoy said:
I guess I fall in the 'yay' category ... in my defense it took me > 10 years to get the Devin Bubblewrap I had so "desperately" needed after seeing one on his web site ... but then couldn't find/buy one ... so I looked in other directions but then voila DT was back in the saddle (which is fantastic at so many levels).

Left to right; Devin's, Haburn's, Artificery, Maumasi, Halcyon, Dalman and Tansu ... All stainless ...

View attachment 263385View attachment 263386View attachment 263387
Click to expand...
There is an obscene amount of high level craftsmanship in this photo. Absurdly cool collection. Yet… it doesn’t stir my longing in the same way other stuff does.
 
Personally I like a nice damascus pattern. I wouldn't want to pay too much extra for it in lieu of other things that could better improve a particular knife's performance though.

With that said I can definitely agree with a lot of the criticisms. A lot of the hype around it has been marketing driven to get people to pay more for knives, possibly not knowing that they overpaid. If they just love the look and are willing to pay more for it, great. But the internet is full of questions from people asking "Is damascus sharper? Does damascus last longer? Damascus steel vs Stainless steel, which is better?" etc. definitely imply a lot of uninformed buyers thinking their knife will outright perform better because of damascus, in the same way that the master sword in Zelda is a flat upgrade over the early swords. Even the term "damascus" as is it currently used really originated as a marketing term, I know some of the more pedantic folks will insist that most of what we call damascus today isn't, and that the real damascus is a very specific steel.

The ones that go all the way down to the edge like timebard posted are my favorites, especially w/ the feather pattern.
 
MontezumaBoy said:
I guess I fall in the 'yay' category ... in my defense it took me > 10 years to get the Devin Bubblewrap I had so "desperately" needed after seeing one on his web site ... but then couldn't find/buy one ... so I looked in other directions but then voila DT was back in the saddle (which is fantastic at so many levels).

Left to right; Devin's, Haburn's, Artificery, Maumasi, Halcyon, Dalman and Tansu ... All stainless ...

View attachment 263385View attachment 263386View attachment 263387
Click to expand...
How do you feel about the artificery? Been considering liquidating most of the collection to go that route since he’s one of the ones doing the performance stainless Damascus
 
SwampDonkey said:
Generally a nay, but I enjoy this Shiro Kamo carbon dammy. It's relatively subtle and plays nicely with the patina and doesn't have any drag like other damascus. I definitely don't care for the overly geometric or heavily etched ones

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New before patina
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Alright, I'm gonna admit that I actually like that one, especially with the blue patina very visible. First damascus knife I've seen that doesn't make me think meh!
 
Mytola said:
Alright, I'm gonna admit that I actually like that one, especially with the blue patina very visible. First damascus knife I've seen that doesn't make me think meh!
Click to expand...
I like it only with the patina! Then it actually is stunning. From the looks of the pristine one I wouldn't have expected such a beauty to reveal.
 
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