Damascus Knife Blade

Paul Harm · 10-01-2012, 10:58 AM

Smokey Mountain Knives advertise any of their knives made in the USA with a little sign. Not many compinies left. Case makes them in the USA. Remington makes some here, some in China. Carbon steel knives seem to hold an edge better than stainless. Any knife worth a damn will have a Rockwell hardness on the C scale between 58 and 60. Too low, say 54 or less and they will sharpen real easy but won't hold an edge. Too high, say 63, and they will chip if something like bone is hit. If a knife company doesn't have a good heat treat department you could get a bad or good knife. Years ago I went to the American Bladesmith Societys bladesmithing school. We learned to " differential harden" a knife - just the bottom half of the knife was hard - or the edge half - the spline half was soft. One of their test was to put the knife in a vise and bend it 90 degrees without it breaking more than 1/2 way through. To check the edge you could put a 1/4" piece of round brass rod in a vise and put the edge on it, on it's side. With enough hand pressure the edge will bend and when you let up should go back to where it was. This first test showed you knew how to harden and temper a blade, the second test showed the blade was hard enough, but not so hard that it would chip. Most of the damascus blades you see today are made in China. Five years ago a damascus knife made in the US by a bladesmith would cost $100 a inch or higher. At least .6 % carbon content in the steel is needed for a knife to hold a edge. If the combination of both steels in a damascus knife isn't above that you'll have a pretty knive that doesn't hold an edge. Most makers use something higher, around .8 to 1%. A file made in the US has about 1.25% and that's why if heat treated properly after being made into a knife they really hold a great edge. If it's easy to sharpen a knife, the quicker it'll dull. Harder to sharpen, the longer it'll hold it's edge. Steve, I could make a sheath for your knife, but it would probably cost you more than you paid for the knife.