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Ed Caffrey's Workshop Talk to Ed Caffrey ... The Montana Bladesmith! Tips, tricks and more from an ABS Mastersmith.

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  #1  
Old 08-21-2008, 08:29 PM
Cory O Cory O is offline
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Damascus?

Will Damascus outperform a piece of 52100, 1084, or say 5160? What sells the Damascus knives, the looks of the blade, or the thought of the Damascus blade being more Superior?

Thanks
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  #2  
Old 08-22-2008, 08:39 AM
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Ed Caffrey Ed Caffrey is offline
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If its created correctly, damascus will be no better or no worse than the base materials as far as cutting, strength, and durability. The issue arises of it being "created correctly"....there is a lot of damascus steel out there, and I would estimate that at least 1/2 of it isn't nearly as good from a using standpoint as it could be. The reasons can range anywhere from an individual maker's lack of knowledge/experience, to some who really don't even care how it performs.

The second reason is one of the main reasons that the ABS does not allow any damascus on JS test knives. The second year that I judged the JS level at the blade show, we had an individual who presented 3 of his 5 knives in damascus.....all the damascus blades had cold shuts, and were otherwise just poorly made. When we brought him into the testing room and told him that we were sorry, but he did not pass, all he could say is.... "But that's Damascus!", "I made Damascus!" It took all I had not to tell him that Yes, that might be damascus, but it's crap damascus. This guy raised such a fuss, and due to similar incidents in the past, shortly there after the JS rules were amended to state that NO DAMASCUS could be used on JS test knives.

The point being that just because its Damascus, doesn't make it any better than straight steels.....and in many cases, because of the makers lack of knowledge, or lack of caring, it is much worse.

What sells a Damascus knife? When properly produced, with the correct materials, damascus will perform just as well as any other blade. The visual impact of the pattern is "value added" in my opinion. Not only does the customer have a quality working tool, but something that is also visually striking.
Its sort of like buying a sports car with a custom paint job on it.....the paint job doesn't make it go any faster, doesn't give it more power, nor does it make the ride more comfortable......(all those things come from the mechanics of the vehicle, just as many aspects of a knife are achieved through it's mechanics) but it can be visually striking, and often times you will receive compliments on it.... making you proud of it.

From a maker's point of view, its challenging, especially when you get into Mosaics. For me it's kept my desire and interest going for all these years. Not only do I have fun each and every day in the shop, I'm always learning something new, and most of the time I can turn out a product that I'm very pleased to say that I made.


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Old 09-03-2008, 03:52 PM
deker deker is offline
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Quote:
Originally Posted by Ed Caffrey
The second reason is one of the main reasons that the ABS does not allow any damascus on JS test knives. The second year that I judged the JS level at the blade show, we had an individual who presented 3 of his 5 knives in damascus.....all the damascus blades had cold shuts, and were otherwise just poorly made. When we brought him into the testing room and told him that we were sorry, but he did not pass, all he could say is.... "But that's Damascus!", "I made Damascus!" It took all I had not to tell him that Yes, that might be damascus, but it's crap damascus. This guy raised such a fuss, and due to similar incidents in the past, shortly there after the JS rules were amended to state that NO DAMASCUS could be used on JS test knives.
Huh, I didn't realize that was a more recent addition. Kind of stinks from my perspective since I really enjoy working with pattern welded steel and I'm going for my JS in a couple of years. To my way of thinking it should fall under the same "we'll judge whatever you put on the table" mindset. No matter what it is, if it's not executed well it can fail you. Just like I wouldn't put filework on a test knife unless I was certain I could do it properly, I wouldn't put damascus in a test knife unless it was up to snuff. Oh well, boring steel for me for a little while longer...not that it'll stop me from working with the 20-30lbs of welded billets sitting in the shop though

Thanks for the story Ed.

-d
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Old 09-03-2008, 04:15 PM
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Ed Caffrey Ed Caffrey is offline
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Glad you got to see that one D! It would be a real bummer is you didn't find that out until you had test knives made.

It got so bad at the JS level, with people presenting "crap" damascus, that the rule was bound to change sooner or later.


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Old 09-03-2008, 09:05 PM
deker deker is offline
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Originally Posted by Ed Caffrey
Glad you got to see that one D! It would be a real bummer is you didn't find that out until you had test knives made.

It got so bad at the JS level, with people presenting "crap" damascus, that the rule was bound to change sooner or later.
Oh, I know the rules, but your story made me want to comment. I really think it's sad that people whining because they did something "special" poorly and weren't rewarded for it has caused the rest of us to be limited in the materials and procedures we can use. I had thought that the current rules were "just the way it's always been", kind of makes me sad to hear the reasoning behind the current rules.

-d
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