ButchyBear
Gold Member
- Joined
- Apr 20, 2024
- Messages
- 3
Hello,
I am am new to the forum, not to knoves, blades, steel, etc. I was browsing some posts about Damascus Steel vs S30V and other alloys. What I feel people are forgetting is the reason Damascus Steel was made. It was long ago, they had some metallurgy figured out. They could not make an all purpose alloy, so they took multiple alloys with fewer ingredients, then layered them to try to get the alloys with the properties they wanted in the area of the blade they wanted them in. The Samurai are famous for there 3 layer sword steel. One mix for the hari-kari sword, of which. I have an original from the 1920's it is thicker than a Katana, less flexible, outsides are thick and stiff, rather rust resistant, center layer is high carbon alloy, very hard, brittle, will hold a properly cated for edge for many years. I can shave with mine, it was last sharpened by an actual Samurai before WWII. It has a small copper handled dagger that's razor sharp as well.
Back to Damascus, real Damascus is a special mix of alloys and it's making is more art than anything. Any steel can be folded and layered as hardened. A Damascus like product can be made out of pure S30V, or layered with SV10. S30V in more brittle, like carbide, SV10 is slightly softer, more valuable, less apt to chip, won't hold edge as long as S30V. The two would make a great hari-kari sword. A Katana will have a razor hard center with ether thin flexible outsides. So there is at more to real Damascus than layering and hardening/tempering.
I have an open question: I own mid 1800's side by side drilling with Damascus barrels. Is it too old to ever be fired safely again? It has percussion caps and is barrel loaded, one rifled barrel one smooth like all drillings, just side-by-side.
Nice to be here! Hello to.all!
Brian, aka ButchyBear
I am am new to the forum, not to knoves, blades, steel, etc. I was browsing some posts about Damascus Steel vs S30V and other alloys. What I feel people are forgetting is the reason Damascus Steel was made. It was long ago, they had some metallurgy figured out. They could not make an all purpose alloy, so they took multiple alloys with fewer ingredients, then layered them to try to get the alloys with the properties they wanted in the area of the blade they wanted them in. The Samurai are famous for there 3 layer sword steel. One mix for the hari-kari sword, of which. I have an original from the 1920's it is thicker than a Katana, less flexible, outsides are thick and stiff, rather rust resistant, center layer is high carbon alloy, very hard, brittle, will hold a properly cated for edge for many years. I can shave with mine, it was last sharpened by an actual Samurai before WWII. It has a small copper handled dagger that's razor sharp as well.
Back to Damascus, real Damascus is a special mix of alloys and it's making is more art than anything. Any steel can be folded and layered as hardened. A Damascus like product can be made out of pure S30V, or layered with SV10. S30V in more brittle, like carbide, SV10 is slightly softer, more valuable, less apt to chip, won't hold edge as long as S30V. The two would make a great hari-kari sword. A Katana will have a razor hard center with ether thin flexible outsides. So there is at more to real Damascus than layering and hardening/tempering.
I have an open question: I own mid 1800's side by side drilling with Damascus barrels. Is it too old to ever be fired safely again? It has percussion caps and is barrel loaded, one rifled barrel one smooth like all drillings, just side-by-side.
Nice to be here! Hello to.all!
Brian, aka ButchyBear
