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Knives off etsy?

Will Batayte

Will Batayte

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Anyone know anything about these "handmade" knives off etsy? There are a ton of different damascus and regular knives all over that site. Some are obviously the real deal. Custom knives made by little known smiths and makers. Then you see other ones that look like the price should be a couple grand and they're $100. From the pics they look great but I wonder how sloppy they are up close. one particular knife had raindrop damascus blade and guard and a walnut burl coffin handle. Steel was listed as 1095 damascus. I almost want to grab one just for the hell of it to see what the quality is like. I mean if it is really 1095 and burl it may be finished up real nice if someone takes the time to do it. My guess is they're 3rd world made. Anyone have any first hand knollege?
 
I only know it's a place where crafts are sold by the makers.My Wife said I should sell some metal crafts I do sometimes there,told her NAW.Crafts from all over the world from what I was told.
 
Yeah that's the impression I got too. But I'm just kinda amazed at some of the stuff on there for super cheap.
 
I never really looked at the knives but did see some pretty cool crafts. Looked like a cyber crafts fair.:D
 
From what I understand it has been opened up to commercial items. I guess anything goes there now.

Tom
 
Yrah when I saw it said actual item may differ from the one shown on that damascus coffin handle bowie I figured it was mass produced. Some part of me still wants to buy one lol and see what I can do in my shop with it
 
Knives of dubious quality being sold by a person of dubious moral character out to make a quick Rupee.(IMO)
If it looks too good to be true then it almost always is.
I wonder what the other steel is used in the damascus & how the F&F is.
 
Here's a pic of the one I've been talking about.
il_570xN590619820_oln0.jpg

Sure as hell looks nice but yeah I imagine if the materials are what they say then thr only thing left to cut corners on is fit and finish.
 
Then again fit and finish can be improved with a little tlc. Look at the svord peasent. Good materials abysmal fit and finish. But people still buy em just to fix em
 
If you blow the pic way up you can see it looks a touch rough around the edges. But some time on the grinder and a refinsh and that could be made to be perfect
 
I would be careful about anything you want to purchase there. A lot of the damascus stuff you see on etsy and ebay comes from Pakistan. It's hard to say what they are actually using to make it with, and if it's been properly treated. Always ask the seller specific questions.

I saw one damascus kukri style blade on etsy from a US based seller. It looked to good to be true, so I sent the guy a message. He said that he had them made in Pakistan, and that they were "512 layers of 15N20 & 1095 carbon steel, hardened to 56-58 HRC", and that "no two blades were the same". However, if you look at his past sales, the same knife was sold over and over, using the same picture, with the exact same pattern in the blade. I would be very wary of buying it. I saw something similar on ebay, from a seller located in Pakistan, and sent the same message. I never heard anything back from them.

There are a few places in the US that make really good damascus blades. You can buy blade blanks from http://www.alabamadamascussteel.com for a reasonable price. At least you know what you will be getting.
 
It's more curiosity then anything else. I just wonder what exactly you end up with for $100.
 
You never know. That kukri I mentioned on etsy was only $79, had a 14" blade with horn handle and a nice looking sheath. I'm still really tempted sometimes, but that's a little too much for me to spend at the moment without knowing exactly what I am getting. I still find myself looking at it a couple of times a week.
 
It's a pretty picture of a knife alright, but the fact that the seller won't show a pic of the actual knife you'll get should be a HUGE RED FLAG .

Good luck & have fun with it if you decide to get it Will.
 
mykel m said:
It's a pretty picture of a knife alright, but the fact that the seller won't show a pic of the actual knife you'll get should be a HUGE RED FLAG .

Good luck & have fun with it if you decide to get it Will.
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Exactly. The cost wouldn't bother me so much if I had the spare cash, but buying an unknown quality item is what is really holding me back. Still though.....it's so purty!!! :)


(just kidding)
 
karmatso said:
Exactly. The cost wouldn't bother me so much if I had the spare cash, but buying an unknown quality item is what is really holding me back. Still though.....it's so purty!!! :)


(just kidding)
Click to expand...
Yeah,it just doesn't make sense to buy one of those questionable knives when you can get a good blank & with basic skills throw a handle on it.
 
I've made a few non-knife purchases on Etsy and had good results. Looked at some of the knives and came to the same conclusion as most others who have responded. Mostly Pakistani and Chinese knives. Though if I was 14 years old I'd love to have several that I've seen. Hell, I have some knives I bought at flea markets when I was younger that would make Darth Vader proud.
 
Yeah I definately bought a few paki bowies and stuff as a teen. I just figured that maybe after 20 years of advancement that maybe the got a little better. I mean I knew they'd be no busse or anything. But you'd think that there might be one or two smiths even in pakastan that have learned to make a usable blade. I mean look at the stuff out of Nepal and the Philippines. These guys sre using very basic tools still but are making some damn good blades.
 
Will Batayte said:
Anyone know anything about these "handmade" knives off etsy? There are a ton of different damascus and regular knives all over that site. Some are obviously the real deal. Custom knives made by little known smiths and makers. Then you see other ones that look like the price should be a couple grand and they're $100. From the pics they look great but I wonder how sloppy they are up close. one particular knife had raindrop damascus blade and guard and a walnut burl coffin handle. Steel was listed as 1095 damascus. I almost want to grab one just for the hell of it to see what the quality is like. I mean if it is really 1095 and burl it may be finished up real nice if someone takes the time to do it. My guess is they're 3rd world made. Anyone have any first hand knollege?
Click to expand...
I've been looking at these so-called D2 & Damascus fixed blades on Etsy, mainly Bowie knives. So many of them look exactly the same as cheap, brand name, stainless steel Bowie knives, that cost $20-$35 on Amazon. I would not trust anything on Etsy, when it comes to knives. Some Pakistani knives are actually decent, with decent steel. But, they're dirt cheap on Amazon, and the same exact knife is $100-$200 on Etsy. You can always tell a cheap knife by the sheath. If the strap goes over the blade side of the guard, it's cheap. No reputable knife manufacturers make leather sheaths that way. I'd bet good money that the majority of these knives are distributed by SZCO. For example, the ubiquitous Timber Rattler Western Outlaw Bowie is about $35-$40 on Amazon. It's the EXACT same knife as the SZCO Sable Bowie. I bought both of them to compare. They're identical. The Timber Rattler just says "Timber Rattler" on the sheath. Otherwise, the sheaths were identical. They actually aren't bad knives. They say they're stainless steel, but they're not. They're made if some sort of Pakistani steel, that's actually pretty tough, but it will rust. I've seen those exact same knives on Etsy for $100+. I returned both the Timber Rattler Western Outlaw, and the SZCO Sable Bowie. They aren't bad knives, by the balance is terrible. They're extremely handle-heavy, which isn't what I want in a Bowie knife. I've also seen the $20 SZCO High Carbon Bowie (a W49 clone), priced at above $100 on Etsy. I think I'll stick to the reputable brands.
 
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