¿Stainless steel Damascus?

L

LimuHead

Joined
Jan 14, 2015
Messages
97
Hello All,

I've been curious about stainless steel Damascus since I first heard of it not too long ago.

I'm mainly curious if it serves well as blade steel, and how it compares to regular carbon steel Damascus.

Does anyone here have first hand experience with it?

Are there any websites or webpages that are worth reading?

Do you have any interesting things to say about it?

Thanks for any and all feedback!

Aldon
 
My only experience is the Boomerang Damascus on my Large Chris Reeve Sebenza. Fantastic, to sum it up.

Had the budget.
Hard use.

What is your budget?
What is your intended use?
 
Thanks for the feedback.

I'm mainly just curious about the steel and am considering trying something made with it for EDC.

Wanted to hear from folks here before actively looking for one.

I guess my range would be up to $150ish.

I'd like to try a folder for sure, but a knife with a ~3 inch fixed blade would also work.
 
I don't think you'll find stuff like Devin Thomas' damascus for under $150; usually that's around the upcharge for that damascus alone from the standard version of the knife. You could find stainless damascus within your price range from a company like Civivi, though. IIRC they use 10Cr15CoMoV, which is the Chinese equivalent of VG-10, so very serviceable for EDC. Also keep in mind that if you use it hard, the damascus pattern can fade and it's kind of a process to re-etch it.
 
Damasteel performs well
It use it is quite similar to 154CM so nothing to complain about for regular everyday use

If you have tasks that require specific characteristics from the steel you may get better performance from a specialized stainless steel

IMO if you have the budget, like the look of damasteel and has a “standard” use of you knife you should be fine with damasteel
 
$150 puts you in the realm of Civivi. They do well with their 9cr Damascus.


Damasteel is another beast entirely. Composed of RWL34 and PMC27. I love it, but it's pricey.
 
Pattern-welded stainless will perform kind of like an amalgam of the steels that go into it, unsurprisingly.

Damasteel is the big expensive one. That's different from most other options because A) it's made using particle metallurgy, the only stainless damascus so made right now since that's a big industrial process, and B) the steels are RWL34 and PMC27. The former is basically CPM154, the latter is basically 12C27, which is fairly similar to AEB-L. So those are both entirely good cutlery steels on their own.

Chad Nichols and Vegas Forge also make stainless damascus. Vegas Forge mainly uses 440C, AEB-L and 302. 302 is not hardenable in heat treat, so there's that. Chad also likes 440C, AEB-L, and adds pure nickel layers and 304 stainless. Now, that makes up the bulk of both of their stainless production, but I believe both also make other combinations of steels in much lesser quantities (3V, 154CM), but I never see any of that available anywhere. You might see billets of san mai with a high-alloy stainless core and a lower-alloy stainless damascus cladding.
 
It all depends on heat treatment , can be good or bad just like any other steel.
 
Thank you all for your responses.

I got a Civivi Qubit in the mail today! The green handled one is the only one with stainless Damascus so that's what I got.

Super thin flat ground blade, aluminum scales, plus a bottle opener.

It came scary sharp!

It'll take some time to see how the blade holds up, but I'm really happy with the purchase!
 
I wrote to Civivi's customer service earlier today, asking what types of steels were used for the Damascus blade and was surprised to receive an answer already.

Anyway, for the record here's their reply:

"Thank you so much for your email. We would like to share with you that this damascus is compound by 10Cr15CoMoV and 9Cr18MoV. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us."

So there's the answer!

p.s. To K.O.D.: That Odin's Eye Damasteel is gorgeous!
 
LimuHead said:
I wrote to Civivi's customer service earlier today, asking what types of steels were used for the Damascus blade and was surprised to receive an answer already.

Anyway, for the record here's their reply:

"Thank you so much for your email. We would like to share with you that this damascus is compound by 10Cr15CoMoV and 9Cr18MoV. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us."

So there's the answer!

p.s. To K.O.D.: That Odin's Eye Damasteel is gorgeous!
Click to expand...
Thanks, yeah I'd never seen it before, which is why I had the maker use it.

I had three Civivi's with Damascus, gave one to my 17 year old step-nephew and he's been using it a lot.
 
Here's some of Chad Nichols' Damascus
 

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LimuHead said:
I wrote to Civivi's customer service earlier today, asking what types of steels were used for the Damascus blade and was surprised to receive an answer already.

Anyway, for the record here's their reply:

"Thank you so much for your email. We would like to share with you that this damascus is compound by 10Cr15CoMoV and 9Cr18MoV. If you have any questions, please feel free to contact us."

So there's the answer!
Click to expand...

Glad you got the answer. not all companies disclose the combination used in their Damascus. Civivi has good customer service overall.

Both of those are decent budget steels on their own. As Tsujigiri Tsujigiri already mentioned, 10Cr15CoMov is a Chinese analog of VG-10. The more stainless 9Cr18Mov is a good partner here. This combination seems to be the sweet spot for affordable Damascus and they probably do the best heat treatment you'll find for it.

Here is one of my favorites:

IGSfpQy.jpeg
 
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