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#1 |
Member
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Room 101, Glos. UK
Posts: 4,238
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yup, you can change the dress, but it's the blade that counts most. bit like a keris... a US/PK or even a modern GB damascus blade just doesn't fit the stag & silver grip. i do like your 'bowie' carver tho.
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#2 | |
Member
Join Date: Nov 2010
Location: Wirral
Posts: 1,204
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#3 | |
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Join Date: Feb 2014
Posts: 22
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#4 |
Member
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: Austria
Posts: 1,911
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While spectacular in appearance almost all pattern welded blades coming from India or Pakistan have extremely poor mechanical properties making them rather unsuitable for cutting anything but... butter. But this is based on my observations, so I would like to hear othe oppinions as well.
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#5 | |
Member
Join Date: Mar 2006
Location: Room 101, Glos. UK
Posts: 4,238
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#6 |
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Join Date: May 2006
Posts: 7,047
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I do agree that the performance characteristics of some pattern welded steel are very inferior to those of good quality, properly forged and heat treated monosteel.
However, pattern welded steel that has been made by a competent smith, using good quality materials, and properly heat treated, can perform as well as modern monosteel in some applications, and in other applications can outperform modern monosteel. For example, if we use 01 (oil hardening steel #1) and either good quality wrought iron or a modern low carbon steel, say less than 0.05% carbon, as the foundation materials, the resultant mechanical damascus/pattern welded product will display superior cutting characteristics to the cutting characteristics of 01 used by itself for the same type of blade. Additionally, the 01+low carbon mechanical damascus will resist breakage better, can be straightened without reheating, and will be easier to resharpen than 01 used by itself. The characteristics of good quality mechanical damascus are most definitely not universally poor. Consider the past applications of mechanical damascus, for instance, gun barrels. Good quality mechanical damascus can be a thing of beauty, as well as a thing of very superior performance characteristics. It all depends on the material used and the skill of the craftsman who made it. |
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#7 |
Member
Join Date: Sep 2014
Location: Austria
Posts: 1,911
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I was referring strictly to the majority of pattern welded blades that come from India and Pakistan. And that is not necessarily because of the makers' poor skill, but because of the poor quality of the steels they use in the billet. Good steel doesn't come cheap and if they were to use good quality steels for their blades, they won't be able to keep the price that low.
I have seen superb quality pattern welded blades made in Japan, Sweden and many other countries. However, almost all pattern welded Indian /Pakistani blades on sale on eBay are crap.... from the mechanical point of view, but they look good and are dirt cheap. And buyer won't discover the mechanical properies of the blade until much later, after the buying process has been concluded. PS: Some Japanese pattern welded chef's knives are considered to be among the best in the world... but they cost a fortune. And in the case of a chef's knife the pattern weld serves to more than simple decoy as it prevents the cleaved food to stick to the blade. Last edited by mariusgmioc; 26th September 2017 at 02:07 PM. |
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