Anyone buy damascus steel knife blanks

[clovishound]

I'm thinking about dipping my toes in the "knife making" pool. Actually, it would just be an extension of woodworking. I see lots of companies sell knife "blanks", which are completed knives without a handle. I really like the look of the damascus steel blades, and have considered getting one and trying my hand at adding the handle.

I see a lot of the damascus blanks are made in Pakistan, and reviews are mixed, prices are often quite low. There are several sources for American made blanks. The prices aren't cheap, but I assume that quality is much more consistent. I have been looking at some from Alabama Damascus.

Anyone have experience with putting a handle on a knife, damascus steel blades, or companies that sell the damascus blanks?

I've done enough research online to know some of the basics of the handle making process, and some of the advantages/disadvantages of HCS damascus blades. Any views on the subject would be appreciated. I'm toying with the idea of eventually putting together a hunting knife for my buddy as a Christmas present. I may try making a kitchen knife, maybe just a small utility knife for myself as a test bed.

[JEBar]

that should be interesting .... looking forward to following your efforts

[BrokenolMarine]

I made a very nice kitchen knife from a damascus kit from woodcraft for Tina, it's two years old now and still her go to knife in the kitchen when the size is right. I got an email a couple days ago showing both single knives and kitchen sets on sale. German Damascus in particular.

[BrokenolMarine]

I think the build along might be here under hobbies.

http://henryrifleforums.com/viewtopic.php?f=56&t=3917

Two Woodcraft kits in the buildalong.
I've got several kits in the shop waiting, but had no time since the move. I need to do one with cocobolo scales to match new grips for the .45.

[needsmostuff]

I have been rehandling things for years and a real habit of doing knives. So , here's some thoughts.
Buying finished blades and even more so kits will border on buying a completed knife pricewise and still don't have a sheath. A fine product can be the result if that is what you are looking for.
My suggestion is look around you for some first projects. Kitchen or butcher knives with cracked or warped wood, tired ole hunting knives with split stag or even cheap Chinese knives picked up solely to de-handle and re-handle. Nice wood is easy enough to source and no need on exhibition grade stuff while getting your feet wet. Learn your rivets and epoxys.
Start slow , be fearless, but you will make a few mistakes. You will know when it is time to get to the next step.
Beware , it is a rabbit hole that will lead to pistol grips (no revolver will be safe around you) , making whole knives , stockpiling cool handle materials and tools ,,,,really cool tools.

[Travlin]

I was given a very nice custom made laminated steel blade hunting knife with a heavy leather sheath all with Masonic emblems on the handle and sheath by one of the Brothers that I helped get through his degree work. I checked on it and found that it was a lot more knife than I could have ever furnished myself.

[GunnyGene]

I have been rehandling things for years and a real habit of doing knives. So , here's some thoughts.
Buying finished blades and even more so kits will border on buying a completed knife pricewise and still don't have a sheath. A fine product can be the result if that is what you are looking for.
My suggestion is look around you for some first projects. Kitchen or butcher knives with cracked or warped wood, tired ole hunting knives with split stag or even cheap Chinese knives picked up solely to de-handle and re-handle. Nice wood is easy enough to source and no need on exhibition grade stuff while getting your feet wet. Learn your rivets and epoxys.
Start slow , be fearless, but you will make a few mistakes. You will know when it is time to get to the next step.
Beware , it is a rabbit hole that will lead to pistol grips (no revolver will be safe around you) , making whole knives , stockpiling cool handle materials and tools ,,,,really cool tools.

Yep. I trod that path for a few years. I sometimes made wood sheaths. Here's one I did for a young boy a few years ago. I had access to a laser for engraving at the time. Just to stir his imagination on the possibilities:

Some fancy walnut I had on hand. Small magnets are embedded inside the sheath to retain the blade.



And a couple folders. One ebony, one rosewood.

[clovishound]

I have been rehandling things for years and a real habit of doing knives. So , here's some thoughts.
Buying finished blades and even more so kits will border on buying a completed knife pricewise and still don't have a sheath. A fine product can be the result if that is what you are looking for.
My suggestion is look around you for some first projects. Kitchen or butcher knives with cracked or warped wood, tired ole hunting knives with split stag or even cheap Chinese knives picked up solely to de-handle and re-handle. Nice wood is easy enough to source and no need on exhibition grade stuff while getting your feet wet. Learn your rivets and epoxys.
Start slow , be fearless, but you will make a few mistakes. You will know when it is time to get to the next step.
Beware , it is a rabbit hole that will lead to pistol grips (no revolver will be safe around you) , making whole knives , stockpiling cool handle materials and tools ,,,,really cool tools.

I'm not looking to save money here. I understand that the complete knife blanks run about as much as a complete knife. I've thought about locating an older knife that needed a handle. Wood is no problem. I have lots of scraps and small pieces of really nice wood in my shop, as well as some of the tools necessary to work on a handle. I've been down the rabbit hole before buying old hand planes and rehabbing them. I ended up buying a small lathe to be able to make plane knobs and chisel handles with and went down another rabbit hole years back.

In other news, I talked to my buddy yesterday about damascus steel knives, and decided that it would not make a good gift for him. He prefers more practical blades.

[clovishound]

Update, I decided to order the damascus steel Santoku kit and put a handle on it for the Pup. She really likes the small Santoku she got a couple years ago, but is unhappy with how long it holds an edge. It's hard to find the smaller Santokus. I got it in yesterday and found that a small piece of bocote I had will just fit the handle. I went ahead and resawed the blank and trued the scales up. Now I have to decided whether to use the two piece rivets that come with the kit, or buy some brass rod and use that. I think I like the looks of the brass pins better, and they are perhaps a little less finicky to prep than the rivets. I'll post a pic when I finish.

I couldn't resist putting an edge on it right away. Still needs a little work, but will shave now. Nice looking blade. The stainless steel damascus isn't as pretty as the high carbon steel, but I doubt she would be happy with a HCS blade for cooking.

[JEBar]

PICTURES !!!!

[dave77]

FYI, this site has some high end damascus 5" Santoku's but they're pretty pricey.
https://www.williams-sonoma.com/shop/cu ... &isx=0.0.0

I've had my Zelite Infinity Santoku for a couple of years now and have been quite happy with it, holds it's edge very well, it is due for a good stone sharpening but I mostly just have to give it a quick touch-up with my ceramic rod. I acually use my Damascus paring knife more than the Santoku.

https://zelite.com/product/executive-pl ... oku-knife/

https://zelite.com/product/executive-pl ... ing-knife/

Ran across this one when I was looking and it looks interesting, may have to order one, it's not terribly expensive.

https://zelite.com/product/alpha-royal- ... uki-knife/

Looking forward to seeing your completed Santoku.

[needsmostuff]

Now I have to decided whether to use the two piece rivets that come with the kit, or buy some brass rod and use that. I think I like the looks of the brass pins better, and they are perhaps a little less finicky to prep than the rivets.

I use a lot of brass pins. When properly prepped , fit and epoxied I have never had a failure.
Rivets can want to go wonkey sideways.

[clovishound]

Do you use a taper ream to put a slight taper in the holes and then peen them to get a good mechanical lock, or just epoxy them in as is?

[clovishound]

Here it is. I thought about taking some pictures while I was going through the process, but got caught up in putting it together. It was a lot more work than I thought. They make it look so easy on the vids. I had to do a lot of fiddling in the fitting. That was mainly because I had such a small blank. If I were working with larger scale blanks, it would have gone quicker. A stationary belt sander would have made the process much quicker as well. I ended up using scrapers and a very sharp chisel, besides a lot of sandpaper.

I may make another one or two. I really like the knife, and would love to see one made with bloodwood. I really love that wood for a lot of smaller stuf and accents.

knife.jpg

[CT_Shooter]

Here it is.

Beautiful work. I love the wood grain and stain. Thanks for sharing it with us.

[BrokenolMarine]

Woodcraft sells some really cool mosaic pins for the knives... I might break down and order some. I have seen them in a couple finished knives, they look sharp if you choose wisely.

https://www.woodcraft.com/products/mosa ... -x-4-23-32

Of course they come in various designs and thicknesses.

[clovishound]

I thought about getting some of the mosaic pins. I decided I would rather have something I could peen. I even got a taper ream so I could enlarge the opening to the bores to give a dovetail effect to the peened pins.

[clovishound]

Sorry, did a quote instead of an edit and a duplicate was posted. Now it won't let me delete it.

[clovishound]

Well, I'm going to do one of these in the chef knife for my buddy. That is if I can ever get the kit delivered. I've decided to use some wenge I had forgotten I had, and then found in the shop while I was looking for the bocote I knew I had. I eventually found the bocote as well, but it may be a little on the short side, unless I decide to use it with the grain running side to side rather than in line with the blade.

I actually think the wenge should look great. I am experimenting with doing a quick and dirty stabilization, even though this wood shouldn't really need it. I'm soaking the blanks in wood hardener then letting them dry prior to mounting and working them. I tried it out on a small piece and I think it will really improve the water resistance of the wood.

Will post a pic with the results once I finally get the blank in.

Edited to add, I got the blank in today and got started on it. Will probably take a few days to complete. I have to wait for glue to cure, and time is at a premium right now. I should be able to get it done before Christmas, if I don't run into any snags.

[clovishound]

Well, I finished the knife for my buddy just in time. I will give it to him tomorrow.

Had some issues, and it's not perfect, but I don't have the time or patience right now to deal with them. I really messed up on the first one I did, but the second blank came in Sat, so I just started from scratch on the new blank. The imperfactions on this one are rather minor, and I can fix them later, if I can get my buddy to give it back to me for a day or so. I'll fix the knife I made the first go round at my leisure. I messed up the brass pins, and will either have to try and drill them out and replace with a larger size, or skin it and start from scratch. Unfortunately, I used the last of the wenge for this one.

knifeb.jpg

knifea.JPG

I did a quick sharpen on my buddy's knife and tested it out on a tomato, WOW, falls right through it. It is a much stiffer blade and a lot heavier than the knife I use most of the time, but I think I will really like it. Yes, the second blank is for me.