And this is why you don't buy Crapmascus

I used to wander past these guys at our local gun show claiming they forged these themselves.

I'd wait for when they had a handful of people listening to their lies and then squeeze into the middle of the flock and pick up something they'd just been touting and peel the edge off with a Swiss Army knife. Nice long ribbon along the full edge in one curl. "Gosh, heat treat musta not took!" and wander off.

Now I just say "The Pakistani guy over there has them cheaper."
 
Is made out of lead or bismuth?

They should've chopped it in half, wonder how hard they hit it.
 
When I’m high school, a buddy bought a large assortment of Pakistani Damascus that were very interesting in the looks department. We were camping one night and he popped out his Pakistan Viking axe to limb an old deadfall to throw the small stuff on the fire. That lasted all of 2 swings before we were headed to the ER for stitches. It cut blue jeans and legs like crazy, but it wasn’t much for cutting wood. Snapped from edge to spine and got him pretty good.
 
I was in the local knife shop when a customer brought in a set to be sharpened. At a distance they looked really nice, up close....brrr. The customer left them and would return in an hour. When the customer returned he asked him about the knives and if he worked in a pro kitchen. He felt he got a great deal because they were priced at $1K and he bought them for $400. The shop owner said that if he paid $1K he got ripped, at $400 he still was taken but it wasn't as bad. He educated him nicely about steel, heat treat, what to look for in fit and such by showing him a variety of kitchen cutlery in his shop. Those import knives will cut but not anything that will take daily use and if he was a pro chef he had some suggestions for knives that would be efficient.

After the customer left he said the best part of the knife deal was the roll they included to carry the knives. LOL
 
I've watched videos of some of that "damascus" being made and it's no wonder it's garbage. Display use only...
 
Soft, unhardened steel and, based on some of the videos I've watched, not forge welded properly. Expect it to delaminate under flexing stress or impact and expect really poor edge-holding characteristics.

Bet it's easy to sharpen though! 😁
 
The whole world has gone damascus crazy in last several years. And the market is flooded with super cheap pretty pos damascus blades. I've had a couple smaller fixed blade knives that was well made damascus steel from a guy I know in Tennessee who I get all my blanks from. He's a third generation blacksmith/ferrior and a second generation bladesmith. I've given them away as gifts to nephews. I myself like a good mono steel knife that I can beat the crap out of on a regular basis. Common sense should tell people that a 20 or 30 dollar "handforged" damascus steel knife isn't gonna be worth having unless it's just being used for decoration. Which if decoration is what your lookin for they do work good for that.
 
If you read a lot of gun magazines (like me) there are a lot of ads for Crapmascas knives. Also late night ads on TV. It's all bling. Reviews on these knives tell how incredibly beautiful these knives are. They don't use them. They just look at them.
 
The new knife collectors get swept up in the look which is a hard education. I know guys that buy 4-10 knives/week and spend considerable amounts on imports because they just have to have those knives, quantity over quality. Ten of those $60 imports can buy a USA production or custom.
 
frogfurr said:
Reviews on these knives tell how incredibly beautiful these knives are.
Click to expand...
They're not even that when you get a good look at them. Poor fit, steel rusts if you don't keep after it, rough "file work", odd brightly dyed wood/bone, ...

The very best I've handled was nearly ok.
 
I was taken by one of these paki damascus blanks on Ebay. The companys name was "madeinusa", if I remember right, lol. Once it arrived I took one look at it, and tossed aside. I still have it somewhere, half covered in rust.
 
hso said:
Crapmascus is a waste of your money.

This picture is of a Crapmascus blade chopped down on a student forged blade. No, the forged blade isn't the one notched.

View attachment 1174752
Click to expand...

Can you clarify for me what crapmascus is?

Damascus blades are indeed forged, but I'm sure you already know that, so this must be something different.
 
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