Mountain man knife

Finished the knife I made for my grandsons kit. Probably not PC but I think it looks rustic enough to pass

IDK if damascus was available to mountain men, but that's a well-made knife/sheath - congrats !

Billy that is nice and I am sure it will be appreciated by your GS.

What material/solution did you dip the steel in to get that Damascus effect?

Thanks.

This was a kit from Coldland knives. I would not recommend it to anyone. It was advertised as Damascus but is fake. Looks to be laser etched. The sheath is thin leather, but serviceable. The handle material supplied and the pins were junk. I’m not terribly disappointed though, this knife will be used and probably abused hard by a 12 year old boy. In a few years when he is more responsible I’ll buy a much better blade blank and he and I can make him a quality knife that should last a lifetime.

PC or not, that's a great looking knife! Nice work.

BillyC said:

This was a kit from Coldland knives. I would not recommend it to anyone. It was advertised as Damascus but is fake. Looks to be laser etched. The sheath is thin leather, but serviceable. The handle material supplied and the pins were junk. I’m not terribly disappointed though, this knife will be used and probably abused hard by a 12 year old boy. In a few years when he is more responsible I’ll buy a much better blade blank and he and I can make him a quality knife that should last a lifetime.

Click to expand...

I seriously doubt fake being that each blade is patterned differently and should be of a reasonably good quality considering the steels used in the making of it and the Rockwell hardness they claim. An accurate Rc hardness read is difficult to obtain with Damascus and varies from check point to check point I could be wrong, but I believe you are under estimating and under rating your purchase. I did see a claim of the pattern being an "overlay" the complainant was judging by a place he ground and found no pattern. You only see pattern after the steel mix is polished and etched. Another customer revue concerning hardness, stated he wore out a few cobalt drill bits while attempting to enlarge one of the holes. That said, NO, on Damascus being correct in America previous to the early 1970's. The Nazi's used it for some of the officers dress knives, prior to WW2. so obviously it was not a lost art as many believed. Damascus was known in Europe during Mt. man time frame but most only in high end blades for the European rich. It was well known in early European works and was a popular steel for the Vikings and others. Up until crucible steel was re-discovered here, common shear steel of the times was made by a similar process as Damascus but was made using a multiple mono steel fold and weld method rather than a compound mix of steel types, which gives Damascus its look and texture after the finished blade is acid etched. The true "Damascus" steel was a crucible made, apparent mono steel, widely believed to have originated in India, or possibly the orient. Just my opinion.