Kramer Knives Damascus

Damascus, or pattern welded steel, is the process of combining at least two different types of steel to achieve mechanical properties or to achieve a desired aesthetic. In my Damascus, I use three different types of steel all of which harden and temper in the same temperature range.

To begin creating Damascus, at room temperature I make a sandwich of different types of steel usually starting with 20 layers. This sandwich is tack-welded together and put into a forge running at 2350 degrees Fahrenheit. At this temperature, the steel becomes "plastic" and "sticky". The steel sandwich is then placed into a hydraulic press or mechanical hammer where these different steels are fused together. Molecules actually move back and forth across this interface between the different steels bonding the materials together. This process is also called diffusion bonding. The resulting billet is then stretched and manipulated to create desired patterns or folded a number of times to achieve a desired layer count, sometimes going up to 10,000 layers.

This process is very labor and material intensive. In some cases up to 70% of the material is lost along the way to achieve a desired pattern. This is why Damascus knives are much more expensive than the straight carbon steel knives.

Often I am asked if Damascus is better than Straight Carbon Steel. I'd say that it isn't better, only different. I see my Damascus knives as a bigger chunk of my soul. The making of Damascus requires more time, and a higher level of concentration. When I developed the steel recipe for my Straight Carbon Steel, the goal was to design the highest performance kitchen blade my experience and skills could muster. The Damascus blades are several steps down the road, as I am able to embellish an already high performance tool with patterns and processes that inspire me and engage me fully while I'm making them.

If you are wondering which steel cuts better I'd say that they cut different. The Straight Carbon Steel blades have the keenest, sharpest edges that I know of. The Damascus blades are made of different types of steel whose many layers extend to the cutting edge. These layers wear at a slightly different rate, causing a very fine micro-serration, which can be very helpful in staying sharp longer. Both sharpen exactly the same way and both get equally sharp, so it's in the way that they wear which is different.

Therefore, in deciding which type of steel you prefer, perhaps you might think of the Damascus as an art piece, as well as a functional tool.