Damascus Knives

Damascus steel is what most people come to Battling Blades for, and this is every Damascus knife in the catalogue on one page: bowies, hunters, skinners, kukris, trackers, tantos, daggers, machetes and the folding knives, more than a hundred blades, each hand-forged with a full tang from layered high carbon steel. The pattern is not printed or etched on: it is the layers themselves, forge-welded, folded and drawn out, so that no two blades repeat and the pattern runs through the steel rather than sitting on it.

About our Damascus

Our Damascus starts as eleven pieces of steel, five of them 1095 high carbon and the rest carbon steels chosen to weld with it. They are forge-welded into one bar, drawn out, folded and welded again, five folds in all, until the bar carries 352 layers. The blade is then forged to shape, hardened and tempered to roughly 55 to 58 HRC, ground, and etched so the layers show. That process is the whole point: the quality of the raw steel is what shows in the pattern, and a Damascus blade forged this way cuts and holds an edge like any good high carbon knife. The Damascus steel guide covers the history, from the original wootz of India and Persia to modern pattern welding.

Browse by type

The bowies are the big American knives, 10 to 27 inches. The hunting knives and skinners are the field knives, 5 to 16 inches. The kukris are the Gurkha blades, 13 to 30 inches. The trackers put two edges on one blade. The tantos carry the angular Japanese point. The daggers and haladies are the double-edged and double-bladed pieces. The machetes are the long clearing blades, and the pocket and folding knives are the carry pieces. The bone and antler handle collection gathers the natural-handle pieces across all of them.

Caring for Damascus

Damascus is high carbon steel and behaves like it: it will rust if left wet and it wants a wipe of oil after use and before storage. Keep it out of a damp leather sheath for long storage, dry it after cutting anything wet, and the pattern will stay bright for decades. If the etch dulls with use, a light re-etch brings it back. The cleaning kit covers all of it. Any knife here can also be built to your own blade, steel and handle in the custom knife builder.

Frequently asked questions

What is Damascus steel?
Today, pattern-welded steel: two or more steels forge-welded, folded and etched so the layers show as a pattern. Historically, the crucible wootz steel of India and Persia, whose surface pattern came from the crystal structure of the steel rather than from layers. Modern Damascus follows the first tradition.

Is Damascus steel good for a knife?
Yes, when it is forged from good high carbon steels. Ours is built on 1095 and hardens to 55 to 58 HRC, which is a working edge. Cheap Damascus welded from unknown steels looks the part and does not cut like it.

How many layers does it have?
352, from eleven pieces folded five times.

Does Damascus rust?
It can, like any high carbon steel. Keep it dry and lightly oiled and it will not.

Do they come sharp?
Most Damascus knives are supplied with a working edge. The product page states the finish and the sheath.