# Rob Tomas Damascus



## robert flynt (Jun 9, 2014)

Stopped to visit damascus maker Rob Tomas and he had some carbon steel damascus marked down from $200 - $400 to $100 per billet. Bought 4 of his best patterns! the piece to the far right is not his but is from another supplier that I wanted to try.

Reactions: Like 1 | EyeCandy! 8 | Way Cool 2


----------



## SENC (Jun 9, 2014)

Those are beautiful!

Reactions: Thank You! 1


----------



## Nature Man (Jun 9, 2014)

Great looking steel! Will make beautiful knives! Chuck

Reactions: Thank You! 1


----------



## NYWoodturner (Jun 9, 2014)

Great score Robert!

Reactions: Thank You! 1


----------



## Foot Patrol (Jun 9, 2014)

Awesome billets there. Must have felt like Christmas shopping with all you bought at Blade.


----------



## ironman123 (Jun 9, 2014)

Very nice steel.

Ray


----------



## robert flynt (Jun 9, 2014)

Foot Patrol said:


> Awesome billets there. Must have felt like Christmas shopping with all you bought at Blade.


I was like a kid in Santa's personal stash!


----------



## brown down (Jun 17, 2014)

hey robert what makes damascus steel the best steel for knives? just curious as I know nothing about steel only how to sharpen them!


----------



## Molokai (Jun 17, 2014)

brown down said:


> hey robert what makes damascus steel the best steel for knives? just curious as I know nothing about steel only how to sharpen them!


Why do you think damascus is the best steel for knives ?


----------



## brown down (Jun 17, 2014)

I am only assuming due to the cost of the blades? so If damascus isn't the best why go through all of those steps to make it than? just curious


----------



## Molokai (Jun 17, 2014)

brown down said:


> I am only assuming due to the cost of the blades? so If damascus isn't the best why go through all of those steps to make it than? just curious


Damascus looks fancier, and it takes a lot of effort to produce one. So it costs more.

Reactions: Thank You! 1


----------



## Cody Killgore (Jun 17, 2014)

Yeah, nowadays it's really for the looks. Back in the olden days the process of doing this further refined/cleaned the steel and it could have produced a better steel. Today we have just about any kind of steel we want already made for us (and already very clean). 

It is all about the looks today

Reactions: Thank You! 1 | Agree 1 | Informative 1


----------



## Cody Killgore (Jun 17, 2014)

Also, for anyone really interested in damascus, this is a really cool book. Full color with high quality pictures. It starts off talking about history and theory then gets into patterns and practice. Very cool book.

http://i.Rule #2/ilBPzoF.jpg

Reactions: Like 2 | Informative 1


----------



## brown down (Jun 17, 2014)

how long does it take for you to produce a damascus blade? does damascus hold a good edge and how hard is it to sharpen?


----------



## Cody Killgore (Jun 17, 2014)

As far as edge holding/sharpenability goes, it all depends on the steel that originally went into the damascus. In most cases the damascus is made with a fairly simple carbon steel like 1095 or 1080 in combination with another steel that will resist the acid etch such as 15n20. 15n20 is very similar to the other simple steels except it has nickel in it.

In this case, it will hold an edge reasonably well and be easy to sharpen. It's not going to hold an edge as long as those high alloy super steels that are out now but those things are a pain to sharpen. Basically the more wear resistant it is, the longer it will hold an edge and the harder it will be to sharpen due to all the crazy carbides in it.

That is the reason I like simple steels. They hold an edge fairly well and don't take but a couple minutes to bring back to razor sharp. In most cases they will also be able to achieve a sharper edge than the super steels as well.

Making a damascus knife is about the same as any other except the acid etch step in order to reveal the pattern. Making the damascus itself is a pretty laborious process but I can make 2-3 knives worth of damascus in a single day if I work at it most if the day. Making the knife is a several day process after that.

Reactions: Like 1


----------



## Mike1950 (Jun 17, 2014)

I have a couple- thin damascus Japanese kitchen knifes- They take a very sharp edge and keep it. need to be cleaned when used.

Reactions: Like 1


----------



## robert flynt (Jun 17, 2014)

Cody and Tom are right, damascus is mostly for looks. It does have a serrated effect due to the different steels having a different hardness which allows it to cut a little longer after it is dull. Some of the damascus made from say 1095 and 52100 with no high nickle alloy is better but it's not as attractive without the nickle. Now the clad steel with VG10 and white steel cores, for example, is a different story. These super steels have softer layers of metal (metallurgically bonded) bonded to each side, which has the purpose of protecting the hard core and to look good. A lot of the high end kitchen knives from Japan are made out of clad steel which is hot forged to break up the layer lines and make it look like damascus. There is also a core less clad steel made by cladding one of the super steels with other kinds of metal in multiple layers of precise thicknesses. The supposed purpose of this is for the enhanced strength of the super steel to supplement the weakness of the other steels to sort of create a combined characteristic. To me it is damascus that hasn't been hot forged with a hammer to give it a pattern.

Reactions: Like 2


----------



## NYWoodturner (Jun 18, 2014)

brown down said:


> how long does it take for you to produce a damascus blade? does damascus hold a good edge and how hard is it to sharpen?


Jeff - Look in the classroom. Cody did an amazing tutorial on making damascus.

Reactions: Thank You! 1 | Agree 1


----------

