It has occurred to me that some of what I have written in the preceding post could be clarified.
The photos are of my desk knife. It is 01 damascus, I made it about 30 years ago --- in fact, it was the first piece of damascus I made, it was intended to be a 10inch bowie, but it was full of faults that I kept on removing until I finished up with a desk knife.
It has been given a spring temper, that is, it was hardened and drawn to a full blue. This means that it is pretty hard, holds an edge very well and will bend and return to dead straight.
The link will take you to a page that explains the colours that we use as a guide for drawing a temper.
http://www.anvilfire.com/article.php...s_hardness.htm