Katar with massive wootz blade

[A. G. Maisey]

I cannot comment on wootz as I have never worked with it, but I have made a lot of mechanical damascus and high carbon steel blades, the high carbon blades were mostly 01 and spring steel from vehicle springs.

In cutting tests on manilla rope a properly heat treated damascus blade will always cut longer and sharpen more easily than either 01 or spring steel (which could be any one of a dozen different steels).

With small damascus blades intended for use as skinning knives I usually did not draw the temper, so the 01 layers in the damascus remained very hard, and this sort of treatment gives an edge that will last for a very long time and come back to a very sharp working edge easily on only a butchers steel.

With larger damascus blades I always draw the temper, and this sort of edge does not last as long as with an undrawn edge, but it is much tougher.

High carbon steel must be drawn always, and if you draw to a yellow/blue, it doesn't matter how carefully you sharpen, the edge will never last for as long, nor be as easy to sharpen as is the case with any damascus blade.

I do believe that modern high carbon alloy steels might outperform a damascus blade, but they are very much more difficult to sharpen, sometimes to the point where they need to be sent back to the maker to sharpen.

[ariel]

Thanks Alan!