Damascus knife help *pic heavy* - Page 1

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[ARCHIVED THREAD] - Damascus knife help *pic heavy*

Posted: 7/28/2015 8:34:48 PM EDT

Okay Arfcom, I had a custom Sgian Dubh style knife made for me a couple years ago. The knife was made for me to wear at my wedding in which I was going to wear a formal kilt. Wedding fell through (thank god), and the knife basically went into storage and never got used. I dug it out today and noticed some slight surface rust on the tang. First, What're some good ways to get rid of the rust, what kind of wax do you guys recommend to protect it from future rust, and I'm wondering if anyone can tell if it's real Damascus steel. According to the maker, who's made other outstanding knives for me, he uses pre made Damascus billets and also uses acid to bring out the waves.

Here's some pics;

So you can see the swirls on the blade, but when I run my finger on the blade I can actually feel them. Looking at the spine, I can see where it appears to be folded. The scales are sambar stag and I paid $285 for this knife.

What do you guys think?

Posted: 7/28/2015 9:08:03 PM EDT

[#1]

It looks like real Damascus. If you can feel the ridges it most likely is. The maker did not etch the tang because it is really hard to keep the stag from staining from the ferric acid used to etch the steel. To get rid of the rust, you will have to sand or grind past the rust. Renaissance Wax works great for protection. BTW, I am a knife maker and work with Damascus quite often. The maker may fix it up for you. You should contact him.

Posted: 7/28/2015 9:12:12 PM EDT

[#2]

Quote History

Quoted:
It looks like real Damascus. If you can feel the ridges it most likely is. The maker did not etch the tang because it is really hard to keep the stag from staining from the ferric acid used to etch the steel. To get rid of the rust, you will have to sand or grind past the rust. Renaissance Wax works great for protection. BTW, I am a knife maker and work with Damascus quite often. The maker may fix it up for you. You should contact him.

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This knife was kind of a one off for him as he really never uses damascus so I don't know how familiar he would be with cleaning it

Posted: 7/28/2015 9:29:54 PM EDT

[#3]

You would clean it like any other steel. It is just that, steel. The problem is if you are too aggressive you can blur the lines and take off the darker areas. Re-etching that blade with the stag on can be done, but the chance of staining the stag is there. The Ferric will turn the stag orange. I would use that knife. It looks like a great little EDC or if you are a hunter, a great small game knife.

Posted: 7/28/2015 9:34:03 PM EDT

[#4]

Quote History

Quoted:
You would clean it like any other steel. It is just that, steel. The problem is if you are too aggressive you can blur the lines and take off the darker areas. Re-etching that blade with the stag on can be done, but the chance of staining the stag is there. The Ferric will turn the stag orange. I would use that knife. It looks like a great little EDC or if you are a hunter, a great small game knife.

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That's the plan, I'm having a sheath made for it for EDC carry. Dropping it off tomorrow actually

Posted: 7/28/2015 9:57:47 PM EDT

[#5]

Why not just hit it with some 0000 steel wool, oil, and a modicum of elbow grease? Does that not work on pattern-welded blades?

Posted: 7/28/2015 10:01:08 PM EDT

[#6]

Quote History

Quoted:
Why not just hit it with some 0000 steel wool, oil, and a modicum of elbow grease? Does that not work on pattern-welded blades?

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That's the thing, I have no idea

Posted: 7/28/2015 10:10:18 PM EDT

[#7]

Just using some wax on the side of the knife will probably hide that rust, but the tang looks to be a bit deeper. No amount of steel wool will fix deep rust. You will actually need to remove metal.

Posted: 7/28/2015 10:18:55 PM EDT

[#8]

Quote History

Quoted:
Just using some wax on the side of the knife will probably hide that rust, but the tang looks to be a bit deeper. No amount of steel wool will fix deep rust. You will actually need to remove metal.

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Thank you for the advice, I'll try some stuff tonight and see what I can get done

Posted: 7/29/2015 2:18:06 AM EDT

[#9]

So far, steel wool and lemon juice with some elbow grease seems to be working. I've got renaissance wax coming from amazon so until then it'll wear a light coat of Hoppes Elite

Posted: 7/29/2015 3:19:11 AM EDT

[#10]

To protect the blade in the future, use coconut oil.

Posted: 7/30/2015 7:14:16 AM EDT

[#11]

I think it's a nice knife. My only gripe is the scribe mark down the center of the spine. If you're gonna go to the trouble of spending hours, upon hours working on a knife, why not spend another 10mins and smooth it out? I say this as a knifemaker who is currently on lunch break. I know getting towards the end of making a knife you can get to the "aw fuck it point," but you gotta push through that. Minor imperfections are what people notice the most.

Posted: 7/30/2015 1:13:02 PM EDT

[#12]

Quote History

Quoted:
I think it's a nice knife. My only gripe is the scribe mark down the center of the spine. If you're gonna go to the trouble of spending hours, upon hours working on a knife, why not spend another 10mins and smooth it out? I say this as a knifemaker who is currently on lunch break. I know getting towards the end of making a knife you can get to the "aw fuck it point," but you gotta push through that. Minor imperfections are what people notice the most.

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I bet that "scribe line" is the damacus...

Posted: 7/30/2015 1:47:19 PM EDT

[#13]

That's a beautiful knife! Is the maker local?

Posted: 7/30/2015 5:19:41 PM EDT

[#14]

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Quoted:
That's a beautiful knife! Is the maker local?

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Yep. He operates in the San Luis Valley. Google Scherar knives.

ETA in fact, you can find that knife brand new under "Links"

Posted: 7/30/2015 5:40:52 PM EDT

[#15]

Here's another he made for me. CPM154 steel with black G10 scales

Posted: 7/30/2015 7:31:12 PM EDT

[#16]

Beautiful!

I'll have to try and look him up. I have a 40+ year old folder, pre- this faddish locking blade stuff

, that I'd like copied into a fixed blade.

Posted: 7/30/2015 8:21:50 PM EDT

[#17]

http://www.scherarknives.com/

Posted: 7/30/2015 8:42:51 PM EDT

[#18]

I second the Renissaince wax

Posted: 7/30/2015 9:23:30 PM EDT

[#19]

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Quoted:
I second the Renissaince wax

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I picked some up. Got delivered today and I threw it on a few knives. How shiny should they get once buffed? I'm using a really light coat, and it's seems to basically disappear once it's buffed in and not really shine anything. I'm fine if it's primarily a protectant because I really don't care if the knives ate shiny or not, just making sure I'm doing it right