I love the look of Damascus and I'm always amazed at what a good bladesmith can do just by hammering a few different steels together and a little creativity. Over the years I've been lucky enough to find some samples of what these folk can do and I thought some of you might enjoy seing them.
At its most basic level, Damascus steel is really simple. In the most basic style, a metal bar is hammerd out as thin as possible, then folded over, hammered out again and the process repeated. Often the bladesmith will take two or more steels and hammer weld them together. This gives you the effect of light and dark lines running through the blade. They can make other patterns by twisting the bar, slicing pieces off and then hammering them back together, incorporating other materials into the design or combining any or all those techniques. The result is a blade that stays sharper longer and that both looks and feels good.
Here are five Damascus folders I've been luck enough to get over the years. From the top these were made by Joe Pardue, Tom Watson, Don Greenaway, Chuck Gedraitus and another Greenaway.
And here is a closer look at the blades themselves.
In this picture you can see a
raindrop pattern above a
ladder pattern.