Thread: Turkish Twist Damascus razor

Absolutely gorgeous!

Originally Posted by Bruno

Damascus like this is made in big blocks using lots of individual twisted bars which are then further manipulated in various ways.

When the block is finished, slabs are cut off running across the grain of the pattern. No matter how it is ground, the pattern will stay the same. Many other types of damascus lose their pattern when hollow ground.

Other then the look of the steel, is there any advantages of having this steel compared to 01?

Originally Posted by Martin103

Other then the look of the steel, is there any advantages of having this steel compared to 01?

It's not better than 01, intrinsically. It can be as good as well heat treated 01. It is a thing of beauty, to those bitten by the bug, and it is a demonstration of masterful metalwork. Personally, for a straight razor I would slightly prefer san mai, which is a Japanese style of homogeneous steel sandwiched by pattern welded steel such that the 01, or whatever razor worthy steel, is what gets honed. But that preference is based on possible unknowns regarding the production of the pattern welded material. If it's Zowada's, for instance, no worries, mate.

Originally Posted by spoken36

It's not better than 01, intrinsically. It can be as good as well heat treated 01. It is a thing of beauty, to those bitten by the bug, and it is a demonstration of masterful metalwork. Personally, for a straight razor I would slightly prefer san mai, which is a Japanese style of homogeneous steel sandwiched by pattern welded steel such that the 01, or whatever razor worthy steel, is what gets honed. But that preference is based on possible unknowns regarding the production of the pattern welded material. If it's Zowada's, for instance, no worries, mate.

Martin: I'll reinforce the basic premise. For steels of similar carbon and/or alloying content, and given proper heat treatment for their chemistry, the only difference between any patternwelded steel and a monosteel is the aesthetic. Cutting ability, in this example, could be safely assumed to be similar given an acceptable bevel set and honing.

The one advantage to a san mai construction is that generally, with good forging technique, the center core does not expose a weld boundary at the edge where a flaw would affect the cutting ability. Acceptably similar materials, whether monosteel or pattern welded would make little difference in cutting ability if honed correctly. Japanese thinking was to save good steel, e.g. higher carbon content for the edge alone rather than wasting that much good material on the spine or sides where it didn't matter much to performance and to avoid the fatal flaw that crossed the cutting edge.

I know this billet and how it was constructed. It's not safe to assume that because things look the same that they perform the same. As was mentioned, you should get to know the makers of your materials.

Wow - love the uniformity of the pattern! Awesome look Bruno!

Adam

Originally Posted by spoken36

It's not better than 01, intrinsically. It can be as good as well heat treated 01. It is a thing of beauty, to those bitten by the bug, and it is a demonstration of masterful metalwork. Personally, for a straight razor I would slightly prefer san mai, which is a Japanese style of homogeneous steel sandwiched by pattern welded steel such that the 01, or whatever razor worthy steel, is what gets honed. But that preference is based on possible unknowns regarding the production of the pattern welded material. If it's Zowada's, for instance, no worries, mate.

Check out som of my previous threads here, where I have posted blades with O2 core and Damascus sides.

Originally Posted by Martin103

Other then the look of the steel, is there any advantages of having this steel compared to 01?

As Mike already mentioned, when 2 steels have similar carbon content, there is absolutely no advantage other than aesthetic. If the carbon contents are different, the result is evened out. That said, I don't like O1 for razors. O2 is much better in my opinion, but near impossible to get in the US.

Originally Posted by Mike Blue

I know this billet and how it was constructed. It's not safe to assume that because things look the same that they perform the same. As was mentioned, you should get to know the makers of your materials.

Indeed. I like working with steel from friends. Not only does it reinforce the friendship and give you something to talk about over beer, but it is a good idea to build up experience by repeatedly using steel that was made with the same materials and manufacturing methods.

Originally Posted by Bruno

Check out som of my previous threads here, where I have posted blades with O2 core and Damascus sides.

Thanks for the heads up. Will do.

Wow nice nice nice work! I like the scale material really pops