Damascus?

Can someone tell me if Damascus steel is "better" than carbon, or stainless steel? Does it shave better, or is it simply the look of it that costs so much?

+1, I'm also curious about this.

As it pertains to razor use you can't really generalize that one material is intrinsically better than another. If you look around some recent threads you will find one regarding a Damascus razor that was, in all regards, pretty much of a clunker. It was also priced at under a hundred bucks. In that case low quality damascus plus poor execution resulted in a bad razor, but still a Damascus razor.

I think it would be fair to say that at a given quality level a damascus razor is going to cost more than a carbon steel or stainless steel razor. The material is simply more expensive to produce whether it is Damasteel or hand forged pattern welded Damascus. BTW, for a lively discussion check out some of the threads debating what material actually qualifies to be called Damascus.

High quality Damascus blades do tend to be very good shavers, but that is probably due in large part to the fact that the guys making them tend to be fairly advanced razor makers and can make a good shaver using a variety of materials.

Old damascus was from carbon steel.
New damascus razor is something like prestige, nothing more. IMO.

I think of it as something different not necessarily better. (depending how you define better-shave better or intrinsically better) Most of the time you pay more for the damascus because it's a custom razor and you're paying for the rep of the maker and the workmanship.

Quality forged metal had a finer grain structure than lesser forged metals. By lesser I mean less times. Damascus metal is two types of metal forged together, folded over itself and then forges again. This is performed numerous times and is apparent in the numerous layers visible after etching the metal. The quality of the metals forged together and the forging process determine the final quality of the steel. Metals that are not forged have the largest grain structure. Again, the quality of the metal making process effects the end results. CPM metal ( Crucible Particle Metallurgy) as described here: Crucible Tool Steel and Specialty Alloy General Information
is a high quality metal with a fine grain structure.

Hope this helps.

There are a number of good answers here and I am intrigued, as always, by the perspective that each person acquires along with knowledge. It enriches any definition and moreso than if only one person gave all the right answers.

Given similar carbon content and similar heat treatment that is correct for the types of steel being used, the only difference will be the aesthetic. That matches Joed's comment about grain size. As TBS and Bill S have mentioned, cost vs. quality will be based on experience and talent. Shaving performance will depend on honing, bevel and all the other parts of the razor that make it a working tool. If the steel is good and all the other factors are good, so will be the razor.

My pattern welded stuff are all carbon steels. Stainless steels are not impossible for pattern welded blades (Norris, Thomas). Strangely enough Damasteel is a sintered powder metallurgical product made from stain resistant steels. Layers in Damasteel are layers of powder, not laminated bars or strip steel. Some of us have yet to let go of "old" Manah :) Really old stuff was crucible cast steel and not layered at all (wootz, ukku, bulat).

I got some stuff done this weekend that is a san mai billet. There is a high carbon core with outside scales that are pattern welded. It will have "very good guts" and good heat treatment. I know I can get it sharp and Randy or Lynn could really get it sharp and it will shave. But it could be boring and not ring anybody's bell.

It takes a lot of work and I'm still sore a couple days later. It would have been much easier to make a blade from only the high carbon middle. Not nearly as much fun though, or dangerous and risky because it might not have worked and all that would have been wasted. But when it does, it really sings....

Just more stuff to know. The question was right on.