12
Jun
Due to their increased functionality and versatility Damascus steel knives are a prime target for fake replication. All Damascus will be silver colored when ground it takes a acid bath to turn it colors.
In this case the pattern is applied by using a heavy roller on the outside surface of the barrel to engrave the pattern.
How to spot fake damascus steel. Damascus steel knives are considered ideal hunting knives. Damascus knives implement premium materials and perform a variety of tasks. Due to their increased functionality and versatility Damascus steel knives are a prime target for fake replication.
Therefore how does one determine whether their Damascus knife is a real or fake Damascus steel knife. Lets go over some helpful tips. The original Damascus steel has the capability of cutting through a rifle barrel.
In fact Damascus steel is hard and has features that will not be present in any fake Damascus steel blade. There are many bladesmiths out there who are capable of folding steel and producing patterns that are similar to those produced by the real Damascus steel. Real Damascus is intrinsic to the steel itself but fake Damascus is only a facade.
For a quick look at a fake Damascus knife take a look at this knife presented by the great Nick Shabazz and listen to how he determined its inauthenticity starting at 1001 and ending at 1140. It can be difficult to spot whether a knife is a real Damascus with the naked eye so you need to run it through some tests to determine whether the steel blade is real Damascus. One way you can check is to polish a portion of the blade until the pattern welding is no.
New Damascus barrels are made from powdered steel that gives it the appearance of Damascus steel. Long story short if a gun wasnt made by one of the high quality gunsmiths in the US or Europe and it was made after WWI it aint real and even then you dont want to fire any true Damascus barreled guns because its unsafe for you and the gun. You can tell the difference between laser etched so called Damascus and the real thing by looking at the spine of the bladelooking at the spine you will see lines which are the layers.
I own a Damascus steel knife which has 37 layers which seems to be about the standard theses days. From what little i know of Damascus steel is that it is folded and twisted many many times on itself to get those textures and patterns. Fake Damascus steel is i think it is etched on the steel with some sort of acid so its beauty is only skin deep.
Normally damascus blades are treated with an etchant to bring out contrast between the layers. If you grind or sand the blade you can remove this and it makes the layers difficult to see. Because you removed this doesnt mean the damascus is fake.
You can restore the. Here is a quick run down of what to look for when looking at legit Damascus blades versus the fake flea market laser etched crap. The answer by Terran Marks is quite correct regarding the method for completely faking a pattern welded blade using nail polish and acid.
His description of what damascus is is principally correct see below for more info on producing pattern wel. Experiment to fake a simple damascus pattern on steelNothing fancy just to prove it can be done easily. Make sure to look up the brand and reviews if you a.
Is this a fake damascus. I have just bought one from Tsuki Knife but the layers of steels are too fade those pattern in front of the handle the blade itself is not too sharp and the laminated layers are too smooth that you cant feel the difference when you move your thumb across. In our next example above the barrels are also made of cheap iron but the attempt is to fake the patterns of a three-stripe damascus or fine English damascus steel barrel.
In this case the pattern is applied by using a heavy roller on the outside surface of the barrel to engrave the pattern. Fake Damascus Steel Katana Patina. All Damascus will be silver colored when ground it takes a acid bath to turn it colors.
The reason is most Damascus is made up of 2 or more alloys one being high nickel content that will not turn colors when treated with acid and will remain silver. That is what brings the contrast of colors in the steel bar. I believe your blade is Damascus.
I want to add that this is a VERY small blade so if it is real Damascus well it is always sorta fake and I do think so now production costs will be considerably lower. I do feel the layers on the blade although it is quite difficult to feel. Japanese vintage damascene jewelry is easy to spot because it usually features oriental themes with mountains and pagodas.
Spanish vintage damascene jewelry usually features Arabic inspired designs. Note that in most damascene pieces the dark oxidized metal will be inset into a larger metal setting as if it were a stone. With Stainless steel it does not dissolve it as quickly and in turn gives off a patina color.
There is a pre-mixed chemical solution available at Radio-Shack and there are also home-brew methods available on the internet. With the right tweaking and design this could easily lead to a finished blade having a fake Damascus look to it.