r/BeAmazed • u/BigMartin58 • 4d ago
Skill / Talent Super Unique Damascus Steel Knife Design
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u/Playfullyhung 4d ago
Like tie dye for pokey things
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u/Chupathingy66 4d ago
"Tie Die"
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u/sharingiscaring219 4d ago
"It's TIE to DIE."
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u/Oh_its_that_asshole 4d ago
You're supposed to be changing its colour not killing it!
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u/AlivePassenger3859 4d ago
I went through three lifetimes watching that.
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u/StrnglyCoincdtl 4d ago
At some point, I needed to check if that's not r/gifsthatendtoosoon
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u/inerlite 4d ago
I was sure we were gonna get boned on the final knife shot and went straight to the end
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u/MissLyss29 4d ago
Thank you
I knew I wasn't the only one who was like um this is so long and keeps repeating the same thing over and over
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u/werealldoomed47 4d ago
He cut it forged it so many times I don't think that pattern would come through.
Like bro eventually it's just going to be a well mixed alloy.
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u/MissLyss29 4d ago
Right at one point I was like um wasn't he trying to make a pattern what's with all the mixing
Also do they not supply pre mixed alloys so you don't have to do all that mixing when making a display piece
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u/Glyphpunk 4d ago
Doesn't the process of making damascus steel specifically require a lot of repeated mixed in order to produce the layers?
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u/an-unorthodox-agenda 4d ago
Yes. I don't know what everyone is so upset about, the video just shows the manufacturing process of a Damascus steel blade. And they chose to watch it.
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u/Neospartan_117 4d ago
The smith was working on multiple billets, but the video kinda made it look like they were working on a singular one. That in turn made it seem like the smith was producing so many layers they would eventually become too thin to distinguish and basically become a homogenous metal with no pattern.
A fault of the video format, really. A longer format would have had space to make it clear there were several billets being worked on.
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u/Meowakin 4d ago
That makes so much more sense! I was like there is no way they managed to plan out that billet through so many different ways of layering it.
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u/werealldoomed47 4d ago
As the guy that originally bitched that makes sense. As long as the original billet was large enough to do such things.
I have my doubt but yield to a more educated opinion.
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u/michaelegosi 4d ago
He's not working the same piece every time. He first made the swirl by using two different metals, then cut them and placed them to the side, then did a more classical folding technique while cutting and reforging multiple times then welded together the pieces with the pattern he had made and put to the side with the classic folding pieces. It's a very thought out process, really masterful
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u/DevelopmentJumpy5218 4d ago
Yes but no. There are multiple types of Damascus, I thought initially he was doing a canister Damascus at the beginning, which can be done with no cutting and layering, twist Damascus and raindrop Damascus (he uses both techniques here) can be done with minimal layering. He combined every type of Damascus I know of in this blade
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u/SackSauce69 4d ago
The worst part is, if I saw that knife on display, I'd just assume the design was painted on there or something, lol. It's beautiful but almost unrealistically beautiful 😅
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u/moltinglarvae 4d ago
That was ALOT of work! They would’ve been smart to have just bought one. Duh
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u/notredditbot 4d ago
I'm so glad it turned out as it did. I felt like I was getting played half way through seeing the same process like 4 times lol 🫣
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u/FishDawgX 4d ago
I like the part where he takes a big piece of metal and cuts it into small pieces. Also when he puts a bunch of small pieces together and squishes them into a big chunk.
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u/False-Amphibian786 4d ago
At first I thought that was a lot of work, but then I looked at the video and it was less then 3 minutes.
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u/SeedlessPomegranate 4d ago
What was the point of the first step? The part where the putty was put on?
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u/smeeon 4d ago
The spiral triskelion shape is closed. The putty sealed the shape so when he poured powder into the tube the putty prevented the first powder from getting inside the shape. Once backfilled he removed the putty from the sealed shape and filled that empty space with a different steel powder to create the contrasting Damascus look.
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u/SeedlessPomegranate 4d ago
Ah thanks
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u/Tiger_Widow 4d ago
Damascus metalurgers do it different. Hence Damascus steel. It's a beautiful artform.
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u/RampantJellyfish 3d ago
A friend of mine was doing his PhD on Wootz steel, a historically legendary steel that originated in India, that was extremely hard and tough, which is where they say true Damascus steel came from via trade routes. It had ripply watermarks from bands of carbides, not strong patterns like you see here.
He gave me a small billet of wootz that he cast based on some historical texts he was reading, I think it's in my garage somewhere.
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u/hate_picking_names 4d ago
But they could have just filled the spiral first before putting it in the box and then added the other metal.
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u/doulasus 4d ago
I think it allowed them to use two different steel powders so they look different in the end.
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u/Kernal_Sanders 4d ago edited 4d ago
I’m not gonna lie, with the pattern coming out super wonky and taking away from the patterns that the Damascus style folding would have already given the blade, I think it looks like shit you’d see at a cheap fair booth.
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u/pharmacreation 4d ago
Agree
A more nature pattern looks much better.
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u/Flag_Route 4d ago
There's this dude on YouTube. I think his name is Kyle rover or something. Makes some awesome patterned knives.
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u/thelivinlegend 4d ago
Royer. Really interesting channel. He goes pretty in depth about his process and I think he does online classes as well.
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u/TheStarfellow 4d ago
I was just about to say that I’ve seen this done better. I once thought about trying to make Damascus patterns and then I saw Kyle Royer’s channel and I thought “what’s the point” he brings it up just to the point of looking ridiculous but still classy. This one here is a bit wonky.
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u/thelivinlegend 4d ago
Agreed. Some of Royer’s patterns I’m not a huge fan of, some of them are absolutely stunning, but I’ve never seen one and thought it looked over the top silly or like mall ninja shit.
The one in this video just kind of rubs me the wrong way and I can’t really say why. I guess like others have said, they worked really hard to make it somehow look cheap
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u/nothing_but_thyme 4d ago
Legit. This is the ugliest shit I’ve seen. Chinesium mall ninja shit is better than this.
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u/LickingLiveWires 4d ago
Funny people still say chinesium when they are making some of the best knives in the world right now with the tippity top of premium steels.
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u/nothing_but_thyme 4d ago
Yes! We all agree that China, and the great Master Whinnie the Pooh (neé Xi Jin-Pooh) creates only the finest steels and finest knives! You can see his number one top quality if you visit many of the large abandoned ghost cities across his miraculous country where everything is going perfectly and there is definitely not a huge economic bubble propped up by real estate speculation and auto sales that get booked 3x for every one-unit export to a foreign market - all on the verge of popping and collapsing the global economy!!! 🤩🤩🤩.
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u/varateshh 4d ago
Funny people still say chinesium when they are making some of the best knives in the world right now with the tippity top of premium steels
They make the knives but import the steel (e.g: Chinese knives using VG-10 steel).
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u/ayegudyin 4d ago
Yeah I love Damascus steel knives, I thought this was going to be something incredible, looks like junk
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u/SUDDENLY_VIRGIN 4d ago
How dare you imply that this pseudo-damascus knock off is actually just a knock off!!!
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u/Hot_Ethanol 4d ago
Isn't all "Damascus" pseudo Damascus atp?
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u/shaolinoli 4d ago
Not really. Pattern welding in general is more commonly known as Damascus these days. What was historically called Damascus is now called wootz steel. Fun fact, that historical steel wasn’t made in Damascus, but rather in south India and then transported to Damascus as wootz billets where they used it to make blades.
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u/SonOfMcGee 4d ago
Wootz Billets sounds like one of that giant pile of new country singers that “totally isn’t like that other crappy country music” but either a) totally fucking is or b) isn’t because they’re just folk singers that dress up like country singers.
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u/Hot_History1582 4d ago edited 4d ago
This is pattern welding. It's not the same as real Damascus steel, where the patterns are carefully heating crucible steel. This is done by folding different grades of steel with different carbon content together. Real Damacus is made by smelting steel with a very particular carbon content and then carefully cooling it so it forms a desirable crystal structure. Real Damascus isn't achieved by folding, it occurs naturally.
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u/Impossible_Ad7432 4d ago
Neat, however the term Damascus refers to pattern welded steel in the modern context. Nobody involved in the knife industry uses it to mean anything else for obvious reasons.
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u/hache-moncour 4d ago
Yeah the end result was surprisingly ugly, but I have to respect the effort that was put into making it.
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u/wormcast 4d ago
Yeah, I think this is a case of where the only people impressed would be makers at this guy's skill level.
Everyone else is like, "What is this crazy off-kilter spiral thing in the middle of the awesome waves?"
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u/LexLutherisBald 4d ago
+100000000000000000000000000000000
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u/NewUserWhoDisAgain 3d ago
I think it looks like shit you’d see at a cheap fair booth.
Tacky is the word I'd use.
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u/ElectricalOcelot7948 4d ago
Yeah the asymmetry is supposed to be a feature but attempting a pattern like that is horrifying. Looks like poop.
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u/DigiAirship 4d ago
Yeah. I know it requires massive skill to make this, and I'm not trying to armchair or anything, but the end result kinda looked like shit? Because the pattern is so deliberate, and because of the shape of the knife, the way the pattern is abruptly cut off at the tip and at the tang just makes the entire thign look so sloppy. A uniform more natural pattern would look so much better.
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u/Born-Media6436 4d ago
All I can say is I have no idea what the hell I just watched
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u/funko_grails 4d ago
Be mildly underwhelmed
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u/portablebiscuit 4d ago
I feel like I should be more impressed
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u/SomeBlueDude12 4d ago
I really was waiting for to see how the initial swirls survived the folding and twist just ti see it in 4 awkward looking diamonds placed across the knife center spine
My disappointment was immeasurable and reminds me why I skip to the end of these videos
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u/darwinn_69 4d ago
But will it kill?
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u/Greengiant304 4d ago
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u/BBQSandwich42 4d ago
May we all be so lucky to enjoy our jobs as much as Doug Marcaida enjoys his.
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u/aliseman 4d ago
All that and kind of an ugly knife
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u/Bayside_High 4d ago
Exactly, kinda looks like something you'd get at a gas station. Lots of good workmanship, but just not for me.
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u/Stambro1 4d ago
It took me all of 30 seconds to find the actual video of this knife and its creator, Lew Griffin Knives on YouTube if you’re going to post it everywhere, give the right person credit!!!
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u/zehamberglar 4d ago
I really want to shout out my guy Shurap while we're at it. Similar kind of content, but he always makes you tea on the forge too.
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u/djpedicab 4d ago
He did, not once, but twice. https://www.reddit.com/r/BeAmazed/s/DxJRgUEXkq
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u/LordAldricQAmoryIII 4d ago edited 4d ago
That's not the original source though. It's a YT short from some other re-post channel that doesn't credit Lew Griffin Knives at all.
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u/theboned1 4d ago
For a while I thought this was a joke video and it was just going to be red hot metal constantly being smashed over and for an hour with no knife.
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u/HydrationPlease 4d ago
Damascus pattern.
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u/BoringEntropist 4d ago
Correct. This is an example of pattern-welded steel, a technique to imitate the appearance of Damascus steel. Damascus steel, also known as Wootz steel, is manufactured with no folding involved. It's a crucible steel, the ore is heated above its melting point. To form the pattern the ore needs specific impurities, which allow for the growth of the needed carbide nanostructures, and the correct heat treatment. The knowledge how it was done has been lost until a few years ago, when a group of enthusiasts could reproduce it after much tinkering.
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u/MasterOfPuppers 4d ago
After the 3rd time they cut it into pieces and melted it back together I was convinced that this was a troll post and the end product was gonna be completely featureless.
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u/Wolfman2032 4d ago
I don't care how ubiquitous it is, it will never stop annoying me that people call pattern welding "damascus"!
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u/MineNowBotBoy 4d ago
Hey cool. Can you explain what Damascus steel is and how it’s actually made?
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u/Wolfman2032 4d ago
how it’s actually made?
The fun part is that we don't actually know!
There was a type of steel called wootz that was produced in India that we no longer know the recipe for. That steel was used by smiths in Damascus to produce blades that had a fine wavy pattern on it (the recipe for which is also lost). Damascus blades made from wootz were considered the amongst the best on the planet, and had nearly mythical reputations in the ancient and medieval world (Beowulf, for example, wields one).
There have been MANY claims of people figuring out the trick to wootz/Damascus through reverse engineering and other means, but so far nobody has made legit Damascus steel in about 150 years.
Pattern welding is a modern technique that can create VISUALLY similar patterns in steel, and is the method used in the video.
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u/shaolinoli 4d ago
We do know. People have recreated pretty much perfectly. here’s a video on it by the guy who literally wrote the book on modern knife design and construction
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u/maybemirza 4d ago
Guys if i couldn t save u , im sorry bt if u see this comment before watching the video just skip to the end its nothing special . Thanks
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u/DreamyShepherd 4d ago
This looks so bad a natural damascus pattern would have looked better and less tacky
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u/TwoIdleHands 4d ago
Damascus steel can be really beautiful. This just ended up looking cheap. Like something you’d buy from a van on the side of the road, their tie-dye wall hangings blowing in the wind, the smell of patchouli floating on the breeze.
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u/Hefe_Weizen 4d ago
It's either unique or it's not, "super" unique is redundant.
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u/carlitobrigantehf 4d ago
Fucking this. People using adjectives with unique clearly dont know what the word unique means.
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u/Whatever-999999 4d ago
BLADESMITHS! YOU HAVE 30 LITTLE MINUTES REMAINING!
*Isn't even 10% of the way done making the basic billet let alone forging it into a blade shape*
*(unless it's Ben Abbott in which case he's already made 3 complete choppers like this one)*
🤣 Yeah I watched 190 episodes of Forged in Fire, why do you ask? 🤣
Just making the basic billet for this must've taken days of work, and I wouldn't at all be surprised if they had to make more than one, even taking your sweet time doing it, every time you cut and re-stack the metal there's a chance of a delamination, and the cannister step at the beginning, very much so, and any delamination or inclusion in the metal would ruin the end product.
Very obvious at the end this is a master bladesmith who makes custom blades for a living.
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u/Just_some_dude5 4d ago
Welder here. Fun fact, our Damascus Steel will never be the same quality as Damascus that was made in the past. According to one of my weld professors, we are missing a key something whether it’s an ingredient or forging process but it’s been lost to time.
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u/jimmyknuckle5 3d ago
The original was done by lewgriffenknives on Instagram, he has a website and a YouTube y'all can check out, makes some cool stuff
@BigMartin58 dont be such a bot in the future
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u/RolandtheWhite 4d ago
Damn all that work and it doesn’t even look that great. Unique sure. Would I want it? No.
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u/danteelite 4d ago
This is why these knives are worth the thousands of dollars they cost… if I had the money I’d absolutely buy one.
I wish that we as a society put more emphasis on creation and innovation, and I wish people who create amazing things could make a living doing it. A lot of really great innovations or science can be done by hobbyists trying to solve a problem while creating things, so I can be useful for society too!
Not to mention all of the inventors and makers out there now, using all of the cool tools available to make amazing things! It’s so cool to me that a regular person can buy a 3D printer, a laser, a CNC, a water jet… etc and just make stuff! People are doing insane prototyping and inventing from home… that’s so fucking cool!
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u/Unhappy_Yoghurt_4022 4d ago
The amount of effort and attention put into this is incredible. Truly an artisan, well done
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u/LetmeSeeyourSquanch 4d ago
That guy did a lot of work for a shitty looking pattern.
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u/SelkieKezia 4d ago
Serious question: how does one get into this line of work these days? I've been looking into crafty trades, and this looks like something I would love to learn how to do.
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u/BeanieMcChimp 4d ago
Im such an idiot. Title says what it is, but at the start I was expecting delicious cinnamon rolls.
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u/SMd00011 4d ago
Sorry. Not into the triquetra. Nor am I into the triple helix. I ain’t supportive of altering DNA, and motherfuck CRISPR.
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u/MineNowBotBoy 4d ago
So does melting the plastic into the steel not cause some amount of structural issues? I feel like it would be a pretty intense impurity and give you a lot of issues.
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u/KassDamn 4d ago
Midway through this video I thought y'all was fucking with me and it was just a loop
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