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How to distinguish a real Damascus knife?

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YIERCITY Cutlery
How to distinguish a real Damascus knife?

If you are not familiar with Damascus steel, it may not be easy for you to distinguish between counterfeit and genuine Damascus steel. If the steel is etched, things will become more difficult. What you need to remember is that Damascus steel was invented when Damascus steel was rare. The modern technology used to manufacture Damascus steel requires the old method of using folded layers. This is why it is difficult to distinguish between genuine and fake Damascus steel.

How to distinguish a real Damascus knife?

Method of manufacturing Damascus steel knives

Forged Woods Steel-Wootz steel is mainly made by smelting steel and other materials including sand and glass. This process involves smelting steel fragments with wood chips. Subsequently, the wood chips will turn into carbon, which is then absorbed by the molten iron. The heat, pressure, controlled cooling and repeated forging process will continue until a carbon content of 1% is reached-however, there will be impurities in the blade. Following these steps results in a longer layer of concentrated sediment passing through the steel, which gives the blade a well-known wavy pattern (ie Damascus folds). Although the blades naturally exhibit Damascus folds, they are subtle and less prominent. Therefore, the blade will be acid-etched after polishing to make the pattern clearer.

This procedure is the historical method used to make authentic Damascus knives. Therefore, Damascus knives made of Uzi steel are considered authentic Damascus steel.

How to distinguish a real Damascus knife?
How to distinguish a real Damascus knife?

Pattern welding-Pattern welding is a modern technique that involves layering multiple steel plates and performing excessive heat treatment through repeated forging. Specifically, the two layers of steel are combined, heated and hammered until the two metal sheets fuse together to form a billet or bar. The bar is then folded, heated and hammered again. This process continues until several layers are formed. A typical pattern welded blade contains about 40 layers. The blade is finished with acid etching after polishing, making the Damascus folds more visible-making the famous wave and twisting patterns more prominent.

Although pattern-welded Damascus blades have a carbon content of less than 1%, they are superior to historic Woods steel blades because they contain much less impurities and are made of a homogeneous layer. This mode of welding procedure is the main method of modern manufacturing Damascus steel knives.

How to distinguish a real Damascus knife?
How to distinguish a real Damascus knife?

Exclusive acid etching-We have seen pattern welding and forging Uzi steel apply acid etching on Damascus blades to bring out water and distortion patterns. However, some manufacturers counterfeit pattern welding by acid etching or laser etching carbon steel or stainless steel blades. These are considered to be fake Damascus steel blades because they are mainly used to beautifully imprint the Damascus pattern on the cheaper blades. Therefore, they do not have the inherent qualities of Damascus steel blades.

How do I know that my Damascus knife is real?

There are many signs that can be used to determine whether your Damascus knife is real or fake. First, if the Damascus knife highlights a highly refined, detailed and unnatural design (not the usual watery, folded, ladder, wave, twist, raindrop, or feather pattern), it is likely to be illegal.

In addition, you can judge whether it is a real Damascus knife by simply checking the consistency of the pattern on the knife. A real Damascus steel knife will highlight the uniform folds and patterns on the blade, blade, spine, pad and handle. In addition, the wrinkles on the handle indicate that the blade is genuine Damascus steel. Case (ie Damascus folds). Although the blades naturally exhibit Damascus folds, they are subtle and less prominent. Therefore, the blade will be acid-etched after polishing to make the pattern clearer.

If you really want to know whether your Damascus is real or fake, the only real way to judge is to completely polish the pattern on the blade. You can use sandpaper to get a satin look. Once it is beautiful and polished, etch it with ferric chloride or hydrochloric acid.

If the Damascus model comes back, it is true. If not, you have fakes in your hands.

Because Damascus can be done in a real way very cheaply, finding fake Damascus is much harder than you think. Nevertheless, it is always good to know and understand what you are looking for.

How to distinguish a real Damascus knife?
How to distinguish a real Damascus knife?

Why choose YIER Knives

● The complete knife set contains all kitchen knives.

● Delivery from the local warehouse, within 3 days.

● Manufactured in our own factory, cost-effective.

● Transparent acrylic knife holder, like a work of art

● Excellent materials, safe and durable.

● Free returns.

● We listen to customer needs and feedback.

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