Would you want a Damascus Mule?

[VandymanG]

I’ve tried all my mules whenever I’m cutting leather and they do ok. But they all feel like I have to work a little bit harder than the knife I usually use. I use a 71 layer Damascus folding knife from Boker to cut leather and it cuts through the leather with little or no effort. Kind of like a hot knife through butter. I bought the Boker for just under $80 and I’ve seen it selling some places for around $130.

I’ve often wandered what a higher quality Damascus knife with newer steels and a pattern known to help it stay sharp would achieve. This especially became of more interest after Dr. Larrin reported the findings from the research he was a part/created/lead of testing various steels and patterns.

[kwakster]

I would like to see a mule in modern Russian made wootz/bulat:

http://damascus.free.fr/f_damas/f_quest ... ounyov.htm

Contact info is in there too.

Claims:

- Their softest wootz has an average hardness of 62-63 HRC
- A blade made of it easily scratches glass, cuts nails without notches and can be bent more than by 120 degrees without residual deformations.
- A wootz steel knife with 1% of carbon (the softest Wootz they are making), can slice a screwdriver from a rod made of U10A steel.
- Acoustic properties: Hardened strip of wootz steel, containing 2% of carbon, sounds with steady tone at least for 3-4 minutes.