The new Baker Forge Stainless Damascus sure would look nice on some Spydercos!

[fixall]

Every since Baker Forge announced that they were working on a stainless damascus recipe, I've been just waiting for it to release to the public. They decided to go with a mix of 154cm and AEB-L for theirs, which should give it somewhat comparable performance to Damasteel (RWL34 and PMC27), albeit a little harder to finish. The absolute biggest surprise to me though was the pricing!

I picked up a 10.25" x 1.625" x .105" billet of the Ripple pattern and it cost me $150! That is roughly half of what I typically pay for a comparable sized billet from Damasteel (pre-tariff). That just got me thinking about how nice of a fit it could be for Spyderco. It's also made in the U.S. so I would hope that procurement by the Golden facility would be a little easier than going overseas as well.

Whatcha think?

[Danke]

Damascus PM2 with corrugated G10 scales?

[sal]

Hi Fixall,

Thanx for the link.

sal

[fixall]

Hi Fixall,

Thanx for the link.

sal

Absolutely! Coy and the crew over at Baker Forge are great people too.

I wanted to swing by to show you a billet of the Baker Forge stainless (and maybe give you a little light-hearted ribbing for @Superfool after seeing the Damasteel Chaparral), but I had to get back to my table and you had a line of LEO's waiting to talk to you who have done a little more than I to earn some face time.

[vilePossum]

Interesting but if I read this correctly this is a comparison of two totally different manufacturing methods not just for the steels but also the Damascus patterns.

[fixall]

The composition of the steels that Baker Forge and Damasteel use for their stainless damascus is nearly identical.

This is AEB-L vs PMC 27.



And this is 154CM vs RWL34.


The manufacturing process is different between the two companies with Damasteel using a combination gas atomization and pressing for their patterns, and Baker Forge using more traditional damascus production techniques (although I'm not sure about their process for making stainless damascus).

I could be wrong, but I have a feeling that most consumers are more interested in the edge retention, toughness, corrosion resistance, and damascus patterns... Rather than the method of production.

The performance of the Baker Forge stainless should be on par with Damasteel in all the important categories... At half the price.

[sal]

Hi Fixall,

Sorry I missed you at the Show. It certainly was busy. It's funny that you mentioned Superfool. Always on my mind. The Damask Chap was queued in years ago. The UK for Superfool has to be made in Golden, which is having a hard time keeping up.

Their stuff looks interesting. So now my question would be what did you have in mind for models?

I'll contact them and try to get a sample.

sal

[Synov]

The composition of the steels that Baker Forge and Damasteel use for their stainless damascus is nearly identical.

This is AEB-L vs PMC 27.



And this is 154CM vs RWL34.


The manufacturing process is different between the two companies with Damasteel using a combination gas atomization and pressing for their patterns, and Baker Forge using more traditional damascus production techniques (although I'm not sure about their process for making stainless damascus).

I could be wrong, but I have a feeling that most consumers are more interested in the edge retention, toughness, corrosion resistance, and damascus patterns... Rather than the method of production.

The performance of the Baker Forge stainless should be on par with Damasteel in all the important categories... At half the price.

But in this case the process produces a superior product (higher toughness from smaller and more uniform carbides). Damasteel is a PM steel while the traditional damascus is not.

[fixall]

Hi Fixall,

Sorry I missed you at the Show. It certainly was busy. It's funny that you mentioned Superfool. Always on my mind. The Damask Chap was queued in years ago. The UK for Superfool has to be made in Golden, which is having a hard time keeping up.

Their stuff looks interesting. So now my question would be what did you have in mind for models?

I'll contact them and try to get a sample.

sal

Indeed it was! The Damasteel Chaparral looked fantastic, and I hope it sees production.

Awesome! I'm sure Coy and the crew will be excited to hear from you.

Personally... I'd love to see it on a Delica Wharncliffe, or Sage series. But maybe a Golden made model like the Para 3 (after the expansion) would make more sense considering where the steel is made?

[fixall]

The composition of the steels that Baker Forge and Damasteel use for their stainless damascus is nearly identical.

This is AEB-L vs PMC 27.



And this is 154CM vs RWL34.


The manufacturing process is different between the two companies with Damasteel using a combination gas atomization and pressing for their patterns, and Baker Forge using more traditional damascus production techniques (although I'm not sure about their process for making stainless damascus).

I could be wrong, but I have a feeling that most consumers are more interested in the edge retention, toughness, corrosion resistance, and damascus patterns... Rather than the method of production.

The performance of the Baker Forge stainless should be on par with Damasteel in all the important categories... At half the price.

But in this case the process produces a superior product (higher toughness from smaller and more uniform carbides). Damasteel is a PM steel while the traditional damascus is not.

Oh, don't get me wrong. I understand the PM manufacturing processes yields a tougher product, and I'm not trying to detract from Damasteel. I'm a big fan and use it quite often.

I think most knife enthusiasts would have a difficult time distinguishing the toughness difference between 154CM and CPM-154 though, and would likely make the trade given the price difference.

[Superfool]

It's funny that you mentioned Superfool. Always on my mind.

I am persistant, relentless. A pain in the arse.

[Superfool]

I wanted to give you a little light-hearted ribbing for @Superfool after seeing the Damasteel Chaparral

I appreciate the thought, partner.

[sal]

We have a sample coming to us. So, talk to me about this material?

Hey Shawn, have you played with this?

sal

[fixall]

Awesome! They seemed excited when I let them know you’d be contacting them. I’m excited to hear what you guys think of it. It might be too expensive/risky of an endeavor because of the billet size needed, but a Mule Team run sure would be cool.

My buddy Josh from Edge Knife works has used and heat treated it a bit. I’ll see if he can chime in. :)

It’s pretty new and has only been offered at Blade Show, aside from the Team Baker samples that went out.

[Edgeknifeworks]

Hey Sal, I was able to get a sample bar right before bladeshow. Heat treating was very straight forward, aus temp 1950F 30 minute soak plate quench then into liquid nitrogen, I did two rounds of tempering at 350F and put it right around 62RC. Very little movement in the heat treating only had some extremely minor warps to correct, was technically flat enough I could have put it straight on a surface grinder and been fine but I prefer to correct warps before moving into any grinding. The Blanchard ground finish to start was very flat to begin with and was nicely annealed so easy to work with the bar in that regard for machine pre HT. Post HT grinding went very smoothly it was very easy to machine, polished quite nicely and took it up to about a 600 grit compact belt finish then surface conditioning belts to smooth grind lines before buffing then etching. Didn’t quite go for a full mirror polish as I wanted the aebl to have a bit of a gun metal look to it. Overall it was very straightforward and easy to work with, I personally think it would make a great material for a sprint run.

[sal]

Hi Edgeknifeworks,

Welcome to our forum and thanx much for sharing your experience.

sal

[JARHEAD]

Yes! I’ll have a PM 2 w/ serrations!