# 210mm Damasteel Santoku



## Dave Martell (Jun 15, 2018)

Three months ago I put the call out looking for a willing patron to fund a Damasteel project knife and Bruce answered the call. :thumbsup:

He asked for something a bit different then I normally do but that was OK as it fit (dimensional wise) the limited sizing that this steel can be found in flat stock form. He requested a "rocking santoku" patterned (exactly) from a Miyabi, just expanded in all dimensions. He opted to go with Damasteel's Rose pattern steel, specified the heel height, thickness, and length of the blade as well as asking for a green western handle. 

I wanted to get the best quality nicest looking green wood I could find and I sure got lucky when I came across this stabilized block of maple. It was the costliest maple I've ever purchased but the results are nothing short of spectacular - best stuff I've ever had.

I paired the wood up with a stacked nickel silver bolster, something new to me. The handle is western style like I normally make yet I added a bit of different styling to it, just to jazz it up a bit.

As for the steel, this is a stainless powdered damascus, not your everyday stuff. The heat treat was taken to Rc62-63 with cryo. IMO, it ground pretty easy compared to CPM154 (also a powdered stainless) yet wasn't as easy to finish to a high shine as CPM154 is. 

This steel requires a different etching procedure than is normally used. The recommendation is to first soak in warm hydrochloric acid _(very nasty stuff!)_ to bring out some color and then dunked in a mix of ferric chloride acid and vinegar for the texture. I'm not so sure that I couldn't have just used ferric chloride here and skipped the HCI but I did what I was supposed to and the results seem nice. It did require a re-edging and some fine sandpaper work post etch to make it look nice and restore the etched away edge. I chose to also buff the blade lightly to make for a slipperier surface. 

Would I use Damasteel again? Mmmm....yes....but for more $$$ :wink: Yes I charged a lot for this job, actually this is the most expensive knife I've made, but this steel requires a lot of extra work and it's very expensive as well, so the cost of the product has to bear the expenses. It was fun to try out though.

To Bruce, thank you VERY much for the opportunity to work with this steel, the chance to do something different, and to show off what I'm capable of of doing on the high end. :doublethumbsup:




Now here's the knife, please let me know what you think.....


----------



## Godslayer (Jun 15, 2018)

Dave Martell said:


> Three months ago I put the call out looking for a willing patron to fund a Damasteel project knife and Bruce answered the call. :thumbsup:
> 
> He asked for something a bit different then I normally do but that was OK as it fit (dimensional wise) the limited sizing that this steel can be found in flat stock form. He requested a "rocking santoku" patterned (exactly) from a Miyabi, just expanded in all dimensions. He opted to go with Damasteel's Rose pattern steel, specified the heel height, thickness, and length of the blade as well as asking for a green western handle.
> 
> ...



Looks like someone has evolved


----------



## cheflivengood (Jun 15, 2018)

You've done the Damasteel gods proud


----------



## Dave Martell (Jun 15, 2018)

Godslayer said:


> Looks like someone has evolved





cheflivengood said:


> You've done the Damasteel gods proud




Thank you both!


----------



## Matus (Jun 15, 2018)

That is seriously cool Dave. I am sure you made this one just to keep pushing up the bar for the rest of us [emoji39]


----------



## KJDedge (Jun 15, 2018)

Really stunning outcome.....Nice job!!


----------



## niwaki-boy (Jun 15, 2018)

A beauty Dave &#128077;&#128077;


----------



## Dave Martell (Jun 15, 2018)

Matus said:


> That is seriously cool Dave. I am sure you made this one just to keep pushing up the bar for the rest of us [emoji39]





KJDedge said:


> Really stunning outcome.....Nice job!!





niwaki-boy said:


> A beauty Dave &#62541;&#62541;




Thanks guys, I appreciate it.


----------



## daveb (Jun 15, 2018)

That does not suck. Not even a little bit:cool2:


----------



## sudsy9977 (Jun 15, 2018)

God damn thats nice. Remember how to do that nickel bolster for my knives.


----------



## Dave Martell (Jun 15, 2018)

daveb said:


> That does not suck. Not even a little bit:cool2:





sudsy9977 said:


> God damn thats nice. Remember how to do that nickel bolster for my knives.




Thanks gents!


----------



## ecchef (Jun 16, 2018)

Im speechless. :bigeek:


----------



## McMan (Jun 16, 2018)

:jawdrop:

Nice touch with the chamfered edges on the bevel, too.


----------



## daddy yo yo (Jun 16, 2018)

Dave never ceases to amaze with his knives. That handle is breathtaking!!!

Dave, is this a new (less rounded) butt shape?


----------



## Bill13 (Jun 16, 2018)

Great looking knife Dave! The nickel looks great against the green. How was working with the damasteel compare with the 52100?


----------



## Dave Martell (Jun 16, 2018)

ecchef said:


> Im speechless. :bigeek:



Thanks Dave





McMan said:


> :jawdrop:
> 
> Nice touch with the chamfered edges on the bevel, too.



Thanks 





daddy yo yo said:


> Dave never ceases to amaze with his knives. That handle is breathtaking!!!
> 
> Dave, is this a new (less rounded) butt shape?



Thanks Manuel. And yes that's something a little different on the butt shape. It's a combo of what I used to do years ago with what I've been doing since then. It's always interesting to me how the little details change the overall look. Maybe you want this on your soon to be made knife? We should talk. 





Bill13 said:


> Great looking knife Dave! The nickel looks great against the green. How was working with the damasteel compare with the 52100?



Thanks Bill. I can't yet talk about the 52100 and how it works.


----------



## daddy yo yo (Jun 16, 2018)

Dave Martell said:


> Thanks Manuel. And yes that's something a little different on the butt shape. It's a combo of what I used to do years ago with what I've been doing since then. It's always interesting to me how the little details change the overall look. Maybe you want this on your soon to be made knife?


YES !!!


----------



## Dave Martell (Jun 16, 2018)

:thumbsup:


----------



## milkbaby (Jun 17, 2018)

It's beautiful, great work. I already said it on your Instagram, but this is a nice change up from your classic western handle shape but it really suits the blade profile and damascus pattern! :doublethumbsup:

You should charge a bunch for Damasteel knives as it's beautiful but crazy expensive. I don't think there's any source of stainless damascus for forging or stock removal that's "affordable".


----------



## Dave Martell (Jun 17, 2018)

milkbaby said:


> It's beautiful, great work. I already said it on your Instagram, but this is a nice change up from your classic western handle shape but it really suits the blade profile and damascus pattern! :doublethumbsup:
> 
> You should charge a bunch for Damasteel knives as it's beautiful but crazy expensive. I don't think there's any source of stainless damascus for forging or stock removal that's "affordable".




Thanks MB


----------



## playero (Sep 11, 2018)

one word WOW!!


----------

