On a lark I made a ridiculously low offer on a fantasy leaf blade a few months ago. Much to my surprise the seller accepted and I proceeded to hope my money was not wasted. Within one week, I had a notice that I had a package to pick up at the local PO. I was prepared for the worst but upon opening this package I was completely impressed with what I found. The blade while a fantasy blade is amazing. The lines are perfect and the distal taper was also pretty impressive. I hilted it as a Roman sword but I have not finished the project.

Anyone else have a report?

I've looked at a few of the full-profile tang knife blades. They look pretty decent for the prices they are offered at. Since I don't have the set-up or the skills to make Damascus, I may give one a shot. I guess the knife-making bug has been biting me lately. Your project sounds interesting....we'll be glad to see the end results. :D .....McM

I always look on ebay for cheap items that could be easily modified into a serviceable product. I've been burnt on occasion but over time you get better at picking these "rough diamonds".

I wonder how they would stand up to cutting tests, edge rentention etc. They seem to be heat treated fairly high for swords 57-60 Rockwell, maybe the softer alloy in the damascus allows for more flexibility, and less chance of brittleness.

Sounds a little too good to be true at these relatively low prices.

I would be very interested in a performance test too.

I've been looking at them for a while. There is even a seller not too far from me, although I wonder if he just ships direct from Pakistan even though they are listed as being here. I'm awaiting the seller's reply to that question.

I keep looking at the gladius and viking style blades, and would want to cut with them.

I am very wary of them, given the horrible failures that can happen with poorly made pattern welded steel especially if it's over-hardened for the intended purpose. That's if the adverts are even true for the blade we eventually get.

Still can't help being tempted at the price though.

I bought a Pakistan made damascus karambit ( Actually pattern welded, true damascus steel is something else ).

I'm not sure how hard the steel is ? A file will bite into the edge with enough pressure, so I assume something close to 45/50 RC. good enough to take a useful edge but a bit short of paper cutting edge .... the blade's aggressive hooked shape would still cut and be very dangerous but not as sharp as it could be.

The " Damascus " is very attractive but I had one issue with it: The very tip had a bad weld and broke off about 1/4" from the tip.
The point fragment flaked off with very light side pressure on the point.

The rest of the blade seems OK and I have had no other issues with it.

I reshaped the point on my belt grinder with little difficulty plus a bit of work with ceramic hones.

it would probably be good to closely inspect one of these before buying for crack or flaws in the welds, or buy from a vendor with a good return policy should you get a lemon.

The quality might vary wildly by maker or even for the same maker depending on the level of quality control.

I have had so far no issues with the blade rusting from contact with the sheath on mine.

Care to share what sellers and blades you've had good luck with? Would love to pick one up for some mods.

I've just had a reply from the seller I massaged last week.

To be clear, it's a seller based in the UK, selling what appear to be identical blades to the ones directly from Pakistan. I thought he was probably importing and reselling, or shipping directly from Pakistan, in fact he doesn't even list on the UK site (not allowed on ebay UK). But...

He said he can make the blades I want, and I can collect them!

I find that a bit disconcerting if anything. I guess it would mean he's importing the 'damascus' blanks and has access to some industrial-grade machinery. I can't imagine what state the heat treatment will be in afterwards, unless he's doing that too.

All for around £100???

Too good to be true surely. I might ask a few more questions re. heat treating etc., but I doubt I'll go any further. Even £100 is £100 I could put towards something I'm more sure of.

The poor welding and broken tip, mentioned by Jean Thibodeau, is exactly the sort of issue I would expect and not something I want to take the chance on.