I would totally rub my cock on these, but I'd probably end up cutting it off

[Requia ☣]

Made in Japan, and Japanese steel are not the same thing.

Correct me if I'm wrong, it's been a few years since I was into this kind of stuff, but isn't the process of making true Damascus steel lost?

It was rediscovered in the 90s, but what ECH bought isn't true Damascus steel, its welded (which looks the same).  It looks pretty, but its no different from normal steel of the makeup.  (Though that's perfectly alright for kitchen knives).

actually, it is different in terms of cutting performance. the pattern weld allows for a very fine serration in the wear pattern on the blade's edge, which has the effect of keeping the edge keener longer and also allows it to slice through everything as though everything were warm butter.

I haven't seen serration taken into account.  So I'll retract that, pattern welded is different from other steels, but in a different way.

[Jasper]

I wonder if rhenium diboride would make good knives.  It is supposed to be extremely hard.  Read about it in a science mag a while ago...

[Z³]

I need some ceremonial iridium daggers for my doomsday cult.

[East Coast Hustle]

Correct me if I'm wrong, it's been a few years since I was into this kind of stuff, but isn't the process of making true Damascus steel lost?

not that I'm aware of. There's nothing magical about Damascus steel. In fact, applying the same technique with today's technology and alloys yields a blade far superior to historical Damascus steel.

however, if I'm wrong and anyone has information that shows an appreciable difference between old-school damascus steel and today's pattern-welded high-carbon alloys, I'd love to see it.

Pattern welded is just as old school as the crucible (or wootz) method.  The internal structure is different, the chemical makeup is different (tis is why the technique was lost, the old smiths didn't know they needed special ore, and modern metallurgists assumed that impurities of less than 100 parts per million wouldn't have an effect) and the bands are closer together in wootz.  Wootz was very high quality for the time, but digging through my notes and checking it against tool steels, I'd take the tool steel. (Wootz had hardness of 20-35, the stuff the make jackhammers out of, which is more than durable, is 58-60 according to wikipedia).  I'm not sure what the quality of wootz steel using modern metals would be, but probably a hell of a lot higher than the old stuff.

Check Scientific American, January 2001 for a write up.  You can probably dig up other sources on Google scholar if you have access to any of it.  The key researchers are Verhoeven, J. D., and A. H. Pendray.

sweet! thanks, dude.

I just used the one with the black handle to shave filament-thin slices of an over-ripe grape.

[East Coast Hustle]

I also just bought a sweet zirconium-blade knife. Won't set off metal detectors, and keeps it's edge 60 times longer than steel. Can't really use it for anything other than straight cuts, and it'll shatter if you bump it wrong or hit it against anything on its side, but it's great for leafy greens and fresh herbs and fruits because the blade is non-reactive.

[Jasper]

Very cool!   I'd love to hear firsthand how it compares to conventional knives.

[Freeky]

I also just bought a sweet zirconium-blade knife. Won't set off metal detectors, and keeps it's edge 60 times longer than steel. Can't really use it for anything other than straight cuts, and it'll shatter if you bump it wrong or hit it against anything on its side, but it's great for leafy greens and fresh herbs and fruits because the blade is non-reactive.

Ooo, are they very expensive?

[East Coast Hustle]

depends. the best ones I've found are made by Kyocera, they go for anywhere from $30-ish for a paring knife to over $100 for an 8" chef knife. Mine is made by Asahi, which is nearly as good as Kyocera for around half the price (I paid $35 for a 6" chef knife). I can't recommend any of the cheaper brands as they're mostly inferior material and will break more easily and the cutting edge will tend to develop chips and nicks over time. As I said, they're very limited in their practical application, but for the things they are useful for they are pretty much unparalleled.

ETA: also, you CAN NOT use conventional sharpening tools on them. They have to be professionally sharpened by someone with the proper diamond-grinder for ceramic/zirconium blades. This isn't a big problem, since they keep their edge so long. I'll probably have to sharpen mine every 4 to 6 months, using it in a commercial kitchen 5 days a week. You would probably have to sharpen it every couple of years.

[Jasper]

Excellent.  Yeah I was looking at those Kyoceras, they're sexy little things.

I think I'll shop for one when my next grant comes in.

[Nast]

HOLY SHIT

Best knives ever.

[Freeky]

Good to know.

[Requia ☣]

Just how much were these knives anyway?

[Jasper]

Just how much were these knives anyway?

The one I want:

http://www.metrokitchen.com/product/KJ-KT-155-HIP-D

[Requia ☣]

I meant the Damascus ones from the Op.

[Triple Zero]

the one with the walnut handle needs to be sharpened a bit more, but the one with the black handle is actually sharper than my water buffalo knife, which was previously the sharpest knife I had ever seen (and a gift from Jacque Richard), let alone owned. 90% of what I do is run-of-the-mill slicing and dicing, and it's like whatever I'm cutting isn't even there. I'm pretty sure I could behead someone cleanly with this blade, if it were long enough.

Swote. I've lately been getting some decent knives as presents, several orders of magnitude better than the cheap(est) set I had before.

Similar to having a clean and relatively spaceous kitchen, sharp knives just make cooking more fun.

Do you have any tips on how not to cut off parts of the tops of your fingers, or is that basically just a matter of being insanely careful?

Cause it seems, the sharper the knife, the sooner and more splattery I manage to fuck up some part of my hand.