Jesse Harber and Coy Baker forecast the hottest damascus steel for ’26.
There’s something about predicting the future that has intrigued humanity for ages. If you could just somehow know which stocks would turn a profit, which crypto would “go to the moon,” or which numbers were coming in the PowerBall, you like to imagine that you could really take advantage. Thus far the ability to accurately predict the future has been a challenge, which begs the question—what damascus steels and patterns will be hot for 2026?
Jesse Harber of Vegas Forge doesn’t hesitate to jump right in.
“Our Reptilian pattern stayed hot in 2025,” he observes, “and it should continue to do well.” Vegas most often uses a combination of AEB-L, 440C and 302 stainless steels for contrast in its stainless billets. It prefers the combination of O1 tool, 1075 carbon and nickel-alloy steels for its carbon varieties.
Twenty-twenty-five was a fun year for Vegas Forge. It was able to continue making the steel it loves, the steel most knife enthusiasts all love to use—and it still managed to find time to innovate.
Makers have been using EDM cutouts in canisters to make unique figures and shapes for some time now. Over the past few years, a few have experimented with 3D-printed shapes inside canisters for truly limitless possibilities. Vegas has taken a different approach of using smaller cutouts within canisters that are then layered into “regular” damascus. There are obviously other critical details of the process not mentioned here, but the end result is small shapes or logos within the layers of the steel, not just as a shape like the other canister types you usually see.
Hammering Away At Baker Forge & Tool
Coy Baker said Baker Forge & Tool is “really moving and shaking” for 2026, partly because of a new Chambersburg steam hammer converted to air. With a die surface of 6-by-14 inches and a 750-pound ram, the whole shop shakes when the hammer pounds on a giant billet. The hammer originally was used to make jib cranes for the Charlotte Railroad and runs on a 50-horsepower compressor with multiple 750-gallon air tanks. Coy stated he hasn’t pushed the hammer to its max, but said he thinks it can handle billets up to 35 pounds.
Why in the world would Baker Forge need such a giant hammer? Because the company, too, has been innovating and expanding into the production of stainless damascus. After two years of research and development and fine-tuning Baker’s processes for production, the prodigious pounder is finally up to speed. Baker prefers a combination of AEB-L and 154CM for its stainless damascus.
“The steel is really hard even when it’s hot,” Coy said. “Even with our 350-pound hammer it was like pounding on a rock.” The giant Chambersburg, on the other hand, moves a giant stainless billet with ease.
For those of you who don’t know, forging stainless damascus is quite a challenge, beyond the capability of many backyard smiths. Stainless steels contain high chromium, sometimes 12-to-15 percent, and chromium oxide doesn’t forge weld. Any oxygen at all in the forging environment and the welds simply will not stick. There are multiple ways to get around that, including inert gas purges and welding inside canisters. Add that to the fact that the stainless doesn’t like to move under the hammer and has only about a 100-degree-temperature window when you can safely work it, and you get a very difficult process.
Baker isn’t just producing stainless damascus in run-of-the-mill patterns, it is innovating. It has developed patterns it will use in its stainless steel exclusively, particularly one called Zeus.
Copper damascus has long been Baker’s hottest commodity, and it’s still producing it at high volume and quantity. The company is pushing the limits there as well and has developed a method to weld and manipulate copper on the end grain. While the technique is under wraps, the results will be broadcast far and wide: copper damascus in formerly unobtainable mosaic patterns. When clad over a monosteel or carbon damascus core, the patterns stretch the imagination of what’s possible.
Steel Industry Challenges
Both Baker and Harber mentioned challenges and areas for growth in the steel industry. Baker was the first to put BLADE® on the story about Buderus apparently closing its primary mill for 10xx series steels. Coupled with the recent closing of Crucible on the stainless side (see our article on Crucible Industries closing), both Baker and Harber have been exploring new steel options in case their mainstays become unavailable. Vegas in particular is moving toward more cores of Nitro-V and Elmax and moving away from MagnaCut and XHP.
The hot new kid on the block is ProCut, the brainchild of a partnership between Larrin Thomas and Pop’s Knife Supply. Both Vegas and Baker are looking forward to pushing the limits of ProCut. As a high-alloy steel, when combined with Apex Ultra, the maker achieves high performance out of what looks like “ordinary” 1084/15N20 damascus. If you think of the difference in performance between 1084 and 52100 carbon steels, you’re on the right track. Baker Forge is currently in the lead on the ProCut “arms race” but Vegas Forge has steel in hand and is ready to go.
What fun new things can we expect in the world of damascus in 2026? Vegas Forge is entertaining a few recent orders that sound interesting. There’s a maker in Alaska using Vegas material to make high-end custom ice skates, and another customer using the company’s material to make stainless damascus computer keyboards. Who’d a thunk it? For those who enjoy a good picture show, Vegas has another top-secret project in the works. Think aliens with amazing damascus weapons and tools and you’re on the right track.
Take two leaders in the field like Baker and Vegas, factor in the demand for their top steels and add lots of innovation, and you get the makings of a really great year to come in the world of damascus.
More On Damascus:
- Hottest Damascus Patterns, According to Top Bladesmiths
- Damascus Steel: Experts Forecast Growth In The Knife Industry
- Damascus Folders: New Custom Examples
- Damascus Steels: What To Use And When
- How Many Damascus Knives Did Bill Moran Make?
