Top bladesmiths discuss the three hottest damascus patterns.
As damascus patterns emerge through the years, their popularity waxes and wanes. The steel itself, layers of intrigue and interest, experimentation and innovation captivate the steel forger, the custom maker and the knife-buying public like nothing else. The patterns abound and in recent reviews of photos, commentary from those in the business and observation it appears that the feather and mosaic, with twist not far behind, have been and continue to be hot.
“I agree that feather and mosaic patterns are predominantly what is made, or certainly what is getting photographed [a lot],” related ABS master smith Steve Randall. “Both patterns are popular because they have lots of character and can be pretty dramatic. Feather patterns are very cool because they can be unique yet still hold true to the feather pattern. The mosaics can move off into so many different styles. They allow the maker to be really creative.”
Feather Damascus Pattern
ABS master smith Bill Burke praises the versatility of the feather pattern and its breadth of presentation.
“I think that you see a lot of feather pattern because it is so striking and looks good on almost any knife style,” he commented. “It is also quite a challenge to produce. A well-done feather will have a flow from end to end with nicely curved veins, while a feather that has interruptions in the pattern or has the center area drawn out into a long ‘V’ shape then curves out rather sharply to the edge is not done so well. I don’t feel a feather pattern is difficult to do after one has mastered pattern welding. It becomes difficult when an inexperienced smith rushes into trying to make a feather before mastering basic pattern-welding techniques.”
BLADE Magazine Cutlery Hall-of-Fame® member and ABS master smith Steve Schwarzer sees the artistry in the feather pattern as well, and when he considers the magnitude of its relative surge concludes, “Absolutely. What you don’t see much of is images and the forge skill required to put that in damascus. Both the feather and mosaic damascus are fairly easy to do, and with the internet there are thousands of recipes out there with visual step-by-step instructions. I did the first feather pattern ever done in a folding knife, and [Cutlery Hall-of-Famer] Don Fogg in his Life and Death Dagger was the only one who did a feather pattern before me. I did the first that was recognizable in the folding knife.”
Degree of difficulty is and will forever be a matter of individual perspective and opinion. Randall stresses the experience level of the maker in fashioning the feather pattern.
“I would say that feather damascus can be a difficult pattern,” he offered. “There are a lot of pieces that have to forge weld together, which opens the opportunity for cold shuts or poor welds. Once that happens, you’ve pretty much got a paper weight.”
Mosaic Damascus Pattern
The perspective on mosaic damascus is similar to that of the feather pattern. Its uptick in popularity is driven by the skill of the maker and the diversity of the presentation. Mosaic makes its statement in both subtle and bold blade aesthetics.
“Mosaic patterns do lend themselves to individual creativity,” Burke remarked. “They can vary from not too hard to extremely difficult to do. Mosaics are limited only by the smith’s skill and imagination. Mosaics that are done well will have the patterns lined up with no unintended interruptions in the elements and all the individual tiles matched up well.”
Tiles, incidentally, are the small, angled pieces of steel that are carefully assembled and then forge-welded together to create the distinctive, repeating mosaic pattern. The tiles are cut from the billet or block of welded steel that forms the basis for the creation of any damascus pattern. The tile cuts are made with a scarf joint that facilitates the joining of the surfaces to be mated during the forge welding process.
ABS master smith Mike Quesenberry is a big fan of the mosaic pattern, particularly its possibilities for expression.
“I love mosaic and its creativity,” he declared, “along with the fact that smiths can take mosaic and make it bold or fine and there are all sorts or variations that make it fantastic, from W’s to many others. You can add different layers to fine and thick material, 1080 or 15N20 or whatever alloy. That black and silver contrast can do all kinds of crazy, wild things.
It is huge with so many possibilities, and it turns out to be a really good pattern that some like in a fine look and others prefer in a bold statement.”
Things To Look For
Assessing the quality of the individual feather and mosaic product is an exercise in discernment and preference along with the display of basic skill that is evident. Randall takes a subjective point of view.
“One of the most important signs of a feather pattern that is well done is its flow through the blade,” he observed. “The feather should flow from the center of the ricasso through the blade and out the tip. Both feather and mosaics being well done are in the eye of the beholder. Layer count has a big impact. The higher the count does not always make the pattern better.”
Schwarzer agrees that the individual’s taste has a tremendous weight in the interpretation of well-done damascus.
“It’s all subjective,” he related. “It involves how pleasing to the eye the fine or bold patterns are. The whole thing can’t be just a hodgepodge of stuff stuck together. It has to tell a story, and if it tells a story, then it is art—and to a lot of people it is great art. There is stuff out there that is incredibly complicated to do that looks simple on the face of it, but it isn’t. We are in the infancy of pattern welding, and a lot of it has come from Daryl Meier.
“There have been patterns out there with faces and images in them since the 1700s,” Steve continued, “and now we are painting with steel. When Bill Moran showed up with random-pattern blades in the early ’70s, he was continuing something that had never stopped. Pattern welding has probably been going on for 4,000 years, and you have to forge, fold and weld the iron to clean it. Then, when you get the alloy in there, it shows the pattern. Pattern welding, including feather and mosaic damascus, is a technique and a skill set that is developed. Once you develop that skill, the trick is to get it back together without flaws, turning something mundane into something striking. Mosaic requires more planning and skill than feather.”
Twist Damascus Pattern
Although some patterns may stand out from others for a while, there are always those that maintain their place among the most popular. Twist patterns and specifically Turkish twist are regularly in the conversation when collectors are seeking their prize blade.
“Twist and Turkish twist are the same and totally different at the same time,” smiled Burke. “While a simple twist pattern is rather mundane, when four or more bars are twisted in opposite directions and stacked one on top of the other to create a Turkish twist, the result can be striking. However, like almost all other patterns these two can also be drawn out or stretched too far, which detracts from the looks of the pattern. While a simple twist is relatively easy, the Turkish twist billet is wrought with potential for failure and is very labor intensive.”
A key element in producing twist patterns is control, and Schwarzer respects the precision required.
“Very precise control is necessary in the twisting so you get that twisting the same in fine or coarse layers,” he said. “Jerry Rados was the American guy who did the most of that, and we both learned from Daryl Meier in Carbondale [Illinois]. The early blades made by Daryl in the 1980s are beautiful, but you’ve got to be almost [obsessive compulsive] to produce that stuff. It involves a lot of planning and the turns have to be precise. You can twist mosaic and make it look like a kaleidoscope.”
Randall says that a Turkish twist done right is “very classy.” Its degree of difficulty is a cut above basic twist, but in his experience, it isn’t quite as demanding as feather pattern work due to the requirement of fewer pieces to “cut, flip and weld together.”
When Quesenberry talks Turkish twist, he affirms his love of the look but decries the amount of waste he sees in its production.
“I’m a huge fan,” he commented, “and I love the fact that it’s an appealing pattern. But I don’t like the huge amount of waste. To me, the cool pattern is in the middle third of the bar. There aren’t really a lot of American and European guys into Turkish twist, but some of the South Americans are really pros who are turning out some bold patterns.”
Shifting Damascus Pattern Preferences
Of course, the shifting preferences and envelope of creativity that is constantly pushed keep the damascus conversation going. And it is likely to remain lively long into the future.
“Trying to say one pattern or another is more popular is always subjective,” Randall concluded. “There are some great classic patterns that are very appealing. For example, the ladder, twist, crushed W’s and others. Sometimes the mosaics get visually busy, so some people don’t enjoy them as much, but who doesn’t love a feather or explosion pattern? They are too cool. Some of it does depend on the overall knife design. The blade design and size with guard and handle can enhance—or take away—from a pattern.”
Considering damascus pattern popularity past, present and future, one element is certain. The driving force of creativity and the artistry of the forge will keep this ancient steel relevant for generations to come.
More On Damascus:
- 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?
