Benchmade is proud to announce the release of “Shepherds of Helmand,” a documentary about 17 Oregon National Guard soldiers deployed to Afghanistan to train a battalion of the Afghan National Army in 2008.
The film depicts their mission to conduct counter narcotics patrols in the deadly Helmand Province, a region notorious not only for its opium production but as a Taliban stronghold. “Shepherds of Helmand” is the true story of one of the most decorated units in Oregon National Guard history.
“I am very passionate about preserving our veteran’s legacies and supporting programs that help support our wounded veterans,” says Gary Mortensen, Director of Shepherds of Helmand. “This film couldn’t have been possible without the support of Benchmade.”
Filmmaker Gary Mortensen worked on the project for over two years and utilized photos and video clips provided by the soldiers.
Shepherds of Helmand is narrated by Don Trump Jr. and features music by Zac Brown Band. Both were thrilled to be involved and support this powerful documentary about the soldiers who served in Afghanistan.
“We’re extremely proud to support the making of this film,” says Rob Morrison, Benchmade’s Director of Marketing and Strategic Planning. “These stories help us understand what the soldiers go through on a daily basis when at war, bringing us closer to their personal sacrifices.”
A December 2014 feature article by staff writer Phil Perry online and in the Lincoln Times-News of Lincolnton, N.C., mentions BLADE® Magazine and KNIVES 2015. A knifemaking feature on ABS journeyman smith and commercial pilot Steve Randall, it starts:
Often, when a craftsman pursues the road to independence through a business venture, they are inspired by a lifetime of collecting or being exposed directly to the craft. That wasn’t necessarily the case for Lincoln County’s Steve Randall, who has made an international name for himself crafting custom hand-forged knives from his workshop on the eastern end of the county.
“As an avid survivalist, I have used knives all my life,” he said. “I never collected them or thought a whole lot about it. Once I was bitten with the bug I have been obsessed with it ever since.”
Things changed in 2009 when Randall started “KSR Blades” and built an extension onto his garage to house the vast amount of forging equipment needed to facilitate his burning passion to produce high-quality hand-forged knives.
“I made my first sale on eBay and I was pretty excited,” Randall said. The ABS journeyman smith doesn’t sell his product on auction sites these days. Having been featured in national magazines like “Knives Illustrated,” “BLADE® Magazine” and four of his creations featured in “KNIVES 2015,” Randall has a one-year backlog on special orders and also ships to Germany, Sweden, Australia and Canada.
Damascus steel is produced on a mass scale by some of the best in the business
Forging damascus steel for knives and ancillary products on a broad scale makes the beautiful and highly popular knife material readily accessible to the marketplace, and drives the creativity of custom and factory knifemakers. The availability of the resulting damascus knives is reaching new levels while bringing on innovation at the same time.
At Nichols Damascus, owner Chad Nichols touts his willingness to put together “laminates of any kind we can think of.” Nichols Damascus is busy with titanium and copper alloys, carbon and stainless steels.
“We have a pattern called Boomerang, and any configuration we make it in sells very well,” Chad commented, adding that he believes the popularity of the material has increased dramatically due to the internet and social media.
One of the latest patterns in Damasteel’s Dragon series, Svavner was used to create the blade steel for the Valyrian swords of the Targaryen family on HBO’s House of the Dragon. Brian Brown uses the steel here on one of his sporty folders. (Damasteel image)
He asserts that his forging operation charts its own course. “We’re just having a good time playing with hot stuff,” he smiled, “and we make a lot of core material. This is where we clad a homogeneous steel like Magna Cut with a damascus on the outside.”
WANTS & DESIRES MET A family-owned business situated just north of Sweden’s capital of Stockholm, Damasteel has focused for years on making top-quality steel for custom knifemakers, among other lines of business. “Over the last couple of years we have released our Dragon family of damascus patterns, culminating with the release of Svavner, which we launched alongside the release of HBO’s House of the Dragon,” noted owner and iron master Per Jarbelius. “They used our steel to create the Valyrian swords for the Targaryen family. It was an amazing project to get to work on.”
Damasteel has also just released Drakkar, a patterned steel in sheet form. It’s a first for the company and Jarbelius says it has been well received, emphasizing its nesting options with the ability to go from bar to sheet. A product line called Damacore has been available in DC18N and DC21R steel for a few years now and signaled a major expansion in the company’s repertoire. “It’s becoming even more popular as the number of san-mai offerings grows on the market,” Per noted. “We’re hoping to eventually be able to offer every pattern we do in both the DC18N and DC21R.”
Among the most popular Baker Forge & Tool damascus patterns are the copper and bronze laminates. A current hot one is Elite CopperMai, a damascus blend of copper, 1084 carbon steel and pure nickel over a solid core of 80CrV2 carbon steel that creates either a chevron or a ripple pattern (the latter here on a knife by JB Blades). (Baker Forge & Tool image)
Philosophically, Jarbelius relates that Damasteel has always paid attention to the wants and desires of its market. “We make patterned and un-patterned stainless steel, and our priorities have always been performance and beauty,” he explained. “Our artistry is core to our identity, and we want to make patterns that connect with users on an emotional level. Research and development is a big part of what we do. But hearing from makers is equally important; we value the opportunity to get feedback from people using our steel.”
Damasteel further connects with its user community each year in hosting the Damasteel Chef Invitational, showcasing the talents of top-class culinary knifemakers. The evening event provides a glimpse inside the shops and workspaces of incredibly talented artisans. “It’s absolutely world class,” Per concluded. “It’s a great learning experience, too, for people who have never used our products. They can ask questions and connect with our team as well.”
Forging An Industry
Vegas Forge concentrates on the production of high-quality damascus steel in a variety of exotic patterns and alloy combinations. “In 2016, we opened our shop in Las Vegas and quickly discovered that many of our potential customers were extremely hesitant to use damascus steel again due to some bad experiences they had had in the past with other damascus steel companies or makers,” explained owner Jesse Harber.
Damacore has been available in DC18N and DC21R steels for a few years now and signaled a major expansion in Damasteel’s repertoire. Persevere by Princeton Wong sports a 3.5-inch blade of Damacore DC18N handled in black Timascus™. Closed length: 4.625 inches. Princeton’s price for a similar knife: $2,700. (SharpByCoop image)
According to Harber, customer service is a watchword at Vegas Forge. Returning customer calls, handling inquiries, responding to emails, and delivering orders in a timely manner complete the full circle from outstanding damascus to overall satisfaction.
“Once we had solved that, we turned our focus on creating new, interesting patterns, new billet shapes and different alloy combinations,” Jesse advised. “In the beginning, we had 10 damascus patterns that we offered customers, all flat billets which are what knifemakers primarily use. Today, we offer 26 flat-billet damascus patterns. We offer most of those patterns in stainless or carbon damascus as well as titanium damascus and mokume gane. In addition, we have eight round-bar damascus patterns that we sell to customers who make things out of round bar like custom rings, pens, razors and such. We also make blocks of damascus in six different patterns for manufacturers of guns, golf putters and other products.”
The most recent patterns to emerge from Vegas Forge include Virus, Lytic, Forged Koa and one that is so recent that it remains unnamed thus far. Virus depicts what most people would think a virus looks like under a microscope—sporadic circles and lines that are “beautifully chaotic.” Lytic has the look of lytic DNA cycles under the microscope.
Baker Forge’s CopperMai was one of the first copper damascus steels to capture the imagination of custom knife enthusiasts. Bubba Crouch uses it on his trapper with an integral damascus frame and double-line antique Micarta® handle. Closed length: 4 inches. Bubba’s price for a similar knife: $3,000. (SharpByCoop image)
“Both of these patterns were created during the pandemic, so that’s where the inspiration—if you want to call it that—came from!” Harber laughed. “Forged Koa looks like a rare piece of twisted koa wood. It has multiple depths and contrasts to make it look like koa. It’s made by stacking 600-plus pieces of steel into a can and then lightly twisting it. As you grind into it, the pattern opens up and exposes all 600 layers, which is pretty spectacular.”
A few years ago, Vegas Forge began producing a titanium damascus that Harber dubbed Damtanium. The combination includes damascus with layers of Grade 2 and Grade 5 titanium. Almost simultaneously, the company introduced Zirmascus, an alloy of zirconium and titanium layers.
“We’re always trying out new steels in our san-mai damascus,” Jesse added. “San-mai is like damascus, but at the center of the damascus billet is a solid core. We have used Elmax, Magna Cut, and Nitro-V, to name a few.”
Jesse Harber said Vegas Forge uses its san-mai damascus to try out a number of stainless-steel cores, including Elmax, Magna Cut and Nitro-V, the latter shown here in bar form. (Vegas Forge image)
All this experimentation and innovation is the product of an expanding horizon and an imagination that isn’t inhibited or afraid to step into some uncharted territory. Harber thinks the future is bright at Vegas Forge, and the new product array has brought ever-increasing interest to the doorstep.
“In the beginning, the knife world kept us alive,” he declared. “We were getting no love from other industries. Today, the knife world still accounts for half our business. There isn’t another industry that we love more. We’ve attended hundreds of knife shows over the years, and there is no doubt that knife people are our people. We sell to a lot of custom knifemakers as well as larger manufacturers. I love the custom world, and I don’t even know how many custom knives we own at this point.”
Incorporating Copper And Bronze
Coy Baker founded Baker Forge & Tool in 2019 with a focus on damascus and san-mai. That bedrock quickly elevated to include non-ferrous laminate steels. Baker Forge is now an industry leader in copper and bronze laminated steels with dedicated distribution centers in the United States, Canada, the United Kingdom and Australia.
Chad Nichols Damascus offers a wide range of damascus patterns including the Intrepid on Luke Swenson’s six-blade stag sowbelly. Luke’s price for a similar knife: $4,000. (SharpByCoop image)
“Our current buying market is about 80 percent to the knifemaking industry, about a 50/50 split between retail custom makers and commercial knife companies,” Coy related. “We cut our teeth in the custom knifemaker market in the beginning and have slowly expanded into the commercial side. We aim to always be able to provide damascus steels to everyone from the hobby smith to the biggest knife companies.”
Among the most popular Baker Forge damascus patterns are the copper and bronze laminates. However, one-off custom runs generate real excitement. One trending steel group is Elite CopperMai, a damascus blend of copper, 1084 carbon steel, and pure nickel over a solid core of 80CrV2 carbon steel, creating either a ripple or chevron pattern.
“This layout is very appealing to customers due to the stark contrast between the layers and its ease of finishing,” Coy remarked. “We have been expanding into using new core steels in our laminates. Recently, we have used some Hitachi #2, which quickly became a crowd favorite for its edge-retention properties. Later this year we will be expanding into Apex Ultra steel and possibly some other stainless options.”
“Forged Koa looks like a rare piece of twisted koa wood,” Vegas Forge’s Jesse Harber explained. “It’s made by stacking 600-plus pieces of steel into a can and then lightly twisting it. As you grind into it, the pattern opens up and exposes all 600 layers, which is pretty spectacular. (Vegas Forge image)
This quick look inside the damascus steel industry offers a glimpse of past, present, and future. The tried and true, the cutting edge, and what will be are coming together to keep pattern steels fresh and exciting among makers, users and then the wider buying market.
For Maximum Toughness Without Sacrificing Edge Performance, Consider A Soft-Backed Blade.
For centuries, smiths from various cultures recognized the necessity of blades that do the job without critical failure. Some Eastern cultures specialized in differential hardening, particularly the Japanese. European cultures tended to forge weld a hardenable edge to a softer spine. In each case, the end result is an edge hard enough to cut well and a spine tough and resistant to breaking.
One of the measures of a modern knifemaker is the willingness and ability to successfully navigate the certifications processes of the world of knives, such as the American Bladesmith Society’s (ABS) journeyman and master smith certifications. Similarly, one measure of a knife blade is its ability to perform various tasks that put its edge geometry and heat treatment to the test.
If you’ve been around the knife industry any time in the past 40 years or so, you’ve no doubt seen stories of blades that demonstrate edge holding ability that also have the strength and flexibility to bend without breaking. The key to this kind of performance is for the blade to have a hard edge and a soft back. Pardon the pun, but let’s break that down a bit.
First things first—a knife must cut. One key to premier cutting performance is a well-hardened edge. A properly hardened edge comes from the use of steel with adequate carbon, brought to the proper hardening temperature, quenched in the proper quench medium, and tempered to the proper hardness.
Each of these variables has an impact, but at the end of the day if the maker does things right, the edge of a well-performing blade will be hardened and tempered martensite in the 58 to 60 HRC Rockwell hardness range, plus or minus a point or two depending on geometry. If the edge is left too soft, the blade will not cut as it should.
Shawn Ellis originally learned the edge hardening process from ABS master smith Jim Crowell in the early 1990s when Jim—here at the grinder—demonstrated edge hardening using an acetylene torch. (Jay Morrissey image)
But what about the blade’s spine? Does it need to be as hard as the edge? The answer is “it depends.” Hardness as a metallurgical property is directly opposed to toughness, in that the harder the blade the more brittle it is. At the same time, an unhardened blade of annealed steel is very difficult to break but won’t hold an edge. If the maker hardens the blade fully from edge to spine, the knife will be more likely to break under chopping or bending loads.
Let me talk about “more likely” in this case. Are you more likely to be struck by lightning or bitten by a shark? As it turns out, you’re about 7.5 times more likely to be struck by lightning than bitten by a shark, but the odds of being struck are only 1 in 500,000. Either way, neither is very likely. I state that because while it is empirically true that a fully hardened blade is “more likely” to break than a blade with a soft back and hardened edge, if the maker does the heat treatment properly and the user uses the blade properly, either will perform very well with a very low risk of catastrophic failure.
Soft-Backed Bennies
Even if the overall risk of breaking in normal use is small, it still makes sense that some makers want to chase that last bit of performance by taking advantage of the strength of the soft-backed blade. So what does a soft-backed blade do? What are the benefits? By hardening the edge but intentionally softening the spine, the blade is more resistant to breaking when subjected to extreme force. This remains true whether the force comes to the blade parallel as in chopping or perpendicular as in bending.
ABS journeyman smith and past Forged in Fire champion Shawn Ellis is a proponent of the soft-backed blade. He originally learned the edge hardening process from ABS master smith Jim Crowell in the early 1990s when Jim demonstrated edge hardening using an acetylene torch.
He heated the edge only, quenched the blade, and then used the torch to draw the temper back. To temper, he started with the torch at the spine and used a wet rag to keep the edge cool. When he was finished, the edge was a light bronze and the spine was blue.
Even though that was quite a few years ago, the method Crowell taught Ellis remains viable. Heating only the edge leaves the spine soft and annealed but transforms the edge into the tempered martensite required for cutting performance. Using the torch afterward to “blue back” the blade relieves any internal stresses that may result from heating only the edge to the critical temperature, that is, to a non-magnetic state.
Ellis found that heating the blade at least a third of the way from edge to spine resulted in better performance. Subsequently, he switched to heat treating in a forge, and then later in an oven.
While it’s possible to edge harden with a forge or an oven, the methodology changes. Edge hardening in this way results in a martensitic edge and a spine that retains the microstructure it previously had. If the blade was forged and normalized, the spine would be soft pearlite. If the blade was ground from bar stock, the spine would be spheroid carbides.
Another way to achieve a hard edge with a soft back is to quench the edge only. You can bring the whole blade up to temperature in a forge or oven, and then place only the edge of the blade in the oil for hardening. This is the method currently taught at the ABS schools.
In this case, you need enough oil volume to cool the steel properly, so you can’t just fill your quench tank with oil to the half-inch level. Instead, use a limiter plate to keep the edge at the right depth while allowing the tank to have an increased volume of oil. You rock the blade in the oil in such a way that the edge is quenched properly while the spine cools slowly.
The slow cooling of the spine results in a pearlite microstructure, while the quenching of the edge results in martensite. The result is again a hard edge and soft back, and a “blue back” draw is again recommended. Blades that are edge hardened are resistant to breaking, though the soft spine may bend and stay bent.
The final way to achieve a soft-backed knife is the most difficult but results in the highest performance. In this method, the blade is hardened completely, with the whole blade up to critical temperature and the whole blade quenched fully. After regular tempering in the oven, the blade is then torch tempered on the spine.
In this scenario, the spine is pushed past blue all the way to gray, but not to the point where it starts to show heat color. Essentially in this case, you’re applying differential tempering rather than differential hardening, adding heat in the 650-800°F range to the spine only, resulting in highly tempered martensite. Since you’re working with higher temperatures, extra care must be taken to keep the edge cool by keeping it immersed in water or wet sand.
ABS master smith Scott McGhee’s Mamba damascus fighter features forge-finished flats with bronze fittings and a koa wood handle. He prefers 1075 carbon steel and uses two propane torches to draw the spine evenly, keeping the edge cool in wet sand.
ABS master smith Scott McGhee teaches the Introduction to Bladesmithing class at Haywood Community College in Haywood, North Carolina. Students learn from McGhee how to make a knife that will pass the ABS performance test using a full quench and a torch draw. He prefers 1075 carbon steel and uses two propane torches to draw the spine evenly, keeping the edge cool in wet sand.
STRUCTURAL RESULTS
I asked metallurgist Larrin Thomas for insight on the structural results of the different edge hardening approaches. According to Larrin, “When it comes to Rockwell hardness, torch tempering a fully hardened blade to 650-800°F results in hardness in the Rockwell hardness range of 45 to 55 HRC, depending on the steel and the time spent at the tempering temperature. Slow cooling the spine by quenching the edge will result in soft pearlite similar to air cooling during normalizing and grain refining. This puts the spine in the range of 20 to 40 HRC, depending on the steel. Some steels have such high hardenability that they will partially harden during air cooling, such as oil quenching steels O1 or L6, and may even reach 60 HRC if the cross section is thin enough.
“The softer the spine, the more resistant the blade is to breaking but the more likely it is to take a “set” during bending. In other words, less bending of a softer spine would be required for the blade to stay permanently bent. The ideal condition would be one where the steel has sufficient hardness to avoid staying bent but sufficient toughness where it will not fracture. This combination of properties is best achieved by a full quench and a spine torch temper.”
For many years now the certified smiths of the ABS have demonstrated competence at these processes. If you want to climb the ladder of knifemaking skills and certifications, or if you want to climb the ladder of high performance hard-use knives, the heat treatment of a soft-backed knife is a skill you’ll want to master. If you’re the kind of knifemaker or the kind of knife buyer who wants 100 percent of the toughness a blade can offer without sacrificing edge performance, consider a soft-backed blade.
A December 2014 
