What are the Best Damascus Steel Knives?

Mark January 31, 2014 Guide No Comments

You’ve got to admit that Damascus Steel Knives look absolutely beautiful compared to your normal regular stainless steel kitchen knife. Each Damascus steel knife is truly unique and there are not two Damascus knives that look the same as every piece of Damascus steel is as unique as a finger print.

Since this steel manufacturing process has been rediscovered there has been a sudden trend in handmade Damascus steel kitchen knives with many professional chefs as well as collectors buying these knives for their collection.

However like all styles of kitchen knives the Damascus knives have their pros and cons below we have put tighter a guide to give you a little help when choosing to buy a Damascus style kitchen knife.

Damascus Steel Knives Buying Guide

Knife	Size	Brand	Pricing	Rating	Visit
Knife	Size	Brand	Pricing	Rating	Visit
	8-inch	Yoshihiro	High	★★★★★
	7-inch	Shun	High	★★★★★
	9.5-inch	ZHEN	High	★★★★★
	6-inch	Kyocera	High	★★★★★
	7-inch	Ramblewood	Medium	★★★★★
	8-inch	SETO	Medium	★★★★★
	7-inch	Tojiro	Low	★★★★★
	8-inch	Shun	High	★★★★★
	5-inch	Mac	High	★★★★★
	8-inch	Yaxell	High	★★★★★

Brief History of Damascus Steel

The ancient process of producing Damascus steel knives has been “rediscovered” as it had been a lost manufacturing technology from the early 1700’s up until World War II. In the 1970’s is when this steel process gained popularity.

The original traditional Damascus steel was first manufactured over two thousand years ago and can be traced back to around 500 A.D. In India back then this type of steel was referred to as Wootz, Telangana, or Ukku steel. From ancient India it found its way to Damascus in Syria which was a trade center for war equipment such as knives, swords and armor and was termed as Pattern Weld, Damast, and Damascene.

Damascus styled knives and swords were the best of the best in the weapon industry from the Iron Age to through to the Viking age. Even Alexander the Great is said to have used a Damascus sword, and even Aristotle talked about the high quality of the Damascus steel blade.

Today Damascus steel is known as the steel of the ancients and can be found in many modern kitchens in the form of stylish kitchen knives.

How Do They Make Damascus Steel Knives

How Damascus steel is made is actually a tiresome process that involves a combination of low and high carbon steels. The two steel varieties are folded and forged welded together; this technique is repeated over and over again until a large number of combined layers have been made. The finished blade is then etched to bring out the beautiful metal grain and detailed pattern that has been produced.

The end product is a extraordinary tough and also flexible blade that has excellent edge retention. The edge of a Damascus blade contains tiny saw-tooth carbides which enables the knife blade to cut even if it’s dull to the touch.

Damascus Steel Knives My Top Picks

Yoshihiro Cutlery Hammered Damascus Gyuto Knife

click for pricing

The Yoshihiro Damascus knife looks great and has been made with 16 layers of hammered Damascus Japanese super steel VG-10 using traditional knife making techniques to produce as one of a kind kitchen knife.

This Damascus knife is an exceptional kitchen knife for anyone looking for an introduction to fine Japanese knives. The blade is wafer thin and razor sharp and the attached mahoganyy handle finished the knife off completely, giving it an antique traditional look and feel.

It is extremely sharp out of the box and is much sharper than the typical high end western knives like Henckels or Wusthof knives.

The combination of VG-10 steel and the hammered Damascus finish may make it a little harder to maintain and sharpen don’t let that put you off as this knife hold a razr sharp edge for a long time.

This knife will become your new go-to kitchen knife!

Shun Premier Santoku Knife

click for pricing

We have review and featured this knife in the past and it is still one of our all time favorite knives, if you have the budget to spend we recommend investing in this Shun knife, and believe us you won’t be disappointed.

This Shun Damascus knife has been styled on the classic Japanese chef’s knife and is ideal for everyday food prep like; chopping , cubing, slicing, dicing, and much more. Its wide blade also makes it possible to scoop cut pieces and transfer them from the cutting board to awaiting pots or bowls.

As we have mentioned before this Shun knife has been produced using the same ancient techniques that were used to manufacture samurai swords.

The knife blade features a VG10 steel blade that is clad with 32 layers of high quality stainless Damascus steel. Each of the blades have a hand-hammered finish that is not only visually appealing but functional as it creates a surface which reduces knife-drag when cutting and prevents food from sticking to the blade, which reduces knife-drag when cutting.

The handle of this shun knife is the favorite part for me is made from a premium Pakkawood with a walnut finish, it looks great and offers a secure comfortable grip

ZHEN Japanese VG-10 Damascus Dragon Gyuto Chef Knife

click for pricing

At our number three position is the ZHEN Japanese VG-10 Damascus knife, this knife features a 67 layer Damscus dragon pattern on both sides. They say that this design “could” increase the overall toughness, improve stain and rust resistance, hoe much of that is true we just don’t know but it does look great.

You only have to pick this chef’s knife up to see that the balance is exceptional and it feel perfect in your hand, if you have a lot of food prep to do I’m confident you could hack, slice, and dice away for any hours without any hand fatigue kicking in – it really is a dream to hold.

The handle is as desirable as the above two and comes in a durable non-slip hard Pakkawood that is bacteria resistant and comfortable.

Each of the ZHEN Damascus knives comes with a hand crafted presentation box which makes this Damascus knife a perfect gift for the chef in the family.

Recent Knife Reviews
- 0
  
  5 Inch Wusthof Tomato Knife with Gourmet Forked-Tip The Wusthof 5 inch tomato knife is a great
- 0
  
  The Shun Edo Single Bevel 6 ½ Inch Usuba Knife The Shun Edo Usuba Knife is a traditional looking
- 0
  
  J.A. Henckels S.O.S. Set Of 4 Steel Steak Knives Looking for the best Steak Knives under $100 well
Latest Kitchen Knife Articles
- Best Knife for Cutting Meat Are you struggling to find the best knife for Mark • July 17, 2014
- Best Kitchen Knives to Give As a Gift What do you get the Chef that has everything? Mark • July 16, 2014
- Best Knives for Cutting Vegetables We were recently contacted by a reader who was Mark • April 18, 2014
- Best Kitchen Knife for Small Hands If you follow this website you’ve probably heard us Mark • April 14, 2014
- What is the Best Chef Knife for Beginner? If you’re a beginner or just starting out in Mark • March 28, 2014
- How to Buy a Chef Knife Okay we get it, you’ve read through our knife Mark • February 27, 2014
- How to Dispose of Kitchen Knives Safely There will come a time when you simply just Mark • February 25, 2014
- Best Place to Buy Kitchen Knives One of the questions we get asked a lot Mark • February 20, 2014
- How to Care For Wood Handle Knives Many of the premium kitchen knives being sold today Mark • February 15, 2014
- Durable and Strong Cold Steel Kitchen Knives If you looking for a durable, sharp and strong Mark • February 12, 2014
- Best Steak Knives under $100 and under $50? We’ve Got You Covered You asked! We listened so here you go the Mark • February 8, 2014
- How to Remove Rust from Stainless Steel Knives Even though your kitchen knives are made from high Mark • January 30, 2014
- What is a Whetstone Knife Sharpener? Keeping your kitchen knives in tip top condition and Mark • January 21, 2014
- Kapoosh Knife Blocks Are They Any Good? Looking after your kitchen knives should be your number Mark • January 8, 2014
- What is a Honing Steel? What is a honing rod or a honing steel Mark • January 7, 2014
- Other Ways to Use Your Serrated Knife – It’s Not Just for Bread! Did you know that your serrated knife can be Mark • January 2, 2014
- 4 Ways You May Be Ruining and Damaging Your Kitchen Knives So you’ve invested in a great set of quality Mark • December 31, 2013
- Best Way to Clean Your Kitchen Knives Good quality Chef knives will last for years and Mark • December 23, 2013
- Best Kitchen Knives Made in the USA Finding a set of good quality kitchen knives that Mark • December 17, 2013
- How Many Kitchen Knives Do You Really Need? This is a great question; the selection of kitchen Mark • December 15, 2013
- How to Slice and Dice Onions like a Pro Nearly all popular dishes in the kitchen start with Mark • December 10, 2013
- What is the Best Knife for Cutting Tomatoes? I love tomatoes and you’ll find me prepping tomatoes Mark • December 4, 2013
- Best Kitchen Knives for the Money – My Top Picks There are hundreds if not thousands of kinds of Mark • November 9, 2013
- Best Electric Knife Sharpener In a previous article “Best Way to Sharpen a Mark • November 3, 2013
- What is the Best Cutting Board? Traditionally, cutting boards have been made from hardwoods like Mark • October 29, 2013
- Best Way to Sharpen a Knife So you’ve got your nice new set of shiny Mark • October 27, 2013
- Are Magnetic Knife Racks Good? The Pros and Cons This is a question that often pops up in Mark • October 25, 2013
- What Chef Knife Does Jamie Oliver Use? Firstly Just Who is Jamie Oliver the Chef? Jamie Mark • October 12, 2013
- Kitchen Knives Ceramic Vs Steel A question that many people ask me all the Mark • October 10, 2013
Kitchen Knife Buying Guides
- Best Chef Knives for 2015 As 2014 comes to a close it is helpful to Dan Moore • December 14, 2014
- What Is the Best Knife Sharpener? I have covered some of the best knife sharpening Mark • August 8, 2014
- What is the Best Butcher Knife? If you’re a professional butcher or just a home Mark • August 5, 2014
- What are the Best Japanese Kitchen Knives? Japanese knives come in many different shapes and styles Mark • July 23, 2014
- What is the Best Electric Knife? Have you ever wanted to effortlessly slice your oven Mark • July 17, 2014
- What is the Best Kitchen Knife Set? Kitchen knife sets come in many different varieties but Mark • July 15, 2014
- What is the Best Paring Knife? The paring knife comes in a variety of different Mark • May 14, 2014
- What is the Best Bread Knife? Almost every kitchen throughout the world has a good Mark • April 22, 2014
- What is the Best Sushi Knife? If you’re a huge fan of Sushi then making Mark • April 15, 2014
- Cheese Knife for Serious Cheese Lovers A cheese knife is a must have for any Mark • March 13, 2014
- What is the Best Bamboo Cutting Board? Very much like buying kitchen knives choosing the right Mark • March 7, 2014
- What is the Best Meat Cleaver? If you’re looking for the best meat cutting knife Mark • March 4, 2014
- What are the Best Damascus Steel Knives? You’ve got to admit that Damascus Steel Knives look Mark • January 31, 2014
- What is the Best Santoku Knife? In recent years more and more Asian style kitchen Mark • January 11, 2014
- What Are The Best Ceramic Knives? There are many different varieties of kitchen knives in Mark • January 3, 2014
- Best Chef Knife Bags – My Top Picks Investing in a good quality chef knife bag is Mark • December 28, 2013
- What is the Best Chef Knife? Investing in a good quality Chef knife is probably Mark • December 19, 2013
Q&A for Kitchen Knives

What are Chef's Knives?
Chef Knives

Chef Knives are really a multi-purpose kitchen knife that can be used and utilized for many different tasks in the kitchen.

Chef Knives are great for cutting different types of foods in the kitchen such as vegetables, fruits, meat and poultry plus you can use a variety of cutting techniques with the multipurpose Chef’s Knife including chopping, dicing shredding and slicing.

Nearly all of the standard Chef's Knives will have a broad blade that curves slightly upwards to the point, this allow for the Chef Knife to rock back and forth for fine mincing.

Chef's Knives typically range in size from 6 to 12 inches and the spine of the blade is thick to add weight and strength.

What are the best Kitchen Knives?
Kitchen Knives and Chef Knives come in many varieties; there is no best knife for everyone and there is no all-in-one knife that is able to complete each everyday kitchen task

There is an extremely large variety of cooking knives however there are only a few that are commonly found in most kitchens.

The best kitchen knives are the knives that feel right in your hand you can tell if the knife is the best knife for you simply by picking it up. The size of your hands, how you hold the knife, and what you tend to do most in the kitchen determine things like which handle type is preferable, and what weight you'll need.
What is a Paring Knife?
Paring Knives

Paring Knives are very small and resemble a miniature Chef's Knife. Paring Knives are used for intricate work in the kitchen and allow for a greater amount of control than a larger Chef’s Knife.

A Paring Knife will usually have a thin 3 to 4 inch blade that tapers to a point. Generally all modern Paring Knives can be used for basic work in the kitchen like peeling, styling, cutting, and cleaning fruits and vegetables.
Find us on Facebook