Got a Great Laugh from Some eBay Blades...

CDHumiston

CDHumiston

Well-Known Member
I usually grind and heat treat blades and send them to my dad so he can have something to do. He likes doing handle work.

He decided to try a couple of blades from eBay because I've been busy churning out Christmas orders. He suspected the blades were off
right away because when cleaning them up on his little 1x30 grinder they were just too easy to grind.

I had him send them to me for testing. The 1st blade was a nice-looking Damascus blade. It tested at 35/40 HRC on my Rockwell Hardness Tester.
The 2nd blade was J2 420 stainless steel. It tested at 15/20 HRC! Yes, you heard me right!

Just to make sure I wasn't hallucinating I tested both again with the same results. So...I got my calibration discs out and tested my hardness tester. Both
blocks came to within .5 HRC of their calibrated numbers.

I'm of the firm belief these blades were not heat treated at all! I'm having him send them back because I don't want to fool with them, and I have no
idea of the true metal types used for these blades...

The blades came from Texas, but the way they were packaged wrapped in plastic with sticky grease they were clearly from China, Pakistan or India.

Moral of the story? Buyer Beware! I feel sorry for the guys who have no way of testing the steel. Someone just looking to put scales on a nice blade
and use it in the kitchen throwing their money away....
 
CDHumiston said:
I usually grind and heat treat blades and send them to my dad so he can have something to do. He likes doing handle work.

He decided to try a couple of blades from eBay because I've been busy churning out Christmas orders. He suspected the blades were off
right away because when cleaning them up on his little 1x30 grinder they were just too easy to grind.

I had him send them to me for testing. The 1st blade was a nice-looking Damascus blade. It tested at 35/40 HRC on my Rockwell Hardness Tester.
The 2nd blade was J2 420 stainless steel. It tested at 15/20 HRC! Yes, you heard me right!

Just to make sure I wasn't hallucinating I tested both again with the same results. So...I got my calibration discs out and tested my hardness tester. Both
blocks came to within .5 HRC of their calibrated numbers.

I'm of the firm belief these blades were not heat treated at all! I'm having him send them back because I don't want to fool with them, and I have no
idea of the true metal types used for these blades...

The blades came from Texas, but the way they were packaged wrapped in plastic with sticky grease they were clearly from China, Pakistan or India.

Moral of the story? Buyer Beware! I feel sorry for the guys who have no way of testing the steel. Someone just looking to put scales on a nice blade
and use it in the kitchen throwing their money away....
Click to expand...
Unfortunately there are most likely multiple sellers doing exactly that. I watched a YT video (I’m guessing Pakistan) where there stacks of damascus billets being made into knife blades. At the last gun show I attended there were 3-4 tables of damascus knives selling for ~$150 and people were snatching them up Who was the eBay seller?
 
There are so many horrible blanks like that on the market. Soft steel, poor grinds, yet many makers are claiming to have made the billets themselves in the US. Complete BS!
 
yeah the crappy blades are pretty rampant. I get people asking me a few times per week “…I bought this knife on facebook/ebay/etsy and it was super cheap, but it wont stay sharp” or “why are your knives so expensive compared to ebay/etsy/FB?”

They know people are starting to get wise to the pakimascus and now they are getting US addresses to ship from.
 
So, the returns are being processed and this is the name of the seller. Hamza Shoaib. If you see this guy selling anything avoid it like the plague!

I have a feeling he is getting his product directly from Pakistan and shipping it out of Texas to make it seem legit...
 
Pakimascus knife makers/wholesalers are on Instagram contacting people left and right to sell their garbage, too. Lots of people in the US are buying and reselling these blades as their own. I got contacted by numerous accounts trying to get me to buy and sell their garbage.
 
opaul said:
In all honesty. What if they really did start producing quality damascus with pedigree steel and quality control? They obviously have the talent to make some beautiful blades.
Click to expand...

A fair number of them do have good fit and finish, etc. If they used good steel then you're right, they'd have good knives. The funny thing is, they go to a lot of trouble to forge the "metal", get the patterns, etc., so why not just go that extra step and get some decent steel?
 
chrisstaniar said:
A fair number of them do have good fit and finish, etc. If they used good steel then you're right, they'd have good knives. The funny thing is, they go to a lot of trouble to forge the "metal", get the patterns, etc., so why not just go that extra step and get some decent steel?
Click to expand...
I think it all goes back to labor being cheap and quality materials being expensive. Unfortunately, a quick buck is the only goal. It's not that they can't do better .... it's just that "doing better" and "making money quickly" don't seem to be tied together in this case. Highly skilled scam artists are dangerous and apparently effective. It wouldn't be so rampant if they weren't making money from unfortunate people who lack the knowledge to discern what they are buying until it is too late. Ebay, and other marketplaces, should take the lead here....it is basically the sale of counterfeited goods.
 
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