New to the forum and a novice considering many/all posters here and Damascus blade question

J

Jbs5280

Member
Hi everyone,

I ventured into the hobby of 'knife making' post retirement about 3.5 months ago via a buddy who has done it for years. I put it in quotes since I really have only bought blades and put the handles on them as gifts for the family, etc.

Over the holidays, I bought 'Damascus' blades from a few sources; ebay, etsy, and maybe one other but something happened in using them I want to ask the experts here about. In slicing some cooked carrots and then putting them in the microwave to heat up, many of the pieces sparked like there was metal on them. I had read that it's common to have some dark color come off when you wipe it so I thought it must be oxidizing. I cleaned the blades as thoroughly as I could including #0000 steel wool, 20 Mule team, 400 sandpaper all going over both sides of the blade very lightly.

I tried the knives again and it happened again. These are supposed to be chef knives but that reaction makes me pause and wonder if I should use them with food.

Any input would be greatly appreciated. There's no way I want to be subjecting my family to something toxic.

Thanks very much, Jerry
 
First, let me say welcome to the addiction, Jerry.
Could you share pictures on what you are describing?
The other question I'd ask, based on the information you've given so far, is how much did you spend on each of the " 'Damascus' " blades?
If it was under $150-250 (depending on size, pattern, etc), then who knows what you've got going on. Most reputable makers who know what they are doing will charge in the $250+ range for a chef's knife.
But I'd say be very careful, the only thing a chef's knife should do to food is cut it, not leave anything behind. I wouldn't use them or eat the food.
 
Hi BillyO and thanks very much for the welcome and the quick, helpful reply. I've done woodwork over the years but not in many so my longtime fishing buddy loaned me his tackle box with the handle making materials and I've been doing a little of that stuff. I did not pay near what you suggest. We're talking around $50 each and it worried me that it was leaving some sort of residue especially since I worked all of them over really well. I had this pic of the first 3 that I worked and put it in as a screenshot since the photo was too large to upload. I can't remember exactly where I bought each without checking my accts but all of them left a residue. I contacted the seller on ebay and letting him know that but I got a BS answer telling me they were suitable for camping, fishing, hunting, kitchen, etc noting that he listed kitchen dead last in his reply and they're supposed to be chef knives. He certainly did not respond to my concern about the residue, etc. causing sparks in a microwave. Metal does that and for the life of me, I cannot figure out why when residue, etc comes off knife after thorough scrubbing. I wondered if it was reacting to the food. Carrots was the first food where I saw it occur. I won't jump into Damascus at that rate since I already have two hobbies that take some of my $s, fishing and music, but I think I'll find some good stainless blanks or something like that where I don't have to worry. If you have a suggestion on which blanks I should use to get a good knife to use in the kitchen but doesn't tap the bank account too much, I would appreciate it.
Thanks again BillyO. Hope to catch up soon. All the best, Jerry
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Well, there are a bunch of Damascus knives out there that don't make sparks on your food in the microwave. I think you're rightly concerned, and not knowing exactly the process and materials by which the blades are made, you can't discount your observations and must conclude that the material is not stable and safe for use on food.

I really hate to say this again, but have to frequently. There are some very unscrupulous "damascus" steel sellers out there. Most of it comes out of Pakistan and India, and has gained a lot retailers in the US and Canada. The first clue is price. The second is the absence of any information on the steel. Just a seller. The few "budget" makers in the US have easily verifiable businesses.
 
Thanks very much. I may not know knives, but I know what metal does in general, potential reactions to acidic food, etc and, that metal sparks in a microwave. At first, I thought somehow metal had gotten into the frozen carrots and when heating them it showed up but I finally figured out the common variable and it was every one of the so-called Damascus blanks I bought from ebay or etsy. After BillyO's reply, I took a look at USAKnifeMaker.com and saw some of the prices for Damascus ranging from $150 and up. For the hobby, I may just go with stainless steel from this outfit or if you have suggestions, I would appreciate that as well.

Thanks again, Jerry
 
Chris Railey said:
Boss Dawg (USAknifemaker.com) has a lot blanks to choose from and the customer service is always great. Good people to deal with
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Thanks for the tip Chris. They appeared to be reputable and reasonable in price from what I expected.

I'll go back to the posts from yesterday and let you guys know, I am sort of stumped on this problem. I have tried to 'isolate the variables' as my dear Dad would always say and here's a bit of background and then what I saw yesterday evening.

Our vet suggested we combine green beans and carrots with our dogs' dry food so they fill up without getting extra calories. I bought frozen Great Value (from Walmart) sliced carrots and green beans and had been using them a while. I would usually take the chill off by putting them in the microwave for about 15 seconds which is when I started noticing the sparks when the food got hot. What I may have discovered yesterday is that it is possible the cut carrots have metal filings in some pieces but not all from the same bag. I told my wife they have to be machine cut and then bagged so with all this stuff about these knives causing that problem I need to test this one more time. I did see sparks from some pieces that were not cut but broken which occurred for the first time yesterday. I'll slice them with a plastic knife and then I will know.

So, for the sake of sounding crazy, this is a mystery right now that I am determined to solve. I have quite a large knife collection of all kinds so I'm not new to knives but am to putting the handles on, etc. and buying blanks on the open market so if it is in fact the carrots, I'll be glad to correct the record here soon.

I greatly appreciate all the help and advice. The main driver in all this was purely safe cooking for my family.

Thanks again, Jerry
 
FYI, it is the minerals in the food that causes the sparking. Not uncommon it seems, although I don’t watch food cooking in a microwave. Well, I don’t cook except on a campfire.
 
SS369 said:
FYI, it is the minerals in the food that causes the sparking. Not uncommon it seems, although I don’t watch food cooking in a microwave. Well, I don’t cook except on a campfire.
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Yes... No matter how cheap the steel is I cannot imagine it transferring enough loose metal fines onto the food to cause sparking in a microwave.
 
Merle said:
Yes... No matter how cheap the steel is I cannot imagine it transferring enough loose metal fines onto the food to cause sparking in a microwave.
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Me either Merle. I've worked with all types over the decades and when I could not get one spec of metal, etc to come off on a white paper towel, I was just baffled. I know they oxidize a little and some black will come off but I keep the oiled with vege oil, etc. but I thought that might be interacting with the food. I haven't gotten around to the last test with the same cut, frozen carrots which will be cutting them with a plastic picnic knife and then testing them in the microwave. Thanks very much, Jerry
 
tkroenlein said:
I can't imagine enough minerals in veggies to spark.

ETA: BTW, I did look it up. Never witnessed this myself.
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I've never seen that before. These are those steam in the bag cut, frozen carrots. I think there could be small metal flecs or something from a factory cutter. They are Best Value, bargain brand. As I said to Merle, I am going to slice them with a plastic knife and see if they spark then. I see no evidence of them sparking in the bag while cooking though. This could be the big mystery for 2021. LOL
 
SS369 said:
FYI, it is the minerals in the food that causes the sparking. Not uncommon it seems, although I don’t watch food cooking in a microwave. Well, I don’t cook except on a campfire.
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I normally wouldn't pay attention to the food once I put it in but when these fireworks go off, you can almost here your microwave transformer stressing out. LOL
 
SS369 said:
FYI, it is the minerals in the food that causes the sparking. Not uncommon it seems, although I don’t watch food cooking in a microwave. Well, I don’t cook except on a campfire.
Click to expand...
Ok, I'll check that out. It would be a first for me. I'm surprised these things don't spark while cooking in the steam bag. When some of them spark, it's like mini fireworks in your microwave and you can hear it.
 
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