These were left behind by my grandpa when he passed as part of a larger collection of (mostly in bad shape) antiques. As far as I can tell, he probably picked them up at auctions in Vienna sometime between the 1990s and early 2010s.
From what I’ve been able to figure out, all the blades do seem to be “real” Damascus in the sense that they’re pattern-welded steel. You can clearly see the layers, even on the spines of the blades. I took apart the only knife that’s screwed together instead of riveted, and the blade is definitely one solid piece of steel—not welded onto a separate tang.
I don’t think any of them were actually used. The blades themselves don’t show much wear at all, though some of the sheaths are pretty beat up.
Based on what I’ve seen here and in a few YouTube videos, most signs point toward them being made in Pakistan. A couple of the sheaths even have that “Great Seal of the State of Oklahoma 1907” pin, which apparently shows up a lot on Pakistani-made knives.
All of them came with sheaths. The sheaths are… fine. They’re made from fairly thick fake (I think?) leather. I’m not great at telling real from fake, but they don’t really smell like natural leather. The stitching is actually pretty decent and consistent, but overall they don’t feel especially nice or high-end.
The handles feel very light, and I doubt they’re real bone or antler. I’m not even convinced the “wood” ones are actually wood. The only exception is the larger knife with the red sheath, which is actually pretty nice. Though the “wood” chipped when i unscrewed the handle…
Most of the knives are fairly sharp, but the edges definitely don’t look like they were sharpened by an expert. There’s also some rust on most of them, some worse than others.
I’m not really planning on selling them, so value isn’t a huge concern, but I am curious what they might be worth. I’m assuming probably not much. Also thinking about cleaning them up and having some nicer handles made for a few of them.
Any inputs? Opposing opinions? Ever seen similar knives? Value estimates?
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These were left behind by my grandpa when he passed as part of a larger collection of (mostly in bad shape) antiques. As far as I can tell, he probably picked them up at auctions in Vienna sometime between the 1990s and early 2010s.
From what I’ve been able to figure out, all the blades do seem to be “real” Damascus in the sense that they’re pattern-welded steel. You can clearly see the layers, even on the spines of the blades. I took apart the only knife that’s screwed together instead of riveted, and the blade is definitely one solid piece of steel—not welded onto a separate tang.
I don’t think any of them were actually used. The blades themselves don’t show much wear at all, though some of the sheaths are pretty beat up.
Based on what I’ve seen here and in a few YouTube videos, most signs point toward them being made in Pakistan. A couple of the sheaths even have that “Great Seal of the State of Oklahoma 1907” pin, which apparently shows up a lot on Pakistani-made knives.
All of them came with sheaths. The sheaths are… fine. They’re made from fairly thick fake (I think?) leather. I’m not great at telling real from fake, but they don’t really smell like natural leather. The stitching is actually pretty decent and consistent, but overall they don’t feel especially nice or high-end.
The handles feel very light, and I doubt they’re real bone or antler. I’m not even convinced the “wood” ones are actually wood. The only exception is the larger knife with the red sheath, which is actually pretty nice. Though the “wood” chipped when i unscrewed the handle…
Most of the knives are fairly sharp, but the edges definitely don’t look like they were sharpened by an expert. There’s also some rust on most of them, some worse than others.
I’m not really planning on selling them, so value isn’t a huge concern, but I am curious what they might be worth. I’m assuming probably not much. Also thinking about cleaning them up and having some nicer handles made for a few of them.
Any inputs? Opposing opinions? Ever seen similar knives? Value estimates?