Handmade Damascus Dagger, 12.5" Overall
7.25" 1095+15N20 288 Layer Damascus Needle Point Blade
5.25" Multicolor Handle with Camel Bone, Brass, Stainless & Wood Spacers
Solid, Sharp
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Well made, rugged and a work of art! Excellent materials and craftsmanship, custom design from Louis Martin who has been designing top-notch knives since 1993.
From the knightly dagger of Medieval times to the renowned Col Banks V-42 Stiletto utilized by Special Forces, the dagger is first and foremost a weapon. The two cutting edges sharpened the full length of the blade and tapering to a deadly point give it incredible piercing power.
Dyed camel bone & wood with brass and stainless spacers, highly polished and sealed with clear topcoat finish, Damascus guard, stainless steel pommel
Comments:. The materials, workmanship and quality control of the Louis Martin knives is excellent, I expect you’ll be pleased. I take my own photos and measurements, add my own description, so you see exactly what you'll get. I’ve inspected and photographed every one of these I'm selling and I can recommend them. Some minor flaws are possible, consistent with being handmade where each piece is unique. These are rugged. These are real. And sharp! I’m a collector and a weekend warrior, active in my local HEMA group and shows so I get lots of feedback. See my Seller ratings and buy with confidence, plus I ship fast!
All Louis Martin Damascus is a mixture of 1095 High Carbon steel and 15N20 high Nickel alloy folded over and over to get a minimum of 288 layers. The blade receives excellent heat treatment and is oil quenched to approximately 58 HRC. The blade is then acid treated to enhance the pattern formed by the layers in the forging process, and finally sharpened to create a bright edge. Each blade is unique; water, raindrop, ladder and fire patterns, mark of a true artisan.
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An abbreviated history of the dagger :)
Daggers (re-)appear in the Late Middle Ages (c. 1120), in large part due in improvements in armor and evolving methods of warfare. Previous to that hewing knives like the messer and seaxe had been predominant. In the 12th century the 'knightly dagger’, or more properly, cross-hilt or quillon dagger was an essential part of the Chivalric armament . A number of depictions of the fully developed cross-hilt dagger are found in the Morgan Bible (c. 1240) By the late Medieval period the dagger saw widespread use as a more common sidearm for men at arms, archers as well as civilian use for personal protection.
During this time, the dagger was often employed in the role of a secondary defense weapon in close combat. In the 14th century, it wasn't uncommon for knights to fight on foot to strengthen the infantry defensive line which necessitated in greater use of the dagger. At Agincourt (c. 1415) archers used them to dispatch dismounted knights by thrusting the narrow blades through helmet vents and other apertures. One style, called the baselard became popular as a civilian weapon as well as a fashion accessory and status symbol.
The cross-hilt type persisted well into the Renaissance with parry and off-hand daggers used with rapiers. In the modern era designs like the V-42 stilleto were used extensively in many Special Forces branches as the primary fighting knife during WWII.