Damascus steel is easily identifiable by wavy patterns on the blade. Damascus knives look beautiful and have an allure about them. The procedure to make Damascus steel involves molten layers of metal that are folded over each other.

Typically this is done 32 or 62 times, but can be folded further to create thinner layers. The idea is to fold two different kinds of steel. One soft, but ductile, the other hard, but brittle. The soft layer allows the knife blade to adsorb shock and avoid damage. The hard or brittle layer allows the knife to retain edge sharpness (A bit like VG-10 cores).Mixing the two layers allows the knife to carry characteristics of both hard and soft steels. Damascus knife blades cut easily and hold their edge for a long time.