Description
Raindrop is the pattern most people picture when they hear the word Damascus, and this is the blade we point at when someone asks what it actually looks like. The rings sit in loose rows along the bevel and tighten as they run toward the tip.
| Overall length | 10 inches |
| Blade length | 5 inches |
| Handle length | 5 inches |
| Steel | 1095 + 15N20 Damascus |
| Hardness | 58–60 HRC, oil tempered |
| Handle | Rosewood with Mosaic Pin |
| Included | Hand-stitched leather sheath |
Made for: deer season and the bench work that follows it. Five inches of edge opens and quarters an animal without the point wandering, and the copper-toned etch keeps it from looking like every other knife in the truck.
Where the rings come from
Raindrop is forged in, not printed on. The smith punches shallow dimples across the face of the billet, then forges that face flat again. Grinding the bevel cuts down through the distorted layers, and the rings surface as circles. Deeper dimples give wider circles. You can read the whole sequence off the finished blade by comparing the spine, where the layers still run straight, to the edge, where they open out. Our Damascus pattern guide uses this knife as its raindrop example.
Why 58 to 60 HRC
That range is the useful window for a 1095 and 15N20 billet. Harder and the edge chips when it meets bone. Softer and it rolls under pressure. Oil tempered into that band, the blade holds through a full animal and comes back on a ceramic rod in a dozen passes. The hunting knife guide covers how blade length and hardness trade off in the field.
Rosewood and one mosaic pin
The scales are rosewood, dense enough to be a working handle rather than a display piece, with a single mosaic pin set through the middle. Rosewood warms to the hand faster than any synthetic scale in cold weather, and the grain darkens slowly with use. If you want antler instead of timber, the stag handled Damascus bowie is the same idea in a larger, heavier package.
Care: dry the blade before it goes back in the leather, and take it out of the leather once you are home. Leather holds damp against carbon steel, which is how most Damascus picks up spotting. A wipe of mineral oil once a month is enough. If a spot does appear, a pencil eraser and a little oil will lift it without touching the pattern.
FAQs
Will my knife have the same raindrop layout? The pattern will read as raindrop, but the ring spacing shifts from billet to billet. Two knives from the same bar rarely match.
Is 10 inches overall too much for a belt? No. It rides flat on a hip in the supplied sheath and clears a seat belt without digging in.
Can I have it engraved? Yes, for $29 at checkout. We do the work in Memphis before it ships, on the flat of the blade or on the sheath.
Model: BMK-698
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