[Sca-cooks] Damascus Question

[david friedman]

Phlip writes (first quoting me)

>  > 2. Buying stuff. Elizabeth has long complained that almost all knives
>  > sold in the SCA are weapons, not tools. One particular sort of knife
>>  I am familiar with and essentially never see in the society is an
>>  indo-persian knife called a kard. The small ones are basically
>>  eating/utility knives, the large ones eating/cooking/weapon, with
>>  some but not all pretty obviously intended as weapons. They are not
>>  uncommonly of damascus steel--I have a couple (antiques) that are.
>>
>  > I'm not good at describing objects, but if you have access to Stone's
>>  Glossary or some other good reference work you can find pictures. I
>>  think it would be nice to have someone making and selling damascus
>>  kards in the SCA--and the small ones, with 3"-5" blades, you should
>>  be able to get down to a price close to the period eating knives out
>>  of the Museum of London book that a few people make and sell in the
>>  SCA.
>>  --
>>  David/Cariadoc
>
>Well, the problem is, as I mentioned to Dan, tht people in SCA aren't
>particularly willing to pay the prices required for the work that you do to
>make an absolutely authentic piece. Want to guess how many times craftsmen
>of my acquaintance have heard, "But alkl you have in it is your time..." The
>result has been that people start out making things here in SCA, and then
>have to migrate to Mundania in order to earn a living. Those who stick
>around are doing it purely for love of SCA-  don't expect to make an honest
>wage.

...

I first encountered period eating knives based on the Museum of 
London book being sold at Pennsic years ago by a Caidan Laurel (David 
ben Avraham? Something like that)--my vague memory was they were 
about forty dollars apiece. I discovered him, shortly therafter he 
was surrounded by a crowd of Laurels, shortly thereafter he was sold 
out. I still use a knife I bought from him.

A few years later, a smith from An Tir had some even better knives 
based on the same source--I think at higher prices. I bought two; I 
don't know how many others were sold. They were lovely small 
pieces--fairly typical sizes for the originals, which are smaller 
than people tend to expect--I'm guessing about 3" blades. Judging by 
the price quoted in the post that started this for a 10" damascus 
knife, I'm guessing that small kards would sell for under $100, at 
which price I'm pretty sure there would be buyers. Certainly I would 
buy one if it were well done.

>But, back to the knives you're describing. Any chance you could take
>pictures of the kards you have? As I'm getting more and more into my
>smithing, I'm collecting pictures of all the period metalwork I can find.

There is a picture of a small kard suitable for an eating knife--and, 
as it happens, of damascus, I think wootz--in the Miscellany, in the 
article on Islamic clothing and weapons, webbed on my site. If you 
want more pictures or pictures of larger ones, I could easily enough 
take them and send them to you.
-- 
David/Cariadoc
http://www.daviddfriedman.com/