What is stainless steel?
Stainless steel is a family of different types of steel that are designed to be highly corrosion resistant. This means that stainless steel doesn’t rust over time, and is easier to clean as various oils and foodstuffs don’t penetrate the surface. This corrosion resistance comes from a higher proportion of chromium in the blade, protecting the surface of the knife from whatever it cuts through. Stainless steel is an increasingly common material in a modern kitchen thanks to this high level of utility.
What is Damascus steel?
Damascus steel is a material with an incredibly storied history. Known for the wavy pattern flowing throughout the blade, Damascus steel originated in around 500 BC, with a name derived from the Syrian city of Damascus. Although the original method of producing Damascus steel was lost in the 18th century, modern manufacturers have replicated the look by layering alternating steel types to reproduce the wavy patterns. Damascus Steel can be crafted from alternating layers of stainless or carbon steel, or a combination of the two.
In modern terms, Damascus Steel is purely the name for the look of layered steel on the blade, nothing more. This Damascus steel is often comprised of cheaper, softer steels and is only used for the "Cladding" outer layer of a chef knife, and the important cutting edge steel is a single layer of VG10, SG2, Aogami, Shirogami, etc.
