Let me say that I'm no hater. I hold Bob Kramer in high regard and wish that every hard-working bladesmith could enjoy as much success as he has. I actually own a knife by him that my wife bought for me late last century, before he blew up. Even then, the wait list was over a year and the knife cost around $300. I have zero interest in any knives at this auction price point -- wouldn't even consider it. But after reading the description of the knife at the auction website, I was curious . . .
Something's missing. What two steels were actually used to make this blade? I sent an inquiry to Kramer and this is the reply I received:Description
Up for auction is a knife from Bob’s personal collection. This is one of the serval knives gifted to Bob from Zwilling. This knife has never been used and comes with the original box and signed leaflet. Only 250 knives were made making this knife extremely rare. This knife is number 10 out of 250. The description below is from the leaflet. We hope you enjoy this blast from the past!
ZWILLING is proud to partner with “The Master of the Blade” (Saveur Magazine) Bob Kramer. Together we design and produce knives of exceptional authenticity, sharpness, and beauty.
This limited series consists of 250 hand-forged Damascus knives. Each knife combines the beauty and utility of Bob Kramer’s design with traditional German forging and progressive German technologies. The blade is made of the purest, high-quality, hand-forged Damascus steel.
The Limited Edition Damascus knives are handmade by one of the best blacksmiths in Germany. The knives are made of particularly pure Damascus steel, which combines two types of steel (emphasis mine) with differing carbon contents, each contributing its own specific benefits. With a hardness of 61 HR (Rockwell), this combination is extremely hard and sharp and forms the basis of the Bob Kramer Limited Edition Damascus. The Limited Edition Damascus has an extremely high and durable initial sharpness. The fire welding process produces a steel block with 160 layers, which is then forged by hand and hammered to the required thickness. With this process, each blank has its very own structure and pattern of 160 layers. This knife is truly a one-of-a-kind specimen.
Tradition meets innovation in the bolster. ZWILLING is proud to deliver the first Bob Kramer-designed true Damascus knife with a fully forged bolster. The unique SIGMAFORGE blade is precision-forged from a single piece of Damascus steel.
The handle, made of grenadille wood, is precisely mounted with rivets and the prized Bob Kramer pin. Each is finished by hand to ensure perfect comfort and control.
So, okay. I don't begrudge them anything at all but I just find it astonishing that someone is willing to pay this much (and probably even more before the auction ends) for a knife not actually made by Bob Kramer, and without knowing what it's made of. Maybe the composition is commonly known but if it were, it seems to me that someone at Kramer would know it and be willing to share it. It's also kind of weird that Bob Kramer's name is on the knife but he was so removed from its production that the composition of the steel was never shared with him.in an email, kramerknives.com wrote:Zwilling never told Bob what the knife was made out of and since it was made such a long time ago it would be hard to find that information.
The knife was not made by Bob Kramer. He owned it but never used it. In the end, the winning bidder is buying a story and a piece of history, and I guess that's enough for them.
