i don`t what it is but i just found your vids 3months ago and I absolutley know nothing about metal works, but you personality and how you make the videos (and the camera man) really is a highlight of my week. You are really a nice mate
@Crazy-cz6ipNo, he literally said in his last video that there are several things needed to finish them, but the guy commenting does need to touch grass lol, he doesn't know what "need" actually means.
Not sure on the Uk equivalent, but blue shop towels are my go-to source for disposable lint-free wipes. I use them most frequently when servicing my resin printers, but as a shop towel goes, they work for a lot more. Microfiber lens towels also work, but they need to be the thin ones, not the fluffy ones for your automobile. Last attempt to throw you a bone on the bonding: In the event you go to make another Ti/Dam billet, I have another option for you for your bonding metal. Titanium unalloyed is (as I'm sure you've found now) fairly brittle in its purest form, as are a number of other metals in common circulation without alloying. Luckily for us, one of the known alloying materials that bonds well to both steel and titanium even (or especially) at the molecular level is Vanadium. Structural Ti alloy is normally alloyed with Vanadium and Aluminum, while excellent knife-making steels also contain percentages of Vanadium when combined as crucible steel. Historically in very early damascus steel, Vanadium was found to be one of the lesser understood 'contaminants' of the raw ore (at least to the metallurgists of that era) which provided many of the advantageous properties of emerging Wootz damascus.
I have no idea why I'm so invested in your quest to forge weld steel and titanium, it objectively holds no importance to my life, yet I find it to be a question I need answers to and I'm glad you're out here finding them for me
Jamie is a very good editor, but a horrible human. If I were Alec, I'd add a clause to his contract, that for each scare, he'd loose 10 % of his monthly salary. Then Alec wouldn't need sponsors, as Jamie'd pay to be in the shop.
small tip for when you weld those outside holes on the boxes, clamp a piece of copper or aluminium on the inside, works wonders to keep it from burning through and saves you time having to grind it out ;)
you could try anodizing in layers: making smaller and smaller puddles on the titanium and drying it off inbetween might yield funky patterns of colour!
I can explain how much I am loving this. Titanium is my favorite material. I have titanium ridge wallet, a watch, belt buckle, key holder, mountain bike, guitar fittings, etc. I will be looking to add a knife like this to my kitchen.
bro this video has been crazy to me, not only was i reminded that its already been 4 years since you moved back to England which makes me feel old, I also find out you used to be allergic to egg, which i currently still am because my body hates me and didn't go away when i got older. absolutely bonkers.
So glad to see blades being made again on this channel. Don’t get me wrong I love all the crazy stuff like the giant lamp and tiny power hammer. But all the insane blade builds is what got me hooked on this channel.
My guess of why it didn't work is possibly due to the tightness of the jacket? Could have maybe had some pretty large gaps in between the pieces that your previous power hammer pressure didn't have to overcome
You don't need heat you can use cold also to harden it. Leave it for a few hours in a liquid nitrogen bath. Or dry ice bath with alcohol. Should still harden up without the heat.
May you try friction welding the steel and titanium layers. It would result in a much evener bonding throughout the whole billet. This would help to prevent delamination perchance.
Absolutely beautiful! This adventure is one of my favourites across all of youtube. Just figuring it all out as you go, documenting everything for others. It's just wonderful to watch!❤️
Humble suggestion. Try the argon purged canisters with the nickel interlayer. Maybe even with other layers. Also, if the size of the billet is an issue, then maybe the solution is to do several smaller billets of steel/titanium then welding those together like metal to like metal and get some interesting patterns. Picture a small billet of T/S/T welded between two small billets of S/T/S. Then grind off the resulting outside steel layers to reveal the titanium.
Darker blue with the yellow looks a bit more visually appealing/striking/interesting. The pale blue is a nice color, but needs a pattern or something to offset its toned-down appearance, wether that be in the titanium itself or damascus in the steel.
Whenever Alec makes a blade you can count on one thing, its gonna be awesome! cant wait to see how it performs in the kitchen to see if it makes the grade!
I saw a video the other day where a company make different metals from forge scale by using thermite. I think Alex should do this some time because that's something that would be interesting to watch him do!
I think you should investigate an induction forge. The induction forge will get you to temps much quicker than a gas forge. I think this will reduce time at temperature and therefore creation of FeTi. Maybe a high force press with large dies to press all areas of the knife blade at once and with significant force.
That knife was worth every scare jump, great call on the purple handle too. But I'm afraid you'll have to find access to some monster hydraulic press to test the bonding process Alec further, so you can take out the differences in hammering as a variable and get to a repeatable bonding pressure. Oh, wait, Will got a Rolling Mill recently, maybe that could be right tool?
Darker side would suit a darker handle material i think. The lighter tone of the anodised side of the blade suits the colour you chose for the handle material. Well done. Great video.
Some other folks have probably already mentioned this, but Rockwell hardness testers are ridiculously picky about setup. I suspect the vise and edge measurement configuration you used is contributing to your inconsistent measurements. I recommend surface grinding off the cladding layer from a test piece leaving as much steel as possible, then putting a 120 grit finish on it, then testing the sample near the middle several times with the back flat on the anvil of the tester. Awesome, crazy work, as usual. Also, blue and yellows, definitely.
For hardening just a thought: Could you first shape the knife, then use say an induction heater to only heat the steel edge and quench it? Could avoid introducing heat into the Fe-TI bond
The profile of the knife is super unique, i have an absurd amount of chefs knife but not a single one close to that. The hoop at the heel is interesting im not sure if id love it or hate it.
Great video, love watching you figuring out the process and taking that journey with you. Regarding colors, I much prefer the blue and yellow....but with maybe a little more yellow.....
What if you made the steel section taller than the titanium so that it's not fully encased? In theory, wouldn't the exposed sections act as fins and partially counteract the insulating effect of the titanium? Then cut the excess steel off.
You could try reheating and hardening the steel on the future edge, once its has roughly ground bevels, whilst keeping the bonded part cool. Personally like the darker blue side, as it has a nice contrast.
Dude, you gotta do some really pretty titanium Damascus patterns, maybe some mosaics or something, make a billet of that, and then clad steel with that, it would be so pretty
Hey Alec, what about a layered titanium Hatchet? You could alternate material types and give it a tiger stripe look. Maybe a wicked curved purple wood handle to make it look like it’s for a space barbarian.
You should try a san mai that wraps around the spine of the blade so that you can get that spine coverage for anodizing. If successful take it a step further with timascus wrapping the spine for an even greater contrast.
what about tapering the titanium before bonding to allow you to get the the steel core on the edge side quicker? also using titanium damascus would make this entire thing insane
6:30 Maybe it’s possible to first make the knife with the technique that bonds the titanium to steel the best and then just heet up the steel edge with a torch and quench that to harden it?
I wonder if one issue you ran into was that the argon is coming in from one end and not really forming a jacket at the end of the billet once you start hammering. Once the hammer comes down the jacket could open letting outside air in and not enough argon purging? You could also, for a blade like this, have the steel be thicker at the blade side and thinner where the titanium is going to bond. Idk how to describe this but if the cross section of the steel looked like -__ and the titanium was only at the spine of the knife(-) you could possible get a harder edge. Great video! Knife came out beautiful!
4:57 regular paper coffee filters for pour over coffee work better as lint free cloth. been using them to clean lapped surfaces for decades
Steam and a coffee filter is an old restaurant trick for perfect wine glasses
Now we need a titanium Jacket for Steele to wear.
GET OUT!!!!
+1
omg david you're alive?!? :0 hi
@ I'm alive! (just my UA-cam channel isn't).
We need a segment of all the jokes Jamie had to cut out
Why would we want a zero-width segment?
This would be knife to see.
I wonder which jokes didn't cut it.
Like a blooper reel hahahaha yes!!
So many jokes get cut out lol, that segment would be hours long
No, a dedicated video, like a yearly summary or something, it would be so hilarious
5:00 ‘have you ever been exposed to humour?’
‘No I spend too much time around you’
💀
I love the metal experiments, its like watching alchemists trying to make a legendary magic weapon
I like the way you think. These titanium tools have enchanted properties!
I get that same feeling!
I just realized how much I missed the "Alec makes a blade" series you used to do. Watching the handle fit-up really brings back memories.
Need a Jamie scaring Alec segment 😂 cracks me up every time
i don`t what it is but i just found your vids 3months ago and I absolutley know nothing about metal works, but you personality and how you make the videos (and the camera man) really is a highlight of my week. You are really a nice mate
Whoever did the sound editing for this needs a crisp high five for the music choice
*_Dear Alec, I need to closure, and I need to see the glasses completed 😆 🤣_*
weren't they already done
@Crazy-cz6ipNo, he literally said in his last video that there are several things needed to finish them, but the guy commenting does need to touch grass lol, he doesn't know what "need" actually means.
@@Gobra5 bhahahahah i was content
No, you need to grammar
@ smh...
Not sure on the Uk equivalent, but blue shop towels are my go-to source for disposable lint-free wipes. I use them most frequently when servicing my resin printers, but as a shop towel goes, they work for a lot more. Microfiber lens towels also work, but they need to be the thin ones, not the fluffy ones for your automobile.
Last attempt to throw you a bone on the bonding: In the event you go to make another Ti/Dam billet, I have another option for you for your bonding metal. Titanium unalloyed is (as I'm sure you've found now) fairly brittle in its purest form, as are a number of other metals in common circulation without alloying. Luckily for us, one of the known alloying materials that bonds well to both steel and titanium even (or especially) at the molecular level is Vanadium. Structural Ti alloy is normally alloyed with Vanadium and Aluminum, while excellent knife-making steels also contain percentages of Vanadium when combined as crucible steel. Historically in very early damascus steel, Vanadium was found to be one of the lesser understood 'contaminants' of the raw ore (at least to the metallurgists of that era) which provided many of the advantageous properties of emerging Wootz damascus.
Might grade 5 (4%V) bond better to steel or vanadium interlayer than grade 2 (0%V) or is it too small to make a difference?
I have no idea why I'm so invested in your quest to forge weld steel and titanium, it objectively holds no importance to my life, yet I find it to be a question I need answers to and I'm glad you're out here finding them for me
1:13 Alec is going to have the heart of an 18 year old after the work out Jamie gives him with all those jump scares lol
Make my day every time 😂😂
Jamie is a very good editor, but a horrible human. If I were Alec, I'd add a clause to his contract, that for each scare, he'd loose 10 % of his monthly salary. Then Alec wouldn't need sponsors, as Jamie'd pay to be in the shop.
if possible you should absolutely gift this to the professor that researched steel and titanium bonds. it would be such an amazing thing for them
small tip for when you weld those outside holes on the boxes, clamp a piece of copper or aluminium on the inside, works wonders to keep it from burning through and saves you time having to grind it out ;)
Thank you very much for that nugget of information😀😀
you could try anodizing in layers: making smaller and smaller puddles on the titanium and drying it off inbetween might yield funky patterns of colour!
Coffee filters work good as lint free cloth substitute
0:46 Hey, I run an NC laser for a living.Try tabbing in your parts on two of the corners.And it should cut down on the warping of the material
I can explain how much I am loving this. Titanium is my favorite material. I have titanium ridge wallet, a watch, belt buckle, key holder, mountain bike, guitar fittings, etc. I will be looking to add a knife like this to my kitchen.
4:47 maybe it's one of those free lint cloths where they throw in extra lint for free.
bro this video has been crazy to me, not only was i reminded that its already been 4 years since you moved back to England which makes me feel old, I also find out you used to be allergic to egg, which i currently still am because my body hates me and didn't go away when i got older. absolutely bonkers.
So glad to see blades being made again on this channel. Don’t get me wrong I love all the crazy stuff like the giant lamp and tiny power hammer. But all the insane blade builds is what got me hooked on this channel.
My guess of why it didn't work is possibly due to the tightness of the jacket? Could have maybe had some pretty large gaps in between the pieces that your previous power hammer pressure didn't have to overcome
You don't need heat you can use cold also to harden it. Leave it for a few hours in a liquid nitrogen bath. Or dry ice bath with alcohol. Should still harden up without the heat.
I think the dream would be to have a titanium Damascus jacket around a steel core chef's knife.
With a slightly thinner steel-layer, than this one, so more titanium, less steel is showing. 😍
01:00 I think I need to change my consumables.
Dude. I think you might need to change Me Undies.
Your enthusiasm is infectious Alec
One of the best episodes ❤😊
2 videos in 3 days?! Great start to the weekend
The pure blue side looks freaking awesome. It’s like a glacier
May you try friction welding the steel and titanium layers. It would result in a much evener bonding throughout the whole billet. This would help to prevent delamination perchance.
YES. This is what I needed to fall asleep to.
Absolutely beautiful! This adventure is one of my favourites across all of youtube. Just figuring it all out as you go, documenting everything for others. It's just wonderful to watch!❤️
Humble suggestion. Try the argon purged canisters with the nickel interlayer. Maybe even with other layers.
Also, if the size of the billet is an issue, then maybe the solution is to do several smaller billets of steel/titanium then welding those together like metal to like metal and get some interesting patterns. Picture a small billet of T/S/T welded between two small billets of S/T/S. Then grind off the resulting outside steel layers to reveal the titanium.
Darker blue with the yellow looks a bit more visually appealing/striking/interesting. The pale blue is a nice color, but needs a pattern or something to offset its toned-down appearance, wether that be in the titanium itself or damascus in the steel.
Awesome video and the purple handle is so clutch!
one of the MOST beautiful things in life is TITANIUM being grind. such spark
More darker blues to purples with as little yellow as possible but that's just my personal preference! Looks gorgeous!
19:54 it's made of f'ing steel
-Alex Steele
The brushed on anodising looks so good on the knife! Almost like a hamone on a katana
Every time Jamie scares Alec a blacksmith is born😂
The darker blue with more yellow fade looks rad!
I just love these metal experiments
I'm waiting for the moment Alec finally manages to jumpscare Jamie for a change
Always clean your tip. Keeps the missus happy.
This is definitely one of my favorite series atm!
Whenever Alec makes a blade you can count on one thing, its gonna be awesome! cant wait to see how it performs in the kitchen to see if it makes the grade!
dark blue and yellow for sure! love the vid!
I saw a video the other day where a company make different metals from forge scale by using thermite. I think Alex should do this some time because that's something that would be interesting to watch him do!
I think you should investigate an induction forge. The induction forge will get you to temps much quicker than a gas forge. I think this will reduce time at temperature and therefore creation of FeTi.
Maybe a high force press with large dies to press all areas of the knife blade at once and with significant force.
"No i spend too much time around you"
BURN 😂😂😂
got the good ol fujiwara finger notch eh!!! love it!
I feel like you need to start testing a thinner layer of steel so you can really lean into the color on more of the knife
That's beautiful! When you have the process perfected, you should do a sword or battleaxe
This might be one of the nicest knives you've made! The dark blue with yellow looks insane next to the steel!
I think we need a compilation of Jamie scaring alec 😂
I think the mix is cooler than just the plain blue, It gives the vibe of titanium exhaust.
Damn! Alex made knife within one video, not just a knife… a titanium Damascus knife!!!
That blade is a thing of beauty.
That knife was worth every scare jump, great call on the purple handle too. But I'm afraid you'll have to find access to some monster hydraulic press to test the bonding process Alec further, so you can take out the differences in hammering as a variable and get to a repeatable bonding pressure. Oh, wait, Will got a Rolling Mill recently, maybe that could be right tool?
Great stuff. I like the darker blue with a bit of yellow better.
could not have been more perfect timing. just sat down with a pizza for lunch and bam alec puts out another amazing video! lets go! thank you
Darker side would suit a darker handle material i think.
The lighter tone of the anodised side of the blade suits the colour you chose for the handle material.
Well done.
Great video.
Some other folks have probably already mentioned this, but Rockwell hardness testers are ridiculously picky about setup. I suspect the vise and edge measurement configuration you used is contributing to your inconsistent measurements. I recommend surface grinding off the cladding layer from a test piece leaving as much steel as possible, then putting a 120 grit finish on it, then testing the sample near the middle several times with the back flat on the anvil of the tester. Awesome, crazy work, as usual. Also, blue and yellows, definitely.
For hardening just a thought: Could you first shape the knife, then use say an induction heater to only heat the steel edge and quench it? Could avoid introducing heat into the Fe-TI bond
The profile of the knife is super unique, i have an absurd amount of chefs knife but not a single one close to that. The hoop at the heel is interesting im not sure if id love it or hate it.
Both colours look great! Good work sir!
Love to see another blade video!
Great video, love watching you figuring out the process and taking that journey with you. Regarding colors, I much prefer the blue and yellow....but with maybe a little more yellow.....
What if you made the steel section taller than the titanium so that it's not fully encased? In theory, wouldn't the exposed sections act as fins and partially counteract the insulating effect of the titanium? Then cut the excess steel off.
You could try reheating and hardening the steel on the future edge, once its has roughly ground bevels, whilst keeping the bonded part cool. Personally like the darker blue side, as it has a nice contrast.
Under 20 seconds is wild
ye your girl told me yesterday in bed how fast u are and that she hates it
Dude, you gotta do some really pretty titanium Damascus patterns, maybe some mosaics or something, make a billet of that, and then clad steel with that, it would be so pretty
A great cheap lint free fabric option for cleaning things are coffee filters!
i am so waiting for you to dial this process in so we can get some sort of a "making a titanium dimascus sword" series
I was watching the first vid in the series when this came out, what are the chances.
This steam hammer seems to hit like a train! It's impressive
that handle wood looks wild
should definitely use a thinner piece of steel so the Ti comes further down the blade... Awesome job!
you should make the center steel layer smaller to have more titanium shown while keeping the edge
the light blue next to Damascus would be awesome
If you were able to use a patterned Damascus steele core I think it would make an epic knife!
Awesome work as always Alec
Up next:
Titanium workboots
Hey Alec, what about a layered titanium Hatchet? You could alternate material types and give it a tiger stripe look. Maybe a wicked curved purple wood handle to make it look like it’s for a space barbarian.
Lighter blue. But I would love to see more shades on one side.
That’s a stunning piece of art
🥇
Speed
You should try a san mai that wraps around the spine of the blade so that you can get that spine coverage for anodizing. If successful take it a step further with timascus wrapping the spine for an even greater contrast.
what about tapering the titanium before bonding to allow you to get the the steel core on the edge side quicker? also using titanium damascus would make this entire thing insane
6:30
Maybe it’s possible to first make the knife with the technique that bonds the titanium to steel the best and then just heet up the steel edge with a torch and quench that to harden it?
Jamie always gets you.
I wonder if one issue you ran into was that the argon is coming in from one end and not really forming a jacket at the end of the billet once you start hammering. Once the hammer comes down the jacket could open letting outside air in and not enough argon purging?
You could also, for a blade like this, have the steel be thicker at the blade side and thinner where the titanium is going to bond. Idk how to describe this but if the cross section of the steel looked like -__ and the titanium was only at the spine of the knife(-) you could possible get a harder edge.
Great video! Knife came out beautiful!
make some woodplane irons please! :D they come in all sorts of different sizes so one thick billet can make many irons!
Oh man. That thing is DOPE
As far as color…honestly would look good matching whatever handle material you use.
There it is! Shiny knife
Even softer that steel this time!
I neeeeeeeeed one of these knives, if they were ever to be made available. I cook for a living so it would be a lovely compliment to my knife roll
Another fun video, thanks Alec and Jamie
It's cute - Alec is in his titanium phase 😊
Alec: *yelps in fear* "I think I need to change my...consumables"