I'm again looking forward to your progress, your's is one of my favourite channels. Ulfberht blade next please - I dare you to use traditional crucible steel and do the iron inlay too!
I LOVE the closeup shots of the steel as you're twisting it! Watching the scale fall away, revealing the hot metal underneath, those were some amazing shots! Keep up the excellent work!
I stumbled across your videos a few days ago and was like "Oh great. Another one of those idiots screwing around with metal" but your enthusiasm that I thought was stupidity is legit excitement and your care and skill in your work is an absolute joy to watch. I'm glad I was wrong and I can't wait to see how this knife turns out.
I pretty much found his channel like a month ago, i thought he was a bit lazy, but then i saw his editing and his knife without hand tools and fell in love with his channel
You have to grind about 25% into the surface of the steel in order to get the stars from the layers. If you're just doing regular low-layer count, you'll get almost like diamonds in the steel. If you do Ws, you'll get stars that almost look like explosions or fireworks! ;)
Alec! Thank you for all the amazing Damascus. I spent a year saving, buying little by little, putting my forge together, and I finally forged my first knife, tongs, and coal rake. I appreciate the daily inspiration. Its helped me stay passionate to keep on keeping on. Thanks for your vids!! Hope to be buying some merch soon.
you need to stock remove the piece you made yesterday. Those explosions will show when you take away some material. You have succeeded you just don't know it yet.
Alec, im a cnc machinist making precision components for the oil industry in Aberdeen and i love this channel. I find working with metal fascinating and the stuff you do is totally different to what i do but still its brilliant. Keep up the great work and thank you very much for the videos. I have to try blacksmithing some time in the near future. All because of you. Thanks again
hey alec, in your last video you made twist starburst damascus. but you twisted the steel way too much. 4 or 5 full 360 twists should be enof, thats why the starburst pattern on your demascus is so damn small :) i hope this helps you in your future explorations of the beutiful peice of work damascus steel is :3 yours truly, the bjoern :3
Came here to comment the same thing. I was hoping he was about to say he learned his lesson from yesterday's video, but then I cringed so hard when he said 15 for today
Please please please try armour it would be so awsome and you could incorperate lots of leather stuff and decorative stuff and learn so much it would be so totally cool
Fantastic work as always. Really appreciated the close up twist and the scale flaking off. Love the contrast of bright yellow to dark red with the black scale.
You really need to do a belt conversion for your surface grinder. Thad would have been a 10min job with a 50 grit belt. My surface grinder with a belt will do .020-.030 dept of cut with a .100 step over per pass. Blasts through Damascus scale like butter. I split 2”x72” belts in half to give me 1x72. I also use the grinding wheel as the contact wheel for my belt conversion and it works amazing. You want a very hard contact wheel.
I’m heading into the shop right now and I will take a short video showing you how mine is done. The idea came about while I was having a conversation with my buddy Salem Straub, forged in fire s2e2 winner. He was trying to convince me to convert to a belt but I could not afford to have a contact wheel made. That’s when I said “to bad I can’t just run a belt over my stone”, wait can I?. Been a great conversion and WELL WORTH THE EFFORT.
Richard Hoekstra I was gonna say the same thing... with a Face mill(that is that bigger tool in the mill, you always see him using, especially before he got the surface grinder), he can dial it into what he wants... Carbide works great for steel.
Love your videos , you remind me of a cross between Tin Tin and a mad scientist ! I’ve been a welder fabricator and engineer for 35 years so I see that you have a high skill level , well done keep it up ! The herring bone pattern was common in Viking, Saxon and ancient briton swords ⚔️ they just drew the bar out , twisted it and put it together alternating the twists interlocking them , one sloping up and the other sloping down without grinding them flat as the ridges interlock to each other whilst being forged , but the swordmaker cleaned the slag and scale off them first as you would , Hope this helps and keep it up you’re amazing for a youngster !
Maybe when I'm this early there's a chance you'll see it - Alec you need to check out a book by Steve Midgett called Mokume Gane - A Comprehensive Study! Amazing book on Mokume Gane with lots of pattern developing techniques and in-depth explanations. Cheers, I'll enjoy today's episode now :)
This is the type of work that got me watching your channel. You do amazing things with metal. Keep it up. The things you've been doing since you got to the states don't measure up to what I saw you do in Jolly Old. This Bowie is getting close if not equal to. I'm looking forward to the next vid.
He's already got stuff for mass stock removal. Turning a precision machine into a half assee belt grinder, that makes the surface grinder lose most of its precision, is pointless and backwards.
Finally, you are simplifying the pattern! I think damascus is most beautiful when the pattern is simple, especially when it looks like wood grain, Like the Japanese pattern welding tradition.
so a few weeks ago you cleaned your workshop- and you told everyone on youtube that all you needed was 15 minutes to tidy your place. But have you done this? No montage so far about you cleaning up the mess you make. Still thou, nice work. Lots of love from Sweden
That Epidemic sound music is so great! It really annoys me that I cant afford it for myself😓 Combined with such perfect music that footage looks really epic!
I just watched your episodes of the bridgeport repairing. We had the same machine in the workshop where I worked 2 years ago. And the mill had the same oiling bulsh... problem like yours😂. Great job solving it! But next time you have to swich it on and of often (drilling or taking a lot of measurments etc. ) stick with double sided tabe a small piece of wood on the ON button. So you can start and stop the spindle with your knee. Just a little bit faster but makes it easier to work on😉. Great channel and great work. I enjoy it. Regads from Switzerland
Something I saw Jason Knight say in an old video: when you're doing twist Damascus, forge your stock round before twisting and you won't have the problem of so many creases. No grinding them out or forge welding them back together, less risk of bad welds. I tried it recently and it works quite well, really no pattern distortion when you taken back to square, and you lose WAY less material when you prep your surfaces for the next weld. Loving the project, and I hope you go for a single guard instead of one front and back. Thanks for doing what you do and teaching me so much.
Good to see a local lad doing well. Don’t give up on the Forged in Fire test, would be good to see you try again now you’ve gotten some ideas on how you’d do it differently.
I keep loving my daily Alec Steele videos; keep on going Alex. I wonder if it would be possible for you (nothing is impossible for you) to make a rasor old style damascus. I'd like to see that!
Thank you sooooo much for using the surface grinder finally. It has pretty much just been sitting in your shop doing nothing, but now it has a purpose...... XD
The knife shape look like Joe Paranee bowie made by Nick Wheeler. One of the best knife. Good luck with this project. I can t wait 'till it s finished.
So much yes. How can it get any better? My favorite blacksmith making my favorite blade style, from my favorite material. Now, if only it could be mine. Lol
Your content is addictive. Please do not fix this.
I'm again looking forward to your progress, your's is one of my favourite channels. Ulfberht blade next please - I dare you to use traditional crucible steel and do the iron inlay too!
Ron Barnes im addicted to flan
... I mean I think it's cool but you do you
Yesterday entire internet says maybe 10 was too many twists..... Alec says today we're twisting twice that amount. Never stop being you..... Madman!!
Haha! Different aim to yesterday in this episode :P
Why didnt you just use allthread? Wouldve save aa lot of twisting
This isn't your average bowie knife
its a bowie knife with a twist
Super978x get out
I LOVE the closeup shots of the steel as you're twisting it! Watching the scale fall away, revealing the hot metal underneath, those were some amazing shots! Keep up the excellent work!
I stumbled across your videos a few days ago and was like "Oh great. Another one of those idiots screwing around with metal" but your enthusiasm that I thought was stupidity is legit excitement and your care and skill in your work is an absolute joy to watch. I'm glad I was wrong and I can't wait to see how this knife turns out.
Thank you sir! Honoured to have you on board!
I pretty much found his channel like a month ago, i thought he was a bit lazy, but then i saw his editing and his knife without hand tools and fell in love with his channel
ok boomer
How important is the guard on this knife? Some would say it is... integral
boooooooooo
No one is sharp enough for this pun
I love that I saw this comment near the beginning of the video and instantly knew what the guard would look like.
Get out.
You have to grind about 25% into the surface of the steel in order to get the stars from the layers. If you're just doing regular low-layer count, you'll get almost like diamonds in the steel. If you do Ws, you'll get stars that almost look like explosions or fireworks! ;)
BurlyWoodWorks I
Idk what it is about watching the oxides fall off up close, but it is so satisfying!!
"We're going to make a bowie knife"
*welds up three longswords' worth of damascus*
Fax tho
Alec! Thank you for all the amazing Damascus. I spent a year saving, buying little by little, putting my forge together, and I finally forged my first knife, tongs, and coal rake. I appreciate the daily inspiration. Its helped me stay passionate to keep on keeping on. Thanks for your vids!! Hope to be buying some merch soon.
you need to stock remove the piece you made yesterday. Those explosions will show when you take away some material. You have succeeded you just don't know it yet.
Stuart Smith you are the man! We need more of your videos!
working on it.
Work beardier.
I mean faster.
hahaha..
Mass respect for the multiple camera angles on this one Alec & Jamie!
Alec! Make something with feather damascus core and twisted damascus edges!
Alec, im a cnc machinist making precision components for the oil industry in Aberdeen and i love this channel. I find working with metal fascinating and the stuff you do is totally different to what i do but still its brilliant. Keep up the great work and thank you very much for the videos. I have to try blacksmithing some time in the near future. All because of you. Thanks again
hey alec, in your last video you made twist starburst damascus. but you twisted the steel way too much. 4 or 5 full 360 twists should be enof, thats why the starburst pattern on your demascus is so damn small :) i hope this helps you in your future explorations of the beutiful peice of work damascus steel is :3
yours truly, the bjoern :3
mads romlund , I cant agree more!
mads romlund I was thinking the same
Agreed
Came here to comment the same thing. I was hoping he was about to say he learned his lesson from yesterday's video, but then I cringed so hard when he said 15 for today
I thought this episode he wudda taken some advice from yesterday’s comment section. instead he takes shorter pieces and adds even more twists
The editing in this particular video was fracking incredible Alec. The slow-mo/close ups of the twisting Steele (heyo!) was very satisfying to watch.
can u make a vid soon showing all ur finished products ???
The oxide that scales and falls off the steel is like ASMR for your eyes.
Clean up your workshop Alec ! LOL
René Albrechtsen mind your own business
If you've seen his older videos when he cleaned his workshop he told the viewers to make sure he keeps it clean
блант дзмиен. So, yeah..
Sub lol
I love the macro shots of the metal being twisted. Very satisfying.
Please please please try armour
it would be so awsome and you could incorperate lots of leather stuff and decorative stuff and learn so much
it would be so totally cool
plays twisted sister
i completely agree.
Agreed!!!
I gotta say those are some damn amazing shots on the twisting action, VERY good camera angle, background and focus, I loved it so much
Use mokume gane as handle scales!!
I was about to say the same thing!
i think it would be better for a guard and bolster
Fantastic work as always. Really appreciated the close up twist and the scale flaking off. Love the contrast of bright yellow to dark red with the black scale.
As always, excellent work, Alec. "Let's do a montage. That way you can't hear me complaining" = Favorite quote of the episode.
😂 thanks man!
Love the effect of the scale just dropping off in twisted fashion, looks awesome
You really need to do a belt conversion for your surface grinder. Thad would have been a 10min job with a 50 grit belt. My surface grinder with a belt will do .020-.030 dept of cut with a .100 step over per pass. Blasts through Damascus scale like butter. I split 2”x72” belts in half to give me 1x72. I also use the grinding wheel as the contact wheel for my belt conversion and it works amazing. You want a very hard contact wheel.
NO WAY?! You use the grinding wheel as the contact wheel for real!?
He looks serious ;)
I’m heading into the shop right now and I will take a short video showing you how mine is done. The idea came about while I was having a conversation with my buddy Salem Straub, forged in fire s2e2 winner. He was trying to convince me to convert to a belt but I could not afford to have a contact wheel made. That’s when I said “to bad I can’t just run a belt over my stone”, wait can I?. Been a great conversion and WELL WORTH THE EFFORT.
That scale shedding off in the twist may be the most satisfying thing I've seen all week.
OMG these Video is so great! Not just only th e Project, also the cut and music was great! Thank you for sharing it
So satisfying when the scale fall off the material during the twisting process !
Can't wait to see what you will make for the handle and the guard !
Beautiful work as always Alec! Excited to see this knife.
I am devestated that I have just found this channel. 😭😭 Amazing work. I'm gunna have to binge watch for a few days. 😂
Jamie’s editing, specially the background music choice was already outstanding years ago I see.
You Steele my attention daily
Incredible video and editing. If this blacksmithing doesn’t work, head for Hollywood.
Alec why did you not use your mill instead of your surfasegrinder then you could have been done in no time almost :D
but this way every piece of steel is the same thickness guaranteed
Dulux Doggy a mill would too
Richard Hoekstra I was gonna say the same thing... with a Face mill(that is that bigger tool in the mill, you always see him using, especially before he got the surface grinder), he can dial it into what he wants... Carbide works great for steel.
Mill to remove bulk of material, then surface grind to finish off...
Your videos just make me so happy every time! Carefree pursuit of excellence, learning without shame from consequences, it’s just so awesome!!
Those close-ups 👏
best up close scale shots I've ever seen.
😮 820k! Wow!! 1,000,000 in a few weeks me thinks!👍🇬🇧👀
Haha! Still a few months to go :)
yeah...feels like the 100.000 was two months ago :O :D
Love your videos , you remind me of a cross between Tin Tin and a mad scientist ! I’ve been a welder fabricator and engineer for 35 years so I see that you have a high skill level , well done keep it up ! The herring bone pattern was common in Viking, Saxon and ancient briton swords ⚔️ they just drew the bar out , twisted it and put it together alternating the twists interlocking them , one sloping up and the other sloping down without grinding them flat as the ridges interlock to each other whilst being forged , but the swordmaker cleaned the slag and scale off them first as you would , Hope this helps and keep it up you’re amazing for a youngster !
You should make a merchandise of that: "I need a machine to do that."😁
Mate I never had any interest in metalwork/blacksmithing, yet here I bloody am, hours and hours deep into your vids. Good work!
watching those twists was like steel porn
Bill Kerman that scale popping off.... absolutely sexual
Because of your Sir Alec, I am more inspired to make my knives even better. Even if I have basic tools.
Alec! Clean your bandsaw! Its super messy!
Your music selections for your videos are always great. Always. You have great musical taste. The bits of synched hammering are a bonus.
Maybe when I'm this early there's a chance you'll see it - Alec you need to check out a book by Steve Midgett called Mokume Gane - A Comprehensive Study! Amazing book on Mokume Gane with lots of pattern developing techniques and in-depth explanations. Cheers, I'll enjoy today's episode now :)
This is the type of work that got me watching your channel. You do amazing things with metal. Keep it up. The things you've been doing since you got to the states don't measure up to what I saw you do in Jolly Old. This Bowie is getting close if not equal to. I'm looking forward to the next vid.
You' re getting closer Alec, but it's a canister Damascus Texas State flag Bowie Knife...lol!
I love it whenever that top layer of metal peels off
Collaboration idea: Alec you make the bread knife and I make the bread knife handle out of “real bread” no joke let’s make it happen
A Glimpse Inside ooooh sounds cool!
A Glimpse Inside peter brown collab
You gotta find a youtuber to make the bread too!
Brett Bellingar I manage your bakery for a living. I am the man for the job. I know it’s a shot in the dark but it would be a mighty cool project
I love good Bowie, they look so cool. Very interesting how you've decided to make the Damascus pattern.
Alec turn that surface grinder right there into a belt grinding surface grinder!!! Might shave an hour or two !!! 🕐🕞👍
Stephen Rock Freerk Wieringa recently did just this in a video. Now time for Alec?
Alexander Nilsson I'm subscribed to him to!! Now I need to go watch that 1 thanks!!!
He's already got stuff for mass stock removal. Turning a precision machine into a half assee belt grinder, that makes the surface grinder lose most of its precision, is pointless and backwards.
Finally, you are simplifying the pattern! I think damascus is most beautiful when the pattern is simple, especially when it looks like wood grain, Like the Japanese pattern welding tradition.
so a few weeks ago you cleaned your workshop- and you told everyone on youtube that all you needed was 15 minutes to tidy your place. But have you done this? No montage so far about you cleaning up the mess you make. Still thou, nice work. Lots of love from Sweden
I've done a very bad job at keeping up with this commitment!
Alec Steele keep making good videos and nobody will notice. Thank you for the education and entertainment.
You mentioned a machine to twist the steel for you. Oh that gets the creative juices flowing. Let’s build one.
I guess you could call it a Bowie knife with a 'twist'
I see what you did there ;)
Playing Twist and Shout while you were twisting the steel, that was a nice touch
The recepie for a good day:
Video by Alec Steela
Good food at school
A good book
Not missing the school bus
Recipe.
you know what I ment so
Meant.
Your positivity is the highlight of my day.
That Epidemic sound music is so great! It really annoys me that I cant afford it for myself😓
Combined with such perfect music that footage looks really epic!
There's something so mesmerizing about seeing metal bars twisted like taffy
Can I to get a heart on my comment for no apparent reason?
You videos literally inspire me to get out to the shed and build things...it’s infectious. Thank you for inspiring me Alec !
are you now living in that respirator? :) I didn't think you'd get much fumes from power-hammering. . .
Keeps me cool 😎
Aaaaahhh, that makes perfect (and cool) sense! I hadn't thought of that aspect. Thanks!
The truth is that the respirator is like a facehugger from alien and he cant get it off
And looking cool!
Hypnotic lights and shades while twisting... I was scotched !
Is it actually necessary to rotate clockwise and counter clockwise? Can't you just flip one upside down and get the same results?
Think about a bolt, one way or another it is still a left or right hand thread bolt!
Never Change man, I am hooked on watch you create masterpieces!!
In my "experience" for torion patterns: less layers, more twists :D I dunno....gives a neater pattern (be it more "raw" ....like less fine)
Thanks man! I've had a look at it today and I think you're certainly correct!
"more is always better" - question is more of what :D
thats what I was trying to say :D
I just watched your episodes of the bridgeport repairing. We had the same machine in the workshop where I worked 2 years ago. And the mill had the same oiling bulsh... problem like yours😂. Great job solving it!
But next time you have to swich it on and of often (drilling or taking a lot of measurments etc. ) stick with double sided tabe a small piece of wood on the ON button. So you can start and stop the spindle with your knee. Just a little bit faster but makes it easier to work on😉.
Great channel and great work. I enjoy it.
Regads from Switzerland
Something I saw Jason Knight say in an old video: when you're doing twist Damascus, forge your stock round before twisting and you won't have the problem of so many creases. No grinding them out or forge welding them back together, less risk of bad welds.
I tried it recently and it works quite well, really no pattern distortion when you taken back to square, and you lose WAY less material when you prep your surfaces for the next weld.
Loving the project, and I hope you go for a single guard instead of one front and back. Thanks for doing what you do and teaching me so much.
All this smithing really put you in shape
Excellent choice !! Everyone loves a big badass bowie !! Well done as always Alec and Jamie !!
Bowies!,!
Looks great! Can't wait to see the finished product!
Every damn video is a work of art. You're not only a perfectionist knife maker, but I daresay your videos are just as good. Ly man
Good to see a local lad doing well. Don’t give up on the Forged in Fire test, would be good to see you try again now you’ve gotten some ideas on how you’d do it differently.
You always scare me when you don't flux! I am glad you did! Love the videos!
Mr. Steele Blacksmith by day. Affiliate Marketer by night. Right on man!!
This dude's stuff is awesome. Been binge watching all weekend.
I don't remember anyone advising more twists, love it!
Hey! Going back to a classic build. Thanks for the video
I just realized something, Alec is the top gear of forge welding. You don't have to a die hard blacksmith to enjoy the cinematography.
I love watching the scale fall off. So Satisfying.
Even though you’ve already done a Bowie it’s still addictive to watch
It is so satisfying to watch the scale pop off of freshly twisted damascus, ain't it guys?
I keep loving my daily Alec Steele videos; keep on going Alex. I wonder if it would be possible for you (nothing is impossible for you) to make a rasor old style damascus. I'd like to see that!
Oh yeah another day in the workshop! The video yesterday was mesmerizing lol keep up the good work Alec!
wow that twisting sure looks satisfying!
Those Macro Shots are amazing!!! Great video.
Also mad props to Jamie for the incredible twisting shots
Thank you sooooo much for using the surface grinder finally. It has pretty much just been sitting in your shop doing nothing, but now it has a purpose...... XD
The knife shape look like Joe Paranee bowie made by Nick Wheeler. One of the best knife. Good luck with this project. I can t wait 'till it s finished.
U deserve this WELL EARNED success, Alec. I hope u hav a great accountant!
So much yes. How can it get any better? My favorite blacksmith making my favorite blade style, from my favorite material. Now, if only it could be mine. Lol
Those red hot twists look soo cool😍
You should do a big montage of all your final pieces. It would be epic to see what amazing things you have achieved so far.
Those close up shots are awesome!
Loving the background music in this episode!!
That is so satisfying to watch the scale twisting off