I really appreciate how Nick tackles pretty complex jobs with really basic tools. Most youtubers would only demonstrate this with a $15000 shop, and here he is using pliers for tongs, on a scrap metal anvil.
took the words right out of my comment box my friend, I think something like this would look good on a bowie knife. just my two CENTS on the matter tho....... Ehh Ehhh!!! Get It!!! I'm sorry... I will leave now...
Thank you so much for showing this process in its entirety. I've successfully done this a few times now, thanks to you. Here in Canada, US quarters are fairly commonly interspersed and I didn't even need to leave the house to get a stack. Only after a few billets did I realize that certain years of Canadian dimes, still commonly circulating have even higher nickel contents, some 100% most 25%, allowing for significantly less coppery results, if desired. Cheers!
You are the best UA-camr, for me. I admire you, because you make the best things from old trash/other things. Especially your Knifes are really cool, because they aren't so cheap imitates, which can only be deco, they are real!And they also look really cool.👍👍👍best man
I had heard of mokume gane before but I had just never realized you could just scoop up some quarters and forge them. Thanks for the heads up on this. Im going to experiment with this sometime soon.
I've watched this video before but I used like ten bucks worth of quarters and only made two rings after a rewatch I saw you fileing the edges before you started drawing it out ! can't wait to try this thanks !
Man, that is some good looking stuff there! In fact - - in certain circumstances, I can picture it as bolsters on the handle of a Damascus steel blade. Although it might look a bit "busy" to your average Joe, it would make a truly *original* piece. Thank you very kindly for sharing this!
Fyi: (U.S.) coinage from 1980 or older is, iirc, 90% silver for Quarters/Dimes/Half-Dollars, 30% silver for Nickels, and the Pennies are solid copper. They aren't super common, these days... but pretty reliable source for Cu & Ag in small quantities - like jeweling or knife fittings.
Wow man, it's been really enjoyable to watch you progress with your skill level and knowledge over the course of your channel. I've been a subscriber of yours for quite some time now and it's aLeah's fun to watch what you put together. Keep up the great work!
I tried this but I had a hard time forge welding the coins together even with flux. I only got 2 to weld, I'm not exactly sure what u mean by "sweat". Like I see when the metal gets tacky, but when I start hammering the first hammer welds em and the second unsticks em. It's tricky, I wish there were more vids on this technique. Well done. I did use what I made to make a finger guard for a knife thou so thnx 😁
I didn't even know you could forge weld non ferrous materials. Do you use flux at all? What would you make from it? I'm just starting to learn how to forge and cannot decide between blades or jewelry. I'm trying to learn more about the metallurgy first. Thanks :) Looks awesome btw, it's like inverted domascus. Colour wise that is.
Nice video, Just in time too, as i am making a hidden tang knife, and was looking for some material for the handle guards, and just got some new propane torches today, i wil definately be making some of this 'makume gane'
Soft taps actually are more effective when forge welding. when you hit the metal too hard it will actually cause the molten metal to "splatter" and leave the cooler metal kind of stuck together but not well. I am apprenticing under a 13 year journeyman smith and he let me know this. I hope it helps you like it did me! keep up the vids man I really enjoy them!
I have a question about a previous video but I wasn't sure if you would reply so I'm gonna ask here. In your 80 pound longbow video what diminisions would make a 50 to 60 pound longbow?
Round one trying this, out of a stack of 11 quarters, only 3 and 4 stuck together. However, the tongs I was using were very short, just round stock I tapered the ends of and then folded into a long U. I couldn't get them properly into the heat before my glove started smoking.
So, the thicker lines were copper and thinner nickel? I've been flirting with the idea of forging copper stuff and specially mokume gane stuff, didn't know there was this much copper in quarters. Thank you! :D
what did you use to heat it up? was it propane if so was it larger than your everyday home depot burner? if you have a link to it that would be even better
Would it be possible to etch it in acid to bring out the pattern a little more? I really wanna try this, but I'd like to have a somewhat more defined pattern.
great information nick i have been learning from you for years now nick thanks for every thing you got me from doing nothing outdoors to making pvc bows,knifes,arrows,etc.. so i can't thank you enough and man the new book looks great,do you sell it in digital format? all the best.
How malleable is the finished product? Is it at all similar to the strength of bronze? If so I'd love to see that forged into the Habaki of a tanto or katana
Hello, great video! I'd like to know how you heat the coins in this video. I have MAPP torch , and I don't know if I can use it, since I'm new at working with metals. Thanks for the grreat tutorial!
are you sanding (facing) the coins flat first or leaving the impression of the Head and tails on it and just making sure they are clean and free of oil?
Real Deal Armory - - all due respect & based on your question; how many sharpened items are made from Copper &/or Nickel anymore? That being said: Why would it need to hold an edge? Thumb up for your questions though!
Real Deal Armory , I know with Damascus you can acid etch the metal. This eats away the outer layer of the metal to show the most of the metals natural pattern. Don't know if the same applies here tho, as I've yet to try it.
Thank you friend for sharing and making. I wish you'd go more detail into troubleshooting. Those of us who tried knows how frustrating it could get when you super cleaned the surface, you tried borax, you tried accetone, different flame types(propane, MAP, MAP+oxy, oxy+acetalyne, no gas but coal or electric furnace. Temp range from red to red orang., to org-ylw, ylw-wht, wht-melt, melt-spilled-mixed-oh-craps. Pretty much all available info. that you can google and youtube- still the top two fused the bottom three fused too but in the middle it seem holding up until you apply the pressure. Would you recomend something that you think is the main rule/ingridient?? thank you again
I would think it would be very hard to draw a billet that large to wire if you are talking about a bench top hand operated rolling mill. If you are talking about hot rolling it, you’d probably need to get the billet at least to 1/2” x 1/2” before you could start reducing it down. Neat idea though
did you use a basic butane or map gas torch? Just curious because I was thinking about making some pendants for a group of ppl I know and want to do it in this style.
BackyardBowyer What kind of tongs are those, I am trying this but it keeps falling apart in my forge because I try to use vice grips and I don't have the appropriate tongs, PLS HELP!!
Amazing video. I have a question hopefully you or someone else can answer, I have been working on forging sterling silver from a puck of silver into a billet but it keeps cracking, am I working with it while its to low of a temp or to high of a temp? I have successfully done this with pure 999 silver but having problems with alloys. please help.
It depends on what you're trying to do. I like to do most forging of silver and copper at a red heat. If I'm working it cold, I try to anneal after every 30%-40% reduction in thickness or width as I'm drawing out. I'm still practicing and by no means an expert, but this works for me. Hope this helps!
Work it at a low cherry red, and let it anneal by heating it to a bright red, allow it to cool to the point at which it is no longer glowing, (black heat), and quench it. Sterling silver can be finicky, so work it slowly, with a light hammer or with light blows. I hope that this helps you.
Annealing is the key! I know a jeweler that makes a fortune by taking advantage of those cracks as a design element in his rings and cuffs. He does it deliberately in a very controlled manner. To avoid the cracks, anneal often.
What if you mix Copper and Nickle together, like Molten Metals together.... I heard it becomes a beautiful purple metal with white streaks through it.... called The Net.
What kind of tongs are those, I am trying this but it keeps falling apart in my forge because I try to use vice grips and I don't have the appropriate tongs, PLS HELP!!
I really appreciate how Nick tackles pretty complex jobs with really basic tools. Most youtubers would only demonstrate this with a $15000 shop, and here he is using pliers for tongs, on a scrap metal anvil.
Absolute rubbish, my tools cost not 1 penny more than £14999.99p and yet I have done an instructable on this (pfffft)
That would make an awesome knife guard.
Thats what i was thinking, i might use it for a file dagger that i made a while back
took the words right out of my comment box my friend, I think something like this would look good on a bowie knife. just my two CENTS on the matter tho....... Ehh Ehhh!!! Get It!!! I'm sorry... I will leave now...
+LOLKING LoL 😆
Yeeeessss
That's exactly why I came to watch this video. I was like woah that thumbnail looks like a knife handle or finger guard. I want to do that now.
I'm really enjoying your videos. You have this happiness in your voice unlike a lot of UA-cam.
i love how you videos are fast and they get to the point
Thank you so much for showing this process in its entirety. I've successfully done this a few times now, thanks to you. Here in Canada, US quarters are fairly commonly interspersed and I didn't even need to leave the house to get a stack.
Only after a few billets did I realize that certain years of Canadian dimes, still commonly circulating have even higher nickel contents, some 100% most 25%, allowing for significantly less coppery results, if desired.
Cheers!
Finally! A use for all my spare laundry money!
It is NOT illegal. read the law. he isn't doing this to be fraudulent. Jewelry is made from coins as well. Same principle.
You are the best UA-camr, for me. I admire you, because you make the best things from old trash/other things. Especially your Knifes are really cool, because they aren't so cheap imitates, which can only be deco, they are real!And they also look really cool.👍👍👍best man
I was looking for Makume Gane Tutorials for Clay and found this video. Very cool!
I had heard of mokume gane before but I had just never realized you could just scoop up some quarters and forge them. Thanks for the heads up on this. Im going to experiment with this sometime soon.
Hands down, best infomative video I've seen in a while. Fantastic job sir.
I've watched this video before but I used like ten bucks worth of quarters and only made two rings after a rewatch I saw you fileing the edges before you started drawing it out ! can't wait to try this thanks !
Man, that is some good looking stuff there! In fact - - in certain circumstances, I can picture it as bolsters on the handle of a Damascus steel blade. Although it might look a bit "busy" to your average Joe, it would make a truly *original* piece. Thank you very kindly for sharing this!
Nice! Glad to see you really getting into forging.Should be interesting to see what you end up doing with that billet.
I' ll say it again my friend. You are an artist. Thank so much for sharing. Greetings from Chile.
wow. this is the coolest /easiest mokume gane process i've every seen
GREAT Tip. Thank you for sharing.
This is awesome! I had no idea about the quarters! But it makes sense in hindsight because they are an amalgam.
Fyi: (U.S.) coinage from 1980 or older is, iirc, 90% silver for Quarters/Dimes/Half-Dollars, 30% silver for Nickels, and the Pennies are solid copper.
They aren't super common, these days... but pretty reliable source for Cu & Ag in small quantities - like jeweling or knife fittings.
Your vids are inspiring. They give one courage to try something out themselves. Thanks
The final billet is beautiful.
Wow man, it's been really enjoyable to watch you progress with your skill level and knowledge over the course of your channel. I've been a subscriber of yours for quite some time now and it's aLeah's fun to watch what you put together. Keep up the great work!
Thanks!
I tried this but I had a hard time forge welding the coins together even with flux. I only got 2 to weld, I'm not exactly sure what u mean by "sweat". Like I see when the metal gets tacky, but when I start hammering the first hammer welds em and the second unsticks em. It's tricky, I wish there were more vids on this technique. Well done. I did use what I made to make a finger guard for a knife thou so thnx 😁
Just found your channel I like! I will be back for more info. But now got get some quarters cleaned up
I didn't even know you could forge weld non ferrous materials. Do you use flux at all? What would you make from it?
I'm just starting to learn how to forge and cannot decide between blades or jewelry. I'm trying to learn more about the metallurgy first. Thanks :)
Looks awesome btw, it's like inverted domascus. Colour wise that is.
If it melts, it welds...
Just what I was looking for
That looks really cool, should try that once..
Really nice work! The pattern looks great!
Nice video, Just in time too, as i am making a hidden tang knife, and was looking for some material for the handle guards, and just got some new propane torches today, i wil definately be making some of this 'makume gane'
jason Mackenzie u stole the tanto kukri from Slavik tellys channel
Stopping inflation $4 at a time
😂
I was waiting for this comment😂😂
Cool vid and really like the Damascus pattern.
Soft taps actually are more effective when forge welding. when you hit the metal too hard it will actually cause the molten metal to "splatter" and leave the cooler metal kind of stuck together but not well. I am apprenticing under a 13 year journeyman smith and he let me know this. I hope it helps you like it did me! keep up the vids man I really enjoy them!
also use a flux like borax its common in most supermarkets in the US!
I have a question about a previous video but I wasn't sure if you would reply so I'm gonna ask here. In your 80 pound longbow video what diminisions would make a 50 to 60 pound longbow?
This is my next project! Can you teach us how you would make Damascus steel? This would be a sweet guard on a Damascus blade.
Amazing video man! I really enjoyed it.
We would love to see you do a crossbow project with a steel arm as were found in medieval period, it would be cool to see your approach.
Round one trying this, out of a stack of 11 quarters, only 3 and 4 stuck together. However, the tongs I was using were very short, just round stock I tapered the ends of and then folded into a long U. I couldn't get them properly into the heat before my glove started smoking.
So, the thicker lines were copper and thinner nickel? I've been flirting with the idea of forging copper stuff and specially mokume gane stuff, didn't know there was this much copper in quarters. Thank you! :D
what did you use to heat it up? was it propane if so was it larger than your everyday home depot burner? if you have a link to it that would be even better
you can use it to make a knife guard, it will be very nice
Great Video. Please comment on the type of torch you used. I didn't think a propane torch was hot enough for melting non-ferrous metal.
Nathan Brandel copper and nickel melt at lower points than iron, so it would actually be easier.
Thank you! I have been trying to figure out how to make copper "Damascus", and now I at least know that it's possible.
Very nice. I've been wanting to do this for a while. I assume a charcoal forge will make this much more difficult?
More power to you. I have issues bonding nickel together usually.
hey BackyardBowyer what kind of torch are you using ? propane or acetylene ? would really love to know.
Very cool! What would you charge to make one of these billets? Aside from $4 in quarters...
Would it be possible to etch it in acid to bring out the pattern a little more? I really wanna try this, but I'd like to have a somewhat more defined pattern.
I'm trying to make a section of copper pipe into a flat bar. Would I use similar techniques to this, or something different?
great information nick i have been learning from you for years now nick thanks for every thing you got me from doing nothing outdoors to making pvc bows,knifes,arrows,etc.. so i can't thank you enough and man the new book looks great,do you sell it in digital format?
all the best.
did you use flux weld and just not show it or does that metal for some reason weld itself?
Really cool Nick
How malleable is the finished product? Is it at all similar to the strength of bronze? If so I'd love to see that forged into the Habaki of a tanto or katana
mac mizer and a suba.
You've come a long way from making home made bows and arrows.
Hello, great video! I'd like to know how you heat the coins in this video. I have MAPP torch , and I don't know if I can use it, since I'm new at working with metals. Thanks for the grreat tutorial!
Amazing work as usual!
Thanks Nick! So good!
Do you sell the products that you make?? If so do you have a catalog or a website??
Love the video. Great way to learn for a beginner. Cant wait to give it a try
+kelly daugherty Thank you for watching!
What do you use for an anvil and forge? I'd love to get into a craft like this but my budget is quite limited.
Jarrod Calder I think he just uses a big metal bar as a anvil and a propane torch surrounded with bricks
do you have any experiance with smithing outside of the DIY stuff you make?
thats some damn cool crafting
are you sanding (facing) the coins flat first or leaving the impression of the Head and tails on it and just making sure they are clean and free of oil?
Kenstubeofstuff he only cleaned these
What did you use to heat it up? Harbor freight weed burner?
I'm assuming this wouldn't hold an edge very well?... also is there anything you can do to bring out the pattern even more? Great video. :)
Real Deal Armory - - all due respect & based on your question; how many sharpened items are made from Copper &/or Nickel anymore? That being said: Why would it need to hold an edge? Thumb up for your questions though!
Real Deal Armory , I know with Damascus you can acid etch the metal. This eats away the outer layer of the metal to show the most of the metals natural pattern. Don't know if the same applies here tho, as I've yet to try it.
Thank you friend for sharing and making. I wish you'd go more detail into troubleshooting. Those of us who tried knows how frustrating it could get when you super cleaned the surface, you tried borax, you tried accetone, different flame types(propane, MAP, MAP+oxy, oxy+acetalyne, no gas but coal or electric furnace. Temp range from red to red orang., to org-ylw, ylw-wht, wht-melt, melt-spilled-mixed-oh-craps. Pretty much all available info. that you can google and youtube- still the top two fused the bottom three fused too but in the middle it seem holding up until you apply the pressure. Would you recomend something that you think is the main rule/ingridient?? thank you again
Is it possible to draw this out into a wire to be used in a twisted ring?
I would think it would be very hard to draw a billet that large to wire if you are talking about a bench top hand operated rolling mill. If you are talking about hot rolling it, you’d probably need to get the billet at least to 1/2” x 1/2” before you could start reducing it down. Neat idea though
So are you letting it cool on its own or are you quenching it in water?
TheAndroid3k doesn't really matter
TheAndroid3k copper reacts differently to quenching than iron. It would actually make it softer.
VERY COOL, NICK! ;)
hey what were you using to heat this because I've tried and it likes to laminate almost every time.
Beautiful!
Inspiring, as usual.
did you use a basic butane or map gas torch? Just curious because I was thinking about making some pendants for a group of ppl I know and want to do it in this style.
I used a propane torch. The extra heat of MAPP gas wouldn't hurt.
What a great idea.Thanks for sharing..
Subbed. Good channel and a free education.
Wait a minute correct me if I'm wrong isn't nickel a metal that's belonging to the ferrous group metals with iron and cobalt ?
Cool I have the same 4lb hammer from harbor freight but the handle really sucks I need to replace it soon
Could you do a twist mokume gane?
fantastic idea
BackyardBowyer What kind of tongs are those, I am trying this but it keeps falling apart in my forge because I try to use vice grips and I don't have the appropriate tongs, PLS HELP!!
What size propane torch did you use. I was not able to get them hot enough
awesome looking
I've been trying to make Damascus for a while, but tive been thinking about starting with this since it has a lower tempature and mybe easier, is it?
Hi do you sell some of your bows on Ebay or something ?
Not familiar with cold-shuts in forging, I was taught they were only a thing in castings.
Your the man Nick!
Can you use a few 90% silver quarters mixed in?
What kind of torch and gas are you using?
what may of happened if the heated alloy was filed instead of waiting for it to cool?
Amazing video. I have a question hopefully you or someone else can answer, I have been working on forging sterling silver from a puck of silver into a billet but it keeps cracking, am I working with it while its to low of a temp or to high of a temp? I have successfully done this with pure 999 silver but having problems with alloys. please help.
It depends on what you're trying to do. I like to do most forging of silver and copper at a red heat. If I'm working it cold, I try to anneal after every 30%-40% reduction in thickness or width as I'm drawing out. I'm still practicing and by no means an expert, but this works for me.
Hope this helps!
Work it at a low cherry red, and let it anneal by heating it to a bright red, allow it to cool to the point at which it is no longer glowing, (black heat), and quench it. Sterling silver can be finicky, so work it slowly, with a light hammer or with light blows. I hope that this helps you.
Jake Easterday Thanks for the tips, I will see how it goes.
Annealing is the key! I know a jeweler that makes a fortune by taking advantage of those cracks as a design element in his rings and cuffs. He does it deliberately in a very controlled manner. To avoid the cracks, anneal often.
where do you get your blacksmith stuff at?
What if you mix Copper and Nickle together, like Molten Metals together.... I heard it becomes a beautiful purple metal with white streaks through it.... called The Net.
Can you forge weld like 2 or 3 of those to get more mass?
We know you have plans with that billet! Share!
what did you use this for?
Really cool; love the idea
i have a question, is it possible to pattern weld copper and silver?
I would not mind if you could do one showing how to make some jewelry please
Dude, I LOVE this video!!!
What kind of tongs are those, I am trying this but it keeps falling apart in my forge because I try to use vice grips and I don't have the appropriate tongs, PLS HELP!!
Is it strong? For say a gaurd or a pomel?
that looks easy. gotta try it.
I don't have Quarters around here in Europe could I use Aluminium and Copper ?
Not only Wood you can use copper, brass, nickle, silver, gold, platinum, i dont think you can use steel, and aluminium