Making Damascus Steel 4 blade forging

[LPtheDESTROYER]

with barely the paience for hammering nails, (and im a carpenter) i admire the effort made to manipulate a piece of high carbon damascus steel!!

[Conan568]

@LPtheDESTROYER

You should try it.

[LPtheDESTROYER]

@Conan568 If i was capable of results like your knives i would! Bet they hold a mean edge.

[Conan568]

@LPtheDESTROYER

They hold a pretty good edge alright.

I clumsily dropped my last Bowie knife which stuck into my concrete floor without damage to the tip.

[originalusernamefail]

Nice work, your clearly a pro.

[Conan568]

@originalusernamefail

Thanks, it's almost instinctive for me now.

[daljeetsinghphull]

Nice to see the video, It is very popular in Indian Blacksmith which has very good calliber to make the different items.. see the indian blacksmith...

[juliannevillecorrea]

thanks for video ..

[Conan568]

@juliannevillecorrea

Thanx for watching.

[W0LFY213]

thanks for the info, do you know of anything in Canada?

[Conan568]

@W0LFY213

No I do not.

[W0LFY213]

is it possible to learn the old ways of blacksmithing in a college, i want to be a sword and knife maker, but ive no idea where to look, ive seen small single person teachers, but im sure id have to get some type of certified teaching. if any one can give me some advice or info i'd much appreciate it, i'm really struggling here.

[Conan568]

@W0LFY213

Check out the American Bladesmith Society.

[MrDan27611]

@W0LFY213 Montgomery College in Troy, NC. Check out the NRA programs.

[rak000]

PLEASE tell me your actual name is Conan?

[Conan568]

@rak000

People have been calling me Conan since the 80s when I was lifting cars pool tables etc, so it may as well be.

[quadcatfly]

is it easy to machine one ?

[Conan568]

@quadcatfly

I wouldn't know, I've never done it.

[bluehoarse]

It is a remarkably beautiful thing, looking at steel that hot.

[Conan568]

@bluehoarse

Almost jewel like.

[atomdragon4]

Compress, compress, compress :D

[WildBuck007]

1m views. To all folks watching. Wear protective gear. Face shield. Gloves and sleeves. Also find good full apron.

The very worst case scenario is getting some slag.molten metal on you. Trust me.

[Conan568]

@WildBuck007

Absolutely,.

I don't wear gloves because I don't need them they interfere, but eye protection is a must, and those glasses were safety glasses.

[WildBuck007]

@Conan568

I've been gathering as much information about techniques and the least expensive etc etc.

But this one question I have is folding metal. What is it?

I think after even knowing how to make a forge. A kiln. And even how to make my own coal. This is like the cart before the horse. But I've no idea what folding metal means exactly.

Any help? Assuming you know XD

(no offense)

[Conan568]

@WildBuck007

Basically you forge weld and fold a stack of dissimilar steel alloys until you reach enough layers to show a pattern.

[WildBuck007]

@Conan568

Like having similar steel bars and melting them into 1 piece?

[Conan568]

@WildBuck007

You use dissimilar steel alloys to produce a pattern, if you use the same steel you just end up with a bar of the same steel that you started with.

[WildBuck007]

@Conan568

Interesting. Mind if I keep bothering you for more info? XD

So regarding oiling and stainless steel:

How do I know if a junk car part like a spring will be stainless or just fall apart after all my work. When I put a finger on it?

I was under the impression if non stainless is used. You cannot ever touch it or it will permanently mar the metal, even when oiled.

Oh and my next question. Can I just buy stainless steel and smelt it and it keeps being stainless? Or does it lose that?

[Conan568]

@WildBuck007

Stay away from stainless steel, you want medium to high carbon steel.

Leaf springs make excellent knives.

[WildBuck007]

@Conan568

So then you suggest the steel that I have to maintain with oil then?

[Conan568]

@WildBuck007

Yeah for sure, if you're going to forge, avoid stainless like the plague.

[TedOfNod]

@Conan568 Why avoid stainless? I have a square foot of it just waiting to be damascus-ized (lol). Is bad for forge-welding? Or does the problem lie in edge-retention? Please help the noob. :)

Also if i go look for a leaf spring and then mix it with the stainless, do you think it'd make a pattern, or just melt into a single lump of plain metal?

[Conan568]

@TedOfNod

Save the stainless for fittings, it's no good for blades.

[RebelWrestler45]

@Conan568 Haha, I agree, with the exception of kitchen knives which take very minimal edge impact, stainless steel is only for the lazy, who have never heard of WD-40.

[mmtwist123]

I want your forge. <3

[Conan568]

@mmtwist123

I got the plans online and built it for less than $100.

[mmtwist123]

@Conan568 Would you be able to inbox me the site or something? It would be muchly appreciated.

[Conan568]

@mmtwist123

I'm not currently taking orders as other business has come up that must be dealt with, but watch for my next video when I weld up a bunch of Damascus and pm me if you like.

[mmtwist123]

@Conan568 I dont need you to build it, i just need the schematics. :/

[Conan568]

@mmtwist123

Just Google "propane forge plans" and take your pick, because I don't know where my plans are anymore.

[bent540]

use bigger hammer!

[Conan568]

@bent540

I hadn't forged a blade this big for 2 years and my arthritis was acting up that day.

I use a 3 lb. hammer now.

[datzfast]

@Conan568 there are diets that cure arthrits. google it.

[magnasyst]

This is not Damascus steel.No body know the real ancient art.You lack of many thing during the process.

[Conan568]

@magnasyst

Wrong.

There were two types of steel traded in Damascus and both are called rightly called Damascus steel and both are being made now.

One type is pattern welded and the other is crucible, or Wootz steel.

In fact if you type Rick Furrer in the Youtube search you can see Rick make your so-called "lost Damascus " process.

It's ben suuccessfully made for 20 years.

[TheDekben]

โหดโฮกกกกกกกกกกกกกกกกก

[Conan568]

@TheDekben

มันคุ้มค่าที่มากกว่า $ 3,000.

[TheDekben]

@Conan568 มียาวๆวักเล่มมั้ยพ่อคุนอยากได้­อะ

[122andan8]

can someone explain to me what they mean when they say a sword has been folded many times?

[Conan568]

@122andan8

It's meaningless, unless you know how many layers they started out with, it tells you nothing.

[tzDub92]

@122andan8 basiclly, the original method of forging demascus steel has been lost, but ancient blacksmiths could fold the metal into shape

[datzfast]

@tzDub92 it was never lost, its always be an issue of labor costs. i want you to look at all the Damascus iron shotgun barrels of the mid nineteenth century with hundreds of order able repeatable patterns and tell me this was a lost art?in fact evey shot gun barrel in the world was made in this fashion

[hexusziggurat]

@122andan8 "folded many times" is knid of a misconception to what is going on. Lets take a katana for example...you take maybe 4 to 8 flat bars and forge-weld them together...thats 4-8 layers (not folds)....when hammering you elongate the "bar", then make a partial cut halfway along the billet then "fold" it back ontself. 4 "layers" folded once becomes 8 layers...repeat...(2 folds) becomes 16 layers, repeat (3 folds) becomes 32 layers etc ...too many layers distorts pattern though.

[Zhaos0]

@122andan8 The metal has been cut and placed back onto itself then reforged and drawn out and repeated .

[AIX9000]

Wow, really nice work! I wish I had a forge of my own, not that I'd be any good ha ha ha. Do you know much about weapons? I am trying to decide what first real blade I should get.

[Conan568]

@AIX9000

Anything but a hollow ground stainless steel piece of Chinese junk.

[AIX9000]

@Conan568

Oh dear! I take martial arts so I was hoping for something like that xD I found a pretty cheap broadsword that's very durable but the review for it said it would take a hullvalot of sharpening.

[Conan568]

@AIX9000

Ya get what ya pay for.

If you pay shit, you get shit.

[OtakuWulf]

@AIX9000 Amazon has some really nice katanas, if you want one of those. Sharp as fuck and durable too.

[AIX9000]

@OtakuWulf

Now I would buy a Katana, but I am liable to cut off an arm until I get a better 'feel' for my blades -- I decided to go with a semi sharpened one so I can get it razor-esque when I know I'll not make an organ donor out of myself! A viking broadsword to go with my swedish heritage, ha ha ha. The review I read told me that it's more or less impossible to break which is important for me. Thanks for the tips though mate!

[demover7]

@AIX9000 and make sure to get a carbon steel blade, blood makes a nice patina.

[jaytank31]

send me one..

[Conan568]

@jaytank31

Lol.

[jimdoesjokes]

I've heard rumors of damascus steel made the toughest swords. Can you explain why this rumor is around. And do you believe your work to be similar in creation process? Thanks have a great one

[Conan568]

@jimdoesjokes

This is true because the softer steel layers keep the hardened carbon steel layers from breaking, and the result is an almost unbreakable blade.

[jimdoesjokes]

@Conan568 Thank you very much for your reply. Great work. I want to be a metal worker so bad but I'm 24 and am too old to learn a new trade. I've always been fascinated with cutlery and the raw skill and dedication that goes into making them, in my opinion you have to be a gifted artist to do this so thanks again and keep up the great work.

[Conan568]

@jimdoesjokes

Thank you and thanks for watching.

[MrEnignok]

@jimdoesjokes dude your never to old i started at 12 i quit doing it as a full time hobby around 19 but i still dabble in it every now & then

[ForlanceAbice]

@jimdoesjokes Let me make one thing clear to you.

YOU ARE NEVER TOO OLD TO LEARN ANY GIVEN TRADE.

Age does not matter. True, age can partly contribute, but only partly.

Hell, I even heard of men old as in their 60s work a computer. So don't think you are

up to the challenge. Good day sir.

[jimdoesjokes]

@ForlanceAbice Well I appreciate the insight Foriance and Conan. I would love to start doing this. I will have to wait till I'm out of an apartment complex to start such a hobby. Creating fires here is a no no. But you two are correct, it comes down to just enjoying it and doing it.

[ForlanceAbice]

@jimdoesjokes You're welcome.

[sfcender2012]

how does propane affect the carbon content of the metal?

[Conan568]

@sfcender2012

I like to use a carbonizing mixture of air and propane, but you can mix it however you like.

[belzach]

And thath is the reason why forged knives are cool and expensive

[Conan568]

@belzach

One of them.

[123mesayhi]

i have a new appreciation for all my knives

[Conan568]

@123mesayhi

Not many knives are forged now.

[Conan568]

We reached 1,000,000 views today.

Thank you all very much for watching, rating and commenting.

[rbdzntsfrlk]

@Conan568 How difficult is it to become a modern blacksmith?

[bloodomen34]

this is the coolest thing i have ever seen.(Not being sarcastic)

[Conan568]

@bloodomen34

Thanks.

[BalisticBeaner]

how much propane do you use?

[Conan568]

@BalisticBeaner

Not too much for basic forging, making Damascus uses quite a bit, but that only happens rarely.

[thingman100]

Stop! Hammer-time!

[assassinscodex]

I'd wear gloves while hammering. Just in case

[Conan568]

@assassinscodex

Not a good idea, better hammer control without gloves and you'll very seldom see a Smith wearing them either.

I have had hot fire- scale burn the Hell out of my hand because I had welding gloves on to forge weld Damascus.

It flipped into the glove top and burned me quite badly.

[sam123289]

銬!!那老兄的手臂好粗!!

[slbffslbff]

I have a question that i've always wondered. Why is the anvil in the shape its in. Couldn't it just be a giant cube? Just curious, don't know if the shape offers any other uses or something.

[Conan568]

@slbffslbff

A cube shape works great for this work.

My anvils just happen to be the familiar London pattern made famous by the Roadrunner cartoons..

[bblamb]

@slbffslbff i always thought the end of the anvil helps people make rounded shapes.. but im not sure.

[timd789]

@slbffslbff the pointy part is used as a guide to make curves, and the reason its not a solid cube is that it would take way more steel to make.

[MrQualia]

@slbffslbff on an anvil it is useful to have holes and projections for a wider range of uses ie: a flat surface for drawing out flat surfaces or surfaces with a curved profile but a linear projection, such as a blade, sometimes there is a hole or holes on another area, so that it provides leverage surfaces for bending a workpiece up to ninety degrees, past a certain point it is probably more practical to fold it. the horn bit is for forging radii (wider curves at the bases, shorter near the end)

[13Jimbo37]

@slbffslbff well its becuse u need the shapes on the anvil to shape the metal :) the round part of the anvil lets u bend stuff like if u want to made braclelts or whatever and the other side for when u want to make smaler stuff ^^

[eTernaLBOWLING]

@slbffslbff the curves of the anvil were for other types of smithing, such as rounding out armor etc.

[jroo25]

@slbffslbff it might be that way because it would take less material, if it was a cube, it would cost more... thats the only thing i could think off

[jroo25]

@jroo25 shit i didnt read all the comments hahahaha Fail

[shhnk6]

@slbffslbff

the horn is used for hammering bars into curved shape.

most non-western smiths use a plain cubic post anvil.

on the european style anvils, the two holes are to socket fittings for things like clamps etc.

take a flat bar, curve it over the horn, then hammer the inside of the curve and the bar straightens out into a knive shape with edge... that is the way to a single edged knife blade...

[WWWeres]

@slbffslbff I guess the round side of the anvil could be useful for bending rods in to a curve. And the other thing is that this design probably and economical way to use steel ( a cube would have been much heavier and much more expensive).

[Neo587]

no wood ?

[Conan568]

@Neo587

Just propane gas.

[blacksmither537]

so you didnt actually forge the damascus billet, jus the sword from which its made???

[Conan568]

@blacksmither537

Yes I did make the Damascus billet and it shows the welding of it in the first 2 videos.

[jadayel07]

it looks like heavyweight sword

[Conan568]

@jadayel07

Actually it's fairly light, you can see the finished knife in the following video.

[GamingReymond]

Nice Work.Could you make a tutorial on making strong swords.I really like making swords but know nothing..

[Conan568]

@GamingReymond

I do have a pattern welded sword in progress and I am starting another, so the answer to your question is yes.

[5KR1LL3X]

thumbs up for the highly flammable building

[Conan568]

@5KR1LL3X

It's built out of a substance called wood, and people have been building houses out of the stuff for a few millennium.

Perhaps you've heard of it.

[5KR1LL3X]

@Conan568 is wood not flammable anymore?

[Conan568]

@5KR1LL3X

Adios.

[MadNerf]

@5KR1LL3X Well. My wood didn't light when your mom put her hot body on it. So I dont think so. Sir, you jjust got trolled. Have a nice day.

[MadocComadrin]

@5KR1LL3X

Would you prefer he worked in giant cement cube? :P

[slbffslbff]

@5KR1LL3X This guy seems to know pretty much everything about blacksmithing i doubt he makes mistakes that cause a building to light on fire.

[plazaff]

thumbs up 4 the coca cola.

[Conan568]

@plazaff

Yeah a good unintentional plug for Coke.

I don't drink it anymore.

[plazaff]

@Conan568 well thats good.got any tips on how to fix a dull blade.

[Conan568]

@plazaff

Sharpen it.

[plazaff]

@Conan568 true.

[Conan568]

@plazaff

It depends how bad it is, you may need to have it re beveled by a pro sharpener..

[plazaff]

@Conan568 ill' take that into consideration.Thanks and nice video. PS.that blade looks huge.

[kostasviper]

These videos are very interesting. How many hours does it take in average to make one of your Damascus Steel bowie knives? I mean from the minute you pick that initial ingot up, to the moment where you hold the finished creation in your hand.

[Conan568]

@kostasviper

It depends on the embellishments, that can double the time it takes to complete a knife.

[huntin4live]

have been watching alot of video's from making and forging different kinds of things. Have to say that this one I like and that I'm a famous of Damascus knife. GREAT JOB

[Conan568]

@huntin4live

Thank you for the kind words, I'm glad you liked it.

[gendo1]

According to wikipedia:

In the 17th century somebody "made" a damascus steel weapon that contained Nano Wires and Nano Tubes (atom sized robots) and that they got there from the natural forging process of the steel. Can that be?

[Conan568]

@gendo1

You're talking about Wootz steel, which is being made today as well.

I'm not sure about the nano-tubes, but it may well be true.

[Dingpoodle]

@gendo1 Nano tubes and wires aren't robots! They're near atom sized strings of carbon.

[gendo1]

@Dingpoodle Search: Nanotech Rewards on youtube

[Dingpoodle]

@gendo1 That didn't prove anything. They're just extremely small fibers made of carbon, not robots.

[IGIprimigenia]

fantastic!



[Conan568]

@IGIprimigenia

Thanks.

[megalizardfreak]

ok so do u know where to find a slab of 1095 high carbon steel this .25in thick  and 20 inches overall.

[Conan568]

@megalizardfreak

aDMIRAL sTEEL

[megalizardfreak]

@Conan568 i checked it out and couldnt find any blanks , or boards of steel, i can only find tubes of steel

[Conan568]

@megalizardfreak

They have bar stock, you just need to dig a bit.

[Eyeball1975]

Good vid, I love watching this. What do you mean by "dead anvil"? I noticed it isn't going ding ding ding like some I have heard, more of a donk donk donk! Is this because it's dead?

[Conan568]

@Eyeball1975

Thanks, a dead anvil is an anvil that has lost the hardness in it's face either through wear, or by machining the face.

[natureboyinyourface]

well,you've certainly got the right name for the job.

[Conan568]

@natureboyinyourface

Thanks,,, I think ;-)

[spiderpig85]

Need a bigger hammer!

[Conan568]

@spiderpig85

I used that small hammer because my arthritis was giving me trouble that day.

That and the anvil was dead.

[swedishhunter21]

that's a thick mf!:O

[Conan568]

@swedishhunter21

I do grind some away so it's not that thick anymore and balances very nicely and feels light in the hand.

Better to have it a bit too thick than too thin.

[LowRider7208]

I just remembered a scene in iron man when he was making his suit in the cave :D

[Conan568]

@LowRider7208

Yeah I remember that.

[GouledXD]

@IRageFox lol, I guess a lot of people here play World of warcraft. :P

[traditionalsmith]

very nice. I'm going to try making blister steel out of home made wrought iron (made from mild steel decarburized in a self built finery forge), then make some shear steel out of that. I heard it works just as well as wrought while retaining the hardness of carbon steel, is this true?

[Conan568]

@traditionalsmith

I haven't tried it, so I don't know.

Good luck though.

[CrazyDantw]

Sorry for the noob question, but what do I look for in a good blade? particularly a bowie. Mainly used for survival and long life? What material should I look for or steer clear of. I only ask because there's a few 'genuine' going around but I'm afraid they're fakes.

[Conan568]

@CrazyDantw

Pass on stainless steel blades.

Buy a good high carbon steel knife and oil it after use.

They cut better, longer and are easier to sharpen.

Also look for a flat or convex grind, a hollow ground knife won't chop shit.

[pwn4lifez]

@Conan568 lol imagine trying to sharpen stainless O_o (shatters)

[Conan568]

@airsoftgunner93

I use a heavier hammer now, my arthritic wrist was giving me trouble that day.

I normally use a 3 lb. hammer.

[airsoftgunner93]

awsome wepon but hav u ever considerd using a bigger camera

[Conan568]

@airsoftgunner93

That camera died, I'm HD now.

[crazy8sdrums]

@IRageFox I about LOL'd to death with that!

LOADING, please wait...

[clouduiss]

@IRageFox lol funny

[WhynotMiha]

What are the pieces falling off at around 3:20 ?

[Conan568]

@WhynotMiha

That's just "fire scale" a by product of forging.

[harrison28514]

I'm really curious. Is there a difference between the modern Damascus (Wootz) Steel and the ancient one? From what I've read the production of Damascus steel ceased at one point during the 18th century, and despite of numerous tries, modern alchemists failed to revive the technique of produce such kind of steel.

[Conan568]

@harrison28514

Yeah Wootz is being made now and has been for years.

In fact Smith's in India have never stopped making it, we just didn't know of them.

[ILiveuDertHeBrige]

@IRageFox  TOO much WoW lol

[mikeycrabtree123]

where is your shop located if you don't mind my asking?



[Conan568]

@mikeycrabtree123

I'm located in the Vancouver area.

[GothixZa]

yea now it's official, smithing is cool

[Conan568]

@GothixZa

Yes it is.

[thedomandrayshow]

could i do this with a normal fire without an air blast



[Conan568]

@thedomandrayshow

Yeah you could do that but it's very slow..

Or you could buy a cheap hair blower and use that for your air blast.

Just tape it to a metal pipe and stick it in the fire.

[BestraferEngel]

@Conan568 I have read that a cheap shopvac works better.

im planning to construct my own forge in the near future.. have any tips for me?

[Conan568]

@BestraferEngel

If you're building a gas forge build a cylinder type for even heat.

[TheGavinch]

What would suffice as an anvil? A stump, or a dried log? Poplar, o be exact

[Conan568]

@TheGavinch

It'll work for a while.

[MrFallaceman123]

@TheGavinch a fire hydrant

[lupusk9]

I'm terribly interested in making a sword! Does it take a lot of equipment to start? Or would it be "easy" to find someone around my town that I could apprentice or pay to help me make one? I live in AZ

[Conan568]

@lupusk9

Start off with knives before you tackle swords.

All you need to forge is something to function as an anvil, a hammer and slip joint pliers plus a fire with an air blast from something to get it hotter.