Crazy that you hand hammer everything. I can't wait to try and make San mia. I finally got a 2x72 and a bigger forge. Now I need a welder and some hammers lol. The need for tools never ends
Man.. i just noticed u only have 7,75k subs?! U r like Walter or Jeremy with ur indepth guide/sharing ur knowledge plus knives u made can compete with the best out there.. u should have more and i wish they come soon. Continue in great work and thanks for inspiration and hard work u put in these
I appreciate your videos and the time it must take to make them. I’ve learned so much watching your channel. Tons of great new tips in this one. Thanks! 🐋
3 things: 1.) Nice knife. You made that look super easy which means you explained it well. (2.) Nice truck! (3.) I'm glad you underscored using CHEAP coffee. I see a lot of people using Nescafé and that's SUCH a waste of money. We're after tannins, not flavor. 😂😂😂😂
Wow , wow , wow . That's a masterpiece. I'm at the beginning in this art but after looking a few of your videos I'm quite confident that I gonna manage to do something like that. Thank you mate .
@@Aleeknives Can you please tell me if the flat head hammer that you have used when put the material between your legh it has a special or specific name because I would like to try to find one like that. Greetings from Romania 🇷🇴!!! 🇷🇴 !
I love the comments. I wonder how many people were actually successful on the first forge weld ever with no Flux or welding. Not me. Didn't get it fully heated. Need to soak it longer.
When you were peening the billet I wondered what effect putting a ladder grind on it would have. Never tried it, but your billet looked thick enough. In any event, you got a beautiful blade!
Looks great! Nice job! I had to laugh on you using the flatter while holding it between your legs. Haven't you accidentally ever hit something on the anvil and it sent the handle north? I have. 😬
Oh believe Me I jave had lots of things go flying around the shop while forging! Did you watch my Gladius build🤣🤣😂🤣 I did a blooper reel at the end just for projectile.
Looks great ! The reason why the 1084 did not etch black at the ricasso is because during the forging you lost some carbon on the outside .... that outside will also not be as hard as the inside. The carbon remained better deeper into the billet. High carbon steels will also color much darker when hardened than when they remain in a unhardened state. If you edge quench knifes or partially cover a blade with clay(to get a hamon) the parts that cooled slower (parts not in the oil or covered by clay) will not be as black as the parts that cooled faster.
Yeah I think we talked about buying you a welding machine over on Instagram a while back! Sell one of those beautiful knives your making and buy one bro! Total setup with an argon bottle and regulator should be less than 1k
Take a nice peace of rebar or round stock. Weld an old visegrip to the peace of rebar or round stock. Make the peace of rebar or round stock a little bit taller then your anvil put a base on the other end won't have to put your work between your legs to free up your hands
Amazing knife, love the contrast and can't wait to see what you do with the handle. I would like to see that blade profile brought down to about 3" for a really nice skinner. I know it's not a shape most would associate with that task but it works great for me.
You can do fluxless welds without having to weld up the seams. I do it often. Just make sure your pieces are flat and tight. I usually run them up to 120 on the platen then clamp in the vice and tack weld. Preheat your forge, I toss a peice of scrap steel in so I can see the temp that I want. Then toss the billet in and bring direct to welding heat. Light/firm taps on the anvil to set the weld and your golden. Setting welds isn't rocket science till you start including stainless or non-ferrous metals like copper. Nice video though, lots of great tricks and tips here. Great looking blade!
No prob man. I like the cut through the BS approach. Give it a try man. it works. And no need to destroy the forge with flux right? But I do keep flux handy just in case still. On top of sealing the billet from oxidation, it also has the added benefit of dissolving forge scale. So if a misshap occures...
that is well cool, and thanks for the how to, tried my first attempt at laminating a blade this week and failed, my home built coal forge doesn't get hot enough and maintain the heat long enough it seems, you just confirmed the heat part with saying what colours I am going for, redesign and upgrades needed obviously lol, oh yeah heating your chain and laying it on the anvil will warm it up, found heating a lump of scrap metal and laying it on my anvil plate thing works well
@@Aleeknives yes it should, and it does, easily enough to melt steel but I have a design flaw, means ash doesn't clear easily and so it gets hot enough to weld but not for very long, not long enough to soak the metal at the temperature needed
@@Aleeknives all a learning experience, and all things I am finding out as I go along, only a few months of doing this so will no doubt be plenty of other things that happen to overcome
Looking good, Airin! can't wait to see part 2, man. I must look at getting myself a height gauge for marking my centreline. I've been using a flat marble slab and a drill bit so far, and although it works, it's a bit crude and inaccurate. This was a really enjoyable video. You know I always enjoy and appreciate your work. Take care 👍🏻
Great video, i tried after watching and had great success. It was my 1st attempt. But tell me, how do you attach a handle to such a short tang? Cheers from Australia.
Did you just hammer what would be the cutting edge with the pein?? I'm going to start forging knives soon and San mai is what I really want to get good at I have no power tools so will just have my trusty hammer also would flux core welders be able to weld a San mai billet together thanks in advance love the content
How thin do you make your rough bevels? I'v been leaving them about as thick as a dime. When l try and put an edge on...It takes FOREVER! I'm using 01 hardened in an old school brick and wood forge. I took your advice and pre drilled my holes before heat treating. SOOO much easier! When l tried drilling post heat...I swear l heard the knife laughing at the drill press! Keep up the great content brother!
I go about a dime or even thicker but I complete the grinding after heat treat and go down to a very thin edge. My secondary bevels are real small on most knives except big choppers and camp knives. If I didn't have a grinder I would go thinner before heat treat but your asking for problems when you go that thin
Fabulous video. My question is when you set your welds using a piece of wood, would if be better to use a hard wood to hammer your metal on? Just a question, I am not set up to forge weld anything. Thank you for your work in your channel
Can't remember if I commented on this one or not so my question/comment is can I use two 1/8 in pieces of 15n20 for the core or does it have to be a single piece I'm just looking to beef the blade up cuz this will be my first attempt at San Mai?
I’m a little surprised you went with the HC on the outside and the 15n20 for the core. Definitely looks cool but I don’t suspect the edge retention will be that of 10XX core.
Hey brother great video I've seen it many times. How long did you leave it in the coffee? I keep trying this and mine doesn't not look like that lol I even went to Wal-Mart to get the same coffee hahahaha
So, you use your third leg to work as a third hand... I'd have never thought of that! I'd try that, but my third leg isn't long enough to curl around the handle and hold the workpiece tight... Just joking, great video, build, and tips, thank you! Headed out for part 2 now!
San-Mai has an unhardenable jacket. Wrought iron, stainless steel, mild steel, etc. You made a three layer "Damascus" blade. "San Mai (Japanese: 三枚, Hepburn: sanmai), in the context of metal blade construction/metalwork, refers to a knife, blade or sword that has the hard steel hagane forming the blade's edge, and the iron/stainless forming a jacket on both sides. It is also the term used to refer to the technique used to create these blades."
That blade is amazing. Was wondering how well the coffee etching holds up to use? Also cold anvil, is there any way to heat it before use? Thanks for the video. Can't wait to see it finished. Davin
I have experimented with several different times and have found 12-24 hours usually does the trick. Buff with 0000 steel wool several times throughout the cycle to make ot etch evenly
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How long was it in the coffee?
I generally do a 24 hour soak and buff it with steel wool several times throughout the soak
@@Aleeknives can I use 1500 sand paper instead of steel wholl
@@Aleeknives thanks for the quick reply❤
Don't know, never tried it.
I know i'am like 3 years late but this blade shape and finish is brutal I have got to try this. Thanks for sharing godbless and good health.
First time seeing san mai, just heard about it the other day. Holy smokes! Thats freaking awesome!
My favorite thing about zero atmosphere is there’s no problem just heating up to welding temp, no worries about scale, etc. Good job btw
Thank you! Hey I was blown away by the pattern on that last ball bearing knife you did!
@@Aleeknives thanks man!
Certainly! Love you channel dude
Hey brother I'm just trying to make my way through everything you've filmed then I like it, comment, share. I hope it helps! 🤘
The forged finish not darkening is probably due to decarb on the scale layer. Awesome result with this one man!
Thanks Caleb! I suspected the same after seeing it.
Hello, super knife and etch. Now that was a strong glass of coffee.
I tasted it! I finally fell asleep 3 days later🤣😂
Decarb on forged section prevents darkening. Very cool!
I figures that was what was going on there!
Wonderful.
That is a beautiful Blade.
Very good Job.
Greetings from Germany
Thank you! I appreciate it!
I like your blade
Thank you!
Crazy that you hand hammer everything. I can't wait to try and make San mia. I finally got a 2x72 and a bigger forge. Now I need a welder and some hammers lol. The need for tools never ends
Man your moving up! Hey I put your name on the list for the next challenge! The Bowie build off
I appreciate it! Bowie knife build off sounds awesome
Acid etching looks good to
Wow looks awesome!! Thx enjoy your videos you explain so a old man like me understands!
I am glad you enjoyed it! Thank you!
Thanks!
Your welcome John!
This is probably my favorite San Mai video! That is so beautiful!
Thank you!
Another high quality blade! I can't get enough of your work. Thank you
Thank you Daniel! That means a lot!
He’s good, ain’t he!? 👍🏻
Man.. i just noticed u only have 7,75k subs?! U r like Walter or Jeremy with ur indepth guide/sharing ur knowledge plus knives u made can compete with the best out there.. u should have more and i wish they come soon. Continue in great work and thanks for inspiration and hard work u put in these
I appreciate that! I have a lot of fun making these videos! I watch their channels also! Great guys here on RUclips
Do you like the dark contrast on the blade?
yes, cool as
I love how the different contrast surfaces turned out. Certainly a riveting piece.
I totally agree! I was pleased with the results!
@@metalblueberries3742 thank you! I agree totally
Beautiful mate
NICE VIDEO.. MORE VIDEOS, GOD BLESS TO YOUR CHANNEL
Thank you!
awesome tips and tricks BEAutiful knife!!!
I appreciate your videos and the time it must take to make them. I’ve learned so much watching your channel. Tons of great new tips in this one. Thanks! 🐋
That is awesome feedback! Thank you! Cheers
Will definitely be trying this. I really don't want to destroy my forge with flux so this is a good option. Time to get a welder!
Totally worth it! Yo I would be amazed how often you will use it!
I work outside. So that board idea seems like a good idea for my situation.
Could work well outside!
Love the anvil. Still watching the video..
😁 love that bad boy also!
3 things: 1.) Nice knife. You made that look super easy which means you explained it well. (2.) Nice truck! (3.) I'm glad you underscored using CHEAP coffee. I see a lot of people using Nescafé and that's SUCH a waste of money. We're after tannins, not flavor. 😂😂😂😂
100% with you Nick!
Wow , wow , wow . That's a masterpiece. I'm at the beginning in this art but after looking a few of your videos I'm quite confident that I gonna manage to do something like that. Thank you mate .
Fantastic!
@@Aleeknives Can you please tell me if the flat head hammer that you have used when put the material between your legh it has a special or specific name because I would like to try to find one like that. Greetings from Romania 🇷🇴!!! 🇷🇴 !
This is a special hammer that is annealed on one side side you can strike it with another hammer. It is called a "flatter"
I love the comments. I wonder how many people were actually successful on the first forge weld ever with no Flux or welding. Not me. Didn't get it fully heated. Need to soak it longer.
I wasn't successful it took me 2 or 3 attempts.. That's why emphasized to make sure you get a full heat soak
Thank you sir. By far the best and simplest way. Thank for the tip.hah. I'm new to the bladesmith and I'm excited to see what I can do.
That looks sick.
Lots of great info in this installment. That came out really nice.
Thanks Ron! I appreciate that
Nice coffee trick
Oh damn! The Sean himself! Call me bro, got a new phone lost all my contacts!
That turned out well.
Thanks Sam!
More inspiration to try this.. really great work! Thanks
You are very welcome!
Awesome. Looking forward to the end product!
Thanks Rodger!
Gorgeous piece, I like the way you make coffee, nice and strong lol
Great job
🤣😂STRONG!
When you were peening the billet I wondered what effect putting a ladder grind on it would have. Never tried it, but your billet looked thick enough. In any event, you got a beautiful blade!
That is a neat idea! I will try it!
@@Aleeknives When you do, please post a video! Just subscribed.
Will definitely do that! Glad to have you here with us on the channel!
Its look great knife bro
Thank you
Bro, that nice came out beautifully! Wish I had that piece!
Thank you!
Excellent video and awesome skills!
Thank you
Very nice job!!.Master.!!
Looks Awesome, Airin!! Great work as usual!!
Thanks Dan! Appreciate that!
very nice grinding
Thank you! I appreciate that a lot!
Great blade. Love the contrast man.
Thank you Robert!
That is so cool man. I'm glad you did the swedge. It's a great blade shape. Can't wait to see it become a masterpiece of useful artistry.
Thanks NateDawg! I love this shape so far!
@@Aleeknives the san mai with the coffee etch is gorgeous too btw. I freakin love san mai the 15n20 in the middle is definitely the way to go
Thanks man I like the darker finish also!
wow thats really awesome!
Thank you Aleph!
Decarb prevents stain on those forged texture parts
Muy bueno tu trabajo 👍
Thank you!
Great video - Thank You!!!!!!
You are welcome David!
Beautiful
Thank you Kival Costa!
Looks great! Nice job! I had to laugh on you using the flatter while holding it between your legs. Haven't you accidentally ever hit something on the anvil and it sent the handle north? I have. 😬
Oh believe Me I jave had lots of things go flying around the shop while forging! Did you watch my Gladius build🤣🤣😂🤣 I did a blooper reel at the end just for projectile.
@@Aleeknives I was referring to hitting the piece and it forcing the handle up into your crotch. It’s not fun. 🤣
Oh I got the reference! I was dancing on puns and needles the whole time!
Really cool blade man. I love the simple and functional design!
Thanks man! I appreciate that! Cheers
That was an awesome blade brother 👏
Thank you! I really can't wait to get in handled
Looking good bro. I can't wait to try this. 🤘
You should definitely give it a try!
Hmm never seen the wood for setting welds thats an interesting concept
Didn't work! Lots of smoke!
@@Aleeknives I'd imagine
@@Aleeknives I was also gonna ask does it get really hot with the anvil so close to the forge
Not really but when it's hot outside I move it further away
He don't give a flux.
🤣😂
Looks great ! The reason why the 1084 did not etch black at the ricasso is because during the forging you lost some carbon on the outside .... that outside will also not be as hard as the inside. The carbon remained better deeper into the billet. High carbon steels will also color much darker when hardened than when they remain in a unhardened state. If you edge quench knifes or partially cover a blade with clay(to get a hamon) the parts that cooled slower (parts not in the oil or covered by clay) will not be as black as the parts that cooled faster.
Very good points here! This is completely true. Thanks for your input! Cheers
Great video bud! I’m itching to buy a welder so I can try SanMai!
Yeah I think we talked about buying you a welding machine over on Instagram a while back! Sell one of those beautiful knives your making and buy one bro! Total setup with an argon bottle and regulator should be less than 1k
Had same issue with using wood on Damascus. 1 time was enough for me to nix it.
Nice San Mai bro
Exactly
Very neat!!
Thanks Bobby! I appreciate that
Very nice!!
Take a nice peace of rebar or round stock. Weld an old visegrip to the peace of rebar or round stock. Make the peace of rebar or round stock a little bit taller then your anvil put a base on the other end won't have to put your work between your legs to free up your hands
cool idea!
Amazing knife, love the contrast and can't wait to see what you do with the handle. I would like to see that blade profile brought down to about 3" for a really nice skinner. I know it's not a shape most would associate with that task but it works great for me.
That would make a fantastic skinner. The tip could work in both directions
You can do fluxless welds without having to weld up the seams. I do it often. Just make sure your pieces are flat and tight. I usually run them up to 120 on the platen then clamp in the vice and tack weld. Preheat your forge, I toss a peice of scrap steel in so I can see the temp that I want. Then toss the billet in and bring direct to welding heat. Light/firm taps on the anvil to set the weld and your golden. Setting welds isn't rocket science till you start including stainless or non-ferrous metals like copper. Nice video though, lots of great tricks and tips here. Great looking blade!
Great info man! Thank you! Cheers
No prob man. I like the cut through the BS approach. Give it a try man. it works. And no need to destroy the forge with flux right? But I do keep flux handy just in case still. On top of sealing the billet from oxidation, it also has the added benefit of dissolving forge scale. So if a misshap occures...
Pretty freak n even bro ,good work
Thanks James! It came out nice and straight!
that is well cool, and thanks for the how to, tried my first attempt at laminating a blade this week and failed, my home built coal forge doesn't get hot enough and maintain the heat long enough it seems, you just confirmed the heat part with saying what colours I am going for, redesign and upgrades needed obviously lol, oh yeah heating your chain and laying it on the anvil will warm it up, found heating a lump of scrap metal and laying it on my anvil plate thing works well
Wow normally coal can get way hotter than a propane forge.
@@Aleeknives yes it should, and it does, easily enough to melt steel but I have a design flaw, means ash doesn't clear easily and so it gets hot enough to weld but not for very long, not long enough to soak the metal at the temperature needed
I see! I have never used coal to forge with
@@Aleeknives all a learning experience, and all things I am finding out as I go along, only a few months of doing this so will no doubt be plenty of other things that happen to overcome
That's what I love about knifemaking! There is always something to learn!
Looking good, Airin! can't wait to see part 2, man.
I must look at getting myself a height gauge for marking my centreline. I've been using a flat marble slab and a drill bit so far, and although it works, it's a bit crude and inaccurate.
This was a really enjoyable video. You know I always enjoy and appreciate your work.
Take care 👍🏻
The height gage is worth the dollars for sure.
@@Aleeknives
I'm looking at some right now.
I think I bought mine for $60 shipped. I didn't go on the high engh end for sure
@@Aleeknives
I just bought one for £30, so about $45 delivered. 👍🏻
Wicked!
I think the rough forged flats are decarb and that why it didn't etch
I think your right!
First time I ever heard of the 3rd leg referred to as a 3rd hand 😉
🤣😂 no doubt!
Great video, i tried after watching and had great success. It was my 1st attempt. But tell me, how do you attach a handle to such a short tang? Cheers from Australia.
Make a tight fit in a strong material and use a pin.
Did you just hammer what would be the cutting edge with the pein?? I'm going to start forging knives soon and San mai is what I really want to get good at I have no power tools so will just have my trusty hammer also would flux core welders be able to weld a San mai billet together thanks in advance love the content
Yes sir and a flux core would work just fine
The drug d' forge (forged texture ares) didn't etch black because of decarburization. Carbon is what makes etched steel come out black.
Very cool!
Brut d' forge not drug d' forge 🤣🤣🤣 autoincorrect strikes again.
How thin do you make your rough bevels? I'v been leaving them about as thick as a dime. When l try and put an edge on...It takes FOREVER! I'm using 01 hardened in an old school brick and wood forge. I took your advice and pre drilled my holes before heat treating. SOOO much easier! When l tried drilling post heat...I swear l heard the knife laughing at the drill press! Keep up the great content brother!
I go about a dime or even thicker but I complete the grinding after heat treat and go down to a very thin edge. My secondary bevels are real small on most knives except big choppers and camp knives. If I didn't have a grinder I would go thinner before heat treat but your asking for problems when you go that thin
Fabulous video. My question is when you set your welds using a piece of wood, would if be better to use a hard wood to hammer your metal on? Just a question, I am not set up to forge weld anything. Thank you for your work in your channel
That is a good question, I will leave that that for someone else to try. It was way to smoky
Thanks. Always learning, always teaching and sharing. Is the coffee stain permanent? Cheers my friend.
Thanks man! The coffee etched fairly deep but it will wear off during hard use
Coffee etch give awesome results. Beautiful san mai line .what is the purpose of forging valleys on blade???
It gives the pattern ripples vs just a straight line
Thank you!
AMAZING JOB.
How do you recognize when you have to hit? I would appreciate the answer. Thanks and congrats
When you reach a yellow heat your good to swing!
@@Aleeknives Thanks a lot. I look forward to your next project!
Going to try this soon. Do you remember the initial thicknesses of the 1080/15N20 that you used? Thank you!
Can't remember if I commented on this one or not so my question/comment is can I use two 1/8 in pieces of 15n20 for the core or does it have to be a single piece I'm just looking to beef the blade up cuz this will be my first attempt at San Mai?
Picture envelope with a propane torch
It's the first time I've ever heard a third leg called a "third hand" ;) even through we all use it that way time to time lol
Funny stuff man!
Top layer is probably passivated, thats why it isn't affected by the acidity of the coffe.
Another great tutorial. might I ask why you dont use full tangs?
I use full tangs all the time! On this one I chose to do a hidden tang just due to the length of the billet that I had to work with
@@Aleeknives cool thanks for responding
I’m a little surprised you went with the HC on the outside and the 15n20 for the core. Definitely looks cool but I don’t suspect the edge retention will be that of 10XX core.
15n20 is a very good high carbon steel on its own. Absolutely no concern with edge retention here
15n20 is every bit as good as any 10 series steel
Nice job to hat for channel
Hey brother great video I've seen it many times. How long did you leave it in the coffee? I keep trying this and mine doesn't not look like that lol I even went to Wal-Mart to get the same coffee hahahaha
Generally 24 hours and I pull it out about every 6 hours and buff it with 0000 steel wool to make sure it coats evenly
So, you use your third leg to work as a third hand... I'd have never thought of that!
I'd try that, but my third leg isn't long enough to curl around the handle and hold the workpiece tight...
Just joking, great video, build, and tips, thank you!
Headed out for part 2 now!
😂🤣
A blacksmith that mentored me thought me the same thing he said always have your anvil at “dick height” his words haha
I'm here
Sweet Chris! Glad your here with us!
San-Mai has an unhardenable jacket. Wrought iron, stainless steel, mild steel, etc. You made a three layer "Damascus" blade. "San Mai (Japanese: 三枚, Hepburn: sanmai), in the context of metal blade construction/metalwork, refers to a knife, blade or sword that has the hard steel hagane forming the blade's edge, and the iron/stainless forming a jacket on both sides. It is also the term used to refer to the technique used to create these blades."
Will you do a sheath for it as well?
You bet!
Cuanto tiempo en el cafe??
I told my wife one day my 3rd leg would be useful as a 3rd hand lol
Thank you for this video! This is approachable. I can do this.
You could try just heating up a piece of metal and then putting it on your anvil instead of using a wood board that'll keep your anvil hot
This is exactly what I resorted to doing! Thank you, cheers
That blade is amazing. Was wondering how well the coffee etching holds up to use? Also cold anvil, is there any way to heat it before use? Thanks for the video. Can't wait to see it finished. Davin
The coffee is a topical coat that does wear off with use for sure! Really easy to re-do it if you felt like
Hi Airin, really nice !!! How much time does it represent to obtain this nice contrast and dark color in the coffee?
Usually 24 hours
@@Aleeknives thanks 😉
Boa noite, você escureceu a lamina no café?
How long should we keep it in the coffee?
I have experimented with several different times and have found 12-24 hours usually does the trick. Buff with 0000 steel wool several times throughout the cycle to make ot etch evenly
I did comment here I'm going g to message you on Patreon too
What thickness stock did you use? Whst length?