You have to grind about halfway into the pattern in order to reveal the Ws.... It'll be plain on the outside, but when you get into the inside it's almost like an explosion.... I hope you see this, it'll definitely help you out!
He could cut his pieces down the centre but then he would be loosing the most intricate patterns by the time he has finish ground whatever he makes. He would also have twist pattern one side and star/explosion like pattern the other. To get even pattern both sides he just needs to grind his way through and accept the loss of material
On the edges the material moves more than at the centre so the pattern in the centre should be different. I think he needs to get deeper into the material and see what is in there.
reiterating for visibility: twist the bars like 5 times, not 10. I think you are making the explosions too fine to see easily. Also grind further into the billet.
Exactly, way too many turns.. the whole point of Damascus is to layer the steel, if you twist it too many times the pattern will just become indistinguishable.
Nice, I think a few others may be right .... perhaps less twisting would have left more of the pattern intact at the edges. It's still way cooler than anything I've made today!
yeah i was thinking the same, the amount of twisting depends on the "mother pattern layers" if you have already a fine pattern in the blank you will just smooth it out with too many twists
Billy Beane no fruit juice in the Grinding room. Honestly I actually wonder how much fruit does get all over his shop after one of those smash sessions
Having fewer twists probably would have helped. You had quite an intricate pattern in the bar you started with, but with so many twists, it just gets stretched and smashed out into lines and one can't make out any details. Sometimes less is more.
That’s my thoughts, I’ve never forged anything in my life but if you start with a tight pattern already then twist it 10 times you are creating 10x more layers in the pattern refining the pattern down by a factor of ten
Something I find consistently impressive about your videos is the music-montage integration. I'm sure it takes a lot of work, but it makes the quality of the videos absolutely next-level. I've never seen anyone that does this as well as you, Alec! Keep it up, and your editors too!
My favorite parts of the series: The forging, the work, the creations, and no idea how many people notice this, but the way the music integrates with the work. They use the noise from the videos on time with the music so that it flows awesomely. In other words, the hammering is in rhythm with the songs.
As a guess I would imagine you would get bolder more aggressive patterns with much less twisting. You have gone way to fine with the pattern in my opinion. I would be interested in seeing what happens with 1/2 the twist or less (1 or 2 twists maybe)
I love that I enjoy watching Alec’s upbeat enthusiasm in experiencing new learning challenges while I learn a ton of really useful information from his skilled viewers.
Not only is the star pattern beautiful, but from the view of physics, it can be used to make an incredibly strong blade. If your core is two twisted bars welded together, so that the spirals rise up to meet each other, one twists left and the other right, in the center, like a series of upside down "v"s, then on a thrust, forces that would cause the blade to bend, instead sheer down the length of the blade and reinforce the thrust upon reflection. I have often thought the best estocs would be made with a welded twist and a hard steel outer jacket. I really hope you try that.
OK.. I'm a physicist by trade. I love smithing and swords, but I am not actually a blacksmith. Please take what I am about to say with a big grain of salt. When I've seen it done by others, they first make the two twist bars of relatively soft steels. Then they forge and grind them into a rectangular cross section before welding them together. A long thin bar of hard steel is then welded to the two sides of the blade, and a fish mouth is cut out before the blade tip is closed to a point. I've also seen the point of the core forged and the hard steel bar simply wrapped around the tip and forged into one piece. That said, the physics of it is awesome when you have that construction. From a materials and impact analysis view (and I do know something about this) you get a very good piercing point mounted on a soft cushion that deflects forces in an advantageous way.
Joseph D Harris Well I am neither a engenier nor a blacksmith but aren't the steels today just as well as the forged damascus? Is there any reason apart from the look to still make swords and knifes from it?
Alec just wanted to say thank you for putting out the daily content. Your channel is so much fun to watch and you have gotten me to get off my ass and make something fun. Always had an interest in blacksmithing and now I can say that I have made several knives and have been learning a new craft. Thanks for the awesomeness!
Your improvement in editing, forging and everything else is just insane, i really wish you would do livestreams again, it was just so much fun watching you in realtime and being able to talk to you in chat
Grind in a slot on the 'light stripes' where the billets meet, then flatten the peace with heat. That will make the pattern very different where the billets meet.
I love watching you fail and learn through trial and error. It's incredibly refreshing to follow the journey you're on. It's also great to all the commenters here helping to identify and solve the issues. As others have said, I reckon fewer twists would show the pattern you're looking for, 6 max I'd say.
If the pattern is best in the center, why not cut it in half and weld the top to the bottom, and have what was the center be on the outside of the billet. It'd save material but it involves a lot more work.
Xander Zoolander , That's actually a good idea. A long time ago I saw a video here on RUclips where the bladesmith forged the blade with around 10mm thick and milled it down to the right thickness. The final result was amazing. The video's tittle is "Damascus steel: Making a special twisted multibar blade"
You know, for someone who is between 18-20, Alec Steele has the ability to describe and explain his steps in a way that many cannot. I find these videos both interesting, and a bit soothing. Thanks for the vids man!
That twisting montage was probably the most beautiful sequence you've ever made. I have two screens and was doing some photo work on one while casually watching this video on the other, but that part was so good I completely stopped what I was doing just to be in awe.
That looks so therapeutic, I know it wasn't how you wanted it but it looks awesome. I wish more and more I had followed my passion at school in metalwork. I loved grinding welding and shaping.
It is very satisfying to see you living the art of forging. I hope it will never die out, like it did here in germany(we only have very few blacksmiths, because it's difficult to live from it)
Herringbone damascus looks really cool as the center of a spearhead or tapered blade. Wrap the good steel around the cutting edge and leave the damascus in the center. Looks very cool.
Yo Alec, ik that u probably won't see this but oh well I have time to waste, anyways, I've had a really bad day today, so much so that me and my mum had a giant argument, and i ended up tanning away with a bunch of my clothes and and my card. I'm am currently crashing at my mates house but I am verry upset about what's happened. All in all my day has just been crap. But I've just gone on my phone and seen that u have just posted a new video. Your videos fill me with joy and I mean so much from your channel. I love the vids, keep up the good work and thanks for making my day that little bit better. - Joe :)
You should do a piece of Damascus where you use all/most of the strategies that you know how to do. Ex. Start by making a mosaic, then jelly roll it, then twist it, then grind out the notches like a ladder pattern and show a cross section at the end.
The best advice would come before the experiment, which is a bit complicated I know. It's nice to see how many are learning from you and with you. Good stuff Alex!
If you have a copy of Swords of the Viking Age, there's a fantastic diagram in the back that shows how twists change with depth in the bar. It's a gem of a book if you don't already have it in the library!
@12:06 the left side looks like a knot from a tree and wood grain and that is FREAKING AWESOME LOOKING! You need to figure out what happened there a re-create that thru-out the entire billet!
Alec has it looks like many others have said less twists. But I also think if you want more twists you need drastically less layers. The big bold patterns are usually seen when layer count is lower so there is greater contrast between layers.
As far as I understand for twist damascus, the real "star" patterns are close to in a third of the depth of the billet, most multibar constructions I have seen involve removing a third of the material from each side to display the pattern. Manuel Quiroga did a series of videos on making a turkish multibar hunter, well worth a watch!
I always love seeing Damascus patterns, and even though I don't have a forge or any experience, what if you tried a canister with simply needles or "needles" of different steels in it, or a sort of hybrid canister thing with hexagonal nuts and maybe bolts screwed in (and chopped off so that there's no bits sticking out) welded together and fluxed, and canistered if need be. And I've always wondered if it was possible to forge your name into a Damascus pattern itself too!
I bet that the bar's cross section would look amazing. Restacking it with the ferry flip may give an awesome-looking result, even if not this is what Alec aims now. Anyway: great video, thanks for showing us your experimenting!
I have done a fair share of twist both plain and Ws. It does not matter the number of twists. It matters the depth of grind. On the outside it will always look like a normal twist but the deeper you go the more activity comes out. Therefore, I suggest a deep hollow grind to make it pop out after you forge it thinner and to shape. I also do not suggest to forge bevels otherwise you lose the depth effect that the hollow grind will do on the pattern. Awesome job so far. I can't wait ro see it finished
Dare I suggest .. Fairy flip and then twist?Also, one I've thought would be amazing, would be to run a weld bead or a few down the length, make a couple of twists, forge square again, then add a couple more weld beads the full length and twist again. Repeat however many times, and you'll end up with multiple twist rates, the first weld beads being twisted many times, the last very few. Just a thought, and I hope you see this and give it some consideration. Big fan of the channel, I've even gotten my 7 year old into watching!
With the billets of W's that you had pre made I suggest cutting the twist down to 5 then square it up in the forge and then mill the corners off making them into octagons revealing the explosion then forge it back to square on the explosions.
I've found something more satisfying than watching scale pop off incandescent steel in the hidraulic press: watching scale pop off incandescent steel that's being twisted
If you check out “man at arms: reforged” they used the twist method on a pair of Ulaks. First they stacked the steel alternating types, forge welded, and drew out in to a long bar which they cut in to 6 pieces. Then they twisted those 6 bars 10 time individually, tied the twisted bars together, forge wielded, drew out to a thick bar and then twisted the whole bar one last time about 17 times. I think your patten didn’t come out as expected because you started off with a formed Damascus pattern before you twisted which actually just stretched the striations in to straight lines.
I completely forgot I was wearing a "Where's my hammer?" shirt today, until you mentioned the shirts at the end. :D Love this shirt. Along with "Fantastic". So many complements on it.
FUN FACT! These twist-pattern lines are often found in historical sword finds of viking age Baltic area. Even the Lithuanian name for sword "kalavijas" means "hammered lines".
Hello Alec, I am an avid viewer of your videos. I'm from Germany. I hope you understand my bad English. I've heard that you like to set yourself tasks, one more difficult than the other. I had a suggestion from the section "Back to the roots." You could build yourself a small blast furnace from clay and melt yourself from ore iron. From the raw material you could then make things. For example, a riveted iron kettle for an open hearth would be a change from daggers or swords, and certainly an equally challenging one
Alec, there is no need to "neutralize" the metal from ferric chloride in banking soda or anything else. Reason is that ferric chloride is not an acid so you can just simply wash it. Ferric chloride bounds other metals to itself. I am using it to make PCBs (printed circuit board) basicaly it reacts only with metals (in my case copper). I did put my thumb in chloride for like 2 minutes and nothing happened. Except my finger was yellow for another week.
I'm sure you've worked it out by now, but when twisting Damascus you're actually twisting the outer layers around the outside of the bar. The further toward the centre you grind the more intricate the pattern becomes. I actually nearly made this pattern at an Owen bush Damascus class the other day but decided to accordion cut half the bar instead. I might twist the other half of the bar after seeing this.
Alec I heard somewhere that neutralizing the acid in baking soda actually makes the details of the etch more blurry and I think where you went wrong if you wanted to see more detail near the seam is because of how much you twisted it doing fewer twists would allow for larger details but that's just my thoughts on it I always greatly enjoy watching you work and learn as you go
i have found that when i sand blast the scale off and then tack the ends, then forge weld the twists together it comes out much better. but not everyone has a sandblaster.
If you remember from your million layer damascus video you mention that the layers couldn't be seen very well because of how small the layers were, the twists have the same effect. The more twists the smaller the layers become. I'd recommend only doing about 3-6 twists in total for a nice pattern.
Alec on all twisted patterns you have to grind down in to the material to reveal the pattern, forge a blade from that nice billet leaving some axcess material, once you hav ground the bevels you will finde what you ar loking for. It is there it is hiding from you ;)
I believe that if you're starting out with just the forged billet and want just the twisted pattern, the more twists the better. When you have the explosion pattern, the less amount of twists are better. I believe that a master smith has a video on this. It's been awhile since I've seen it though
I think, for something truly spectacular, would be starting with a billet as you did then do a slow twist (1 in 3). Square it up. Then jelly roll it. Should leave you with the explosion halves emanating outward from the center.
I know others have said it already, and maybe you know already, but the deeper you grind into your billet the more of an explosion you'll see. For the most dramatic effect, you could make another long bar of W's, cut it into bars the same way you did here, twist, resquare, then cut the bars in half lengthwise then flip them inside out and stick them back together. This will give you explosion on two sides of each bar. What you do with each bar from there is completely up to your imagination. I think it would be cool to put the bars back together like you did here, but rotate each bar 90 degrees so you have an alternation pattern of explosion and whatever the other face looks like.
Surely the inner explosion pattern comes from the deformed external spiral, as you make your spiral square again. Pushing the flat edge in onto itself? Maybe less twists would have left the W's more noticable and bold at these edges as well? Definately worth another go!!
How about taking the five welded pieces, hammering them into a rod and twisting the whole thing? The lighter bits in between might look pretty interesting as a swirled pattern.
Material doesn't move in the center of the twist - that's where all cool "activity" you want happens. You have to split your billet close to the axes of the twist or just grind it down some more to get the effect you want.
I know it's not exactly what you wanted but it's still absolutely gorgeous!!! Always a big fan of your beautiful masterpieces, ling time fan. Excited to see what you do with it
I do agree with "M Astley" is like a Million layer Damascus too many layers does not show the pattern, 10 times twist is too much, think of it this like a screw if the twist is too many you are squeezing the pattern and it becomes to compact so what you are looking for "the pocket of activity" will be gone but give it like max 5 twist and let it show the pattern. Also I believe that start pressing at the beginning instead of going power hammer, as you mentioned in this video as well you need to keep the gaps closed and pressing will give you that much better after pressing it go for power hammer. I think that you need to keep on this idea and make a second part because what you are aiming at is an amazing pattern and I love to see that in a broad blade (like a chef knife), that you can enjoy the patterns every single time that you look at it. awesome job and love what you do.
I wonder if it'd get more active if when you forged it square after twisting it, get it mostly square then turn it 45* and square it up the other way. probably only square it a little then turn it and square it up properly.
Good evening, thank you so incredible much for your daily awesome and inspiring videos of your work, truly thrilling and motivating! Nice seeing you experimenting around with some new stuff. With some V-grove grinding where the twisted bars meet and then flattening again under heat that will probably bring up more of the wanted pattern. Maybe some ideas for future projects: - polearm (e.g. bardiche, guisarme, halbred) - a spear (e.g. boar spear, viking spear like the landbreen ice patch) - double headed axe - a falchion (there are some awesome and interesting styles, visit "shadiversity" on this he uses a well depicted classification) - a (mechanical) padlock keep on hammering! greetings out of my forge in germany
I think the activity is actually on the outside (the cool pattern that you were looking at) so try cutting it into fourths lengthwise, then forging inside out.
FYI, i have no experience with any of this, but I have seen plenty of candy making videos and working with metal looks a lot like working with hot candy or hot glass.
have you considered twisting and then squaring like you did but then grind the length corners, this could even add a dimension from the untwisted top and tails to
Great fun to watch the experiment Alec! I'm sure it's given you plenty of ideas. At the rate your going you'll be at 1 million in only a few months, have to be something epic planned for that....then maybe take a week off :D So great to watch vids you made only 500 days ago and contrast them to now. What a journey!
Should take the piece laying flat, cut across all five pieces welded together then turn said pieces 90 degrees and weld them together them forge weld. You’d get to see the twisted pattern🎓
Amazing doing most things in Damascus and avoiding camp knives etc. The pattern on the seax is stunning. Anyone know where you can do courses in blade making? I'd love to learn eventually how to make a Japanese Tamahagane Banboo Kyoto hammered Damascus knife set. Setting the bar pretty high I know.
You have to grind about halfway into the pattern in order to reveal the Ws.... It'll be plain on the outside, but when you get into the inside it's almost like an explosion.... I hope you see this, it'll definitely help you out!
He could try and cut the pieces lengthwise that will save a lot of material
He could cut his pieces down the centre but then he would be loosing the most intricate patterns by the time he has finish ground whatever he makes.
He would also have twist pattern one side and star/explosion like pattern the other.
To get even pattern both sides he just needs to grind his way through and accept the loss of material
Would cutting it in half, forge welding it back to back and then forging the bevels, instead of grinding, work?
Would twisting less also help? I may be completely off track but I feel like the more twists he does the less defined the pattern would become.
On the edges the material moves more than at the centre so the pattern in the centre should be different. I think he needs to get deeper into the material and see what is in there.
reiterating for visibility: twist the bars like 5 times, not 10. I think you are making the explosions too fine to see easily. Also grind further into the billet.
just wanted to say the same thing
I'd say only two or three times
Exactly, way too many turns.. the whole point of Damascus is to layer the steel, if you twist it too many times the pattern will just become indistinguishable.
Agree like 3-5 times would probably be good
Also, what do the ENDS look like? You know, where you could see the c/w pattern.
Could you be over twisting it?
twisting so much that all "w" are stretch in lines?
That's exactly what I tought. 4-5 twists per bar would be better.
yep 5 would of been plenty
I thought so too.
Yep! Rewatching the video, I would say six twists max but I think less would be better.
Biohazarus my thoughts exactly. Would like to see bolder patterns. Needs less turns
Nice, I think a few others may be right .... perhaps less twisting would have left more of the pattern intact at the edges. It's still way cooler than anything I've made today!
Make Brooklyn EXACTLY what I was thinking
yeah i was thinking the same, the amount of twisting depends on the "mother pattern layers" if you have already a fine pattern in the blank you will just smooth it out with too many twists
Its so ridiculously obvious that Alec is putting in too many twists. Obvious!
Thumbs up to see Alec Steele smash fruit with all his creations while the slow Mo guys film it!!!
A Glimpse Inside that would be intense
Builds a grinding room to keep the shop clean...... asked Her fruit and sodas spraying all over equipment.
Levi Daniels totally epic
Billy Beane no fruit juice in the Grinding room. Honestly I actually wonder how much fruit does get all over his shop after one of those smash sessions
Smash on the power hammer
Having fewer twists probably would have helped. You had quite an intricate pattern in the bar you started with, but with so many twists, it just gets stretched and smashed out into lines and one can't make out any details. Sometimes less is more.
Only part way through but I had the same thought. Maybe too many twists starts to homogenize the steel too much??
That’s my thoughts, I’ve never forged anything in my life but if you start with a tight pattern already then twist it 10 times you are creating 10x more layers in the pattern refining the pattern down by a factor of ten
Something I find consistently impressive about your videos is the music-montage integration. I'm sure it takes a lot of work, but it makes the quality of the videos absolutely next-level. I've never seen anyone that does this as well as you, Alec! Keep it up, and your editors too!
Joe Nicholls
He hammers to the rhythm of the music. It makes the editing easier.
My favorite parts of the series: The forging, the work, the creations, and no idea how many people notice this, but the way the music integrates with the work. They use the noise from the videos on time with the music so that it flows awesomely. In other words, the hammering is in rhythm with the songs.
As a guess I would imagine you would get bolder more aggressive patterns with much less twisting. You have gone way to fine with the pattern in my opinion. I would be interested in seeing what happens with 1/2 the twist or less (1 or 2 twists maybe)
greywuuf I was thinking the same thibg
greywuuf exactly
I love that I enjoy watching Alec’s upbeat enthusiasm in experiencing new learning challenges while I learn a ton of really useful information from his skilled viewers.
Not only is the star pattern beautiful, but from the view of physics, it can be used to make an incredibly strong blade. If your core is two twisted bars welded together, so that the spirals rise up to meet each other, one twists left and the other right, in the center, like a series of upside down "v"s, then on a thrust, forces that would cause the blade to bend, instead sheer down the length of the blade and reinforce the thrust upon reflection. I have often thought the best estocs would be made with a welded twist and a hard steel outer jacket. I really hope you try that.
Joseph D Harris ok thanks i vice it a test myself any ideas on how one would do it
The best Saxon and Viking blades were made with twisted cores, often iron also for added flexibility. And some spears, look up the wolf tooth spear
OK.. I'm a physicist by trade. I love smithing and swords, but I am not actually a blacksmith. Please take what I am about to say with a big grain of salt.
When I've seen it done by others, they first make the two twist bars of relatively soft steels. Then they forge and grind them into a rectangular cross section before welding them together. A long thin bar of hard steel is then welded to the two sides of the blade, and a fish mouth is cut out before the blade tip is closed to a point. I've also seen the point of the core forged and the hard steel bar simply wrapped around the tip and forged into one piece.
That said, the physics of it is awesome when you have that construction. From a materials and impact analysis view (and I do know something about this) you get a very good piercing point mounted on a soft cushion that deflects forces in an advantageous way.
Joseph D Harris Well I am neither a engenier nor a blacksmith but aren't the steels today just as well as the forged damascus? Is there any reason apart from the look to still make swords and knifes from it?
Joseph D Harris as a guy who has a intrest in chem it cool how it structure works chemicly
Alec just wanted to say thank you for putting out the daily content. Your channel is so much fun to watch and you have gotten me to get off my ass and make something fun. Always had an interest in blacksmithing and now I can say that I have made several knives and have been learning a new craft. Thanks for the awesomeness!
I’ve said this about 1000 times but I think a Damascus pocket comb would be awesome.
Your improvement in editing, forging and everything else is just insane, i really wish you would do livestreams again, it was just so much fun watching you in realtime and being able to talk to you in chat
Grind in a slot on the 'light stripes' where the billets meet, then flatten the peace with heat. That will make the pattern very different where the billets meet.
I love watching you fail and learn through trial and error. It's incredibly refreshing to follow the journey you're on.
It's also great to all the commenters here helping to identify and solve the issues.
As others have said, I reckon fewer twists would show the pattern you're looking for, 6 max I'd say.
Forge thick and grind thin. The twisted pattern shows more details in the center of the billet
If the pattern is best in the center, why not cut it in half and weld the top to the bottom, and have what was the center be on the outside of the billet. It'd save material but it involves a lot more work.
Xander Zoolander , That's actually a good idea. A long time ago I saw a video here on RUclips where the bladesmith forged the blade with around 10mm thick and milled it down to the right thickness. The final result was amazing. The video's tittle is "Damascus steel: Making a special twisted multibar blade"
i like the change of pace on your channel recently, definitally the way to make sure the channel doesn't go stale
Got to love experimenting :-) great work Jamie and Alec on the editing! God bless
You know, for someone who is between 18-20, Alec Steele has the ability to describe and explain his steps in a way that many cannot. I find these videos both interesting, and a bit soothing. Thanks for the vids man!
25% OFF MERCH!! THAT’S A STEELE!!
That twisting montage was probably the most beautiful sequence you've ever made. I have two screens and was doing some photo work on one while casually watching this video on the other, but that part was so good I completely stopped what I was doing just to be in awe.
Yep! Got the reference! Saw you twist that thing! So beautiful... I think it looks pretty cool! Bisous de France 🇫🇷 😘
?
That looks so therapeutic, I know it wasn't how you wanted it but it looks awesome. I wish more and more I had followed my passion at school in metalwork. I loved grinding welding and shaping.
Ohhh man please do a pala. I'm terrified to test my antique but I wanna see one slice and dice some unsuspecting fruit.
You could different amounts of twists to test different patterns. I’m excited to see you try new patterns and techniques!
hi Alec
i love ur videos they are so epic.
i have a cool idea for a future project: a halberd
dead pool that would be so fucking dope!
Hell yeah
Yaaaaaasssssss!!!¡!!!!!!¡!!!!!!!¡!!!!!!
It is very satisfying to see you living the art of forging. I hope it will never die out, like it did here in germany(we only have very few blacksmiths, because it's difficult to live from it)
When you forge weld multiple pieces together, try using a coal forge. From what I have read it helps reduce the chance of scale forming in the welds.
please make armor
it would be so super cool
OS190 190 damn that would be so fucking dope!
Herringbone damascus looks really cool as the center of a spearhead or tapered blade. Wrap the good steel around the cutting edge and leave the damascus in the center. Looks very cool.
Yo Alec, ik that u probably won't see this but oh well I have time to waste, anyways, I've had a really bad day today, so much so that me and my mum had a giant argument, and i ended up tanning away with a bunch of my clothes and and my card. I'm am currently crashing at my mates house but I am verry upset about what's happened. All in all my day has just been crap. But I've just gone on my phone and seen that u have just posted a new video. Your videos fill me with joy and I mean so much from your channel. I love the vids, keep up the good work and thanks for making my day that little bit better. - Joe :)
You should do a piece of Damascus where you use all/most of the strategies that you know how to do. Ex. Start by making a mosaic, then jelly roll it, then twist it, then grind out the notches like a ladder pattern and show a cross section at the end.
too many twists
The best advice would come before the experiment, which is a bit complicated I know. It's nice to see how many are learning from you and with you. Good stuff Alex!
To many twist I believe if you wanted a very define eye popping pattern.
If you have a copy of Swords of the Viking Age, there's a fantastic diagram in the back that shows how twists change with depth in the bar. It's a gem of a book if you don't already have it in the library!
Nine Worlds Workshop I've got that book and the Anglo Saxon book in my wishlist, just waiting until pay day to buy them!
My Guy! Too Many Twists!!
Seriously, the editor on your videos is top notch. Some of the best on RUclips.
Cheese 🧀
Kaas 🧀
Käse 🧀
Fromage 🧀
@12:06 the left side looks like a knot from a tree and wood grain and that is FREAKING AWESOME LOOKING! You need to figure out what happened there a re-create that thru-out the entire billet!
If you don't like it Alec, send it to me LOL
Alec has it looks like many others have said less twists. But I also think if you want more twists you need drastically less layers. The big bold patterns are usually seen when layer count is lower so there is greater contrast between layers.
I like your t-shirt ;)
Daan Sentjens ?
I won one of his giveaways and chose that shirt c:
As far as I understand for twist damascus, the real "star" patterns are close to in a third of the depth of the billet, most multibar constructions I have seen involve removing a third of the material from each side to display the pattern. Manuel Quiroga did a series of videos on making a turkish multibar hunter, well worth a watch!
That twist pattern looks like feathers to me.
Haze33E I was thinking the same thing! It really reminded me of a peacock feather! New front Alec Steele peacock demascus!
I always love seeing Damascus patterns, and even though I don't have a forge or any experience, what if you tried a canister with simply needles or "needles" of different steels in it, or a sort of hybrid canister thing with hexagonal nuts and maybe bolts screwed in (and chopped off so that there's no bits sticking out) welded together and fluxed, and canistered if need be. And I've always wondered if it was possible to forge your name into a Damascus pattern itself too!
hey alec you should make a knights armor
That would be straight months of work
grimnebuolin
oke maby not all at once but maby every few weeks a part.
or maby only a helmet and shield
I bet that the bar's cross section would look amazing. Restacking it with the ferry flip may give an awesome-looking result, even if not this is what Alec aims now.
Anyway: great video, thanks for showing us your experimenting!
Too many twists. Stop at 5
I have done a fair share of twist both plain and Ws. It does not matter the number of twists. It matters the depth of grind. On the outside it will always look like a normal twist but the deeper you go the more activity comes out. Therefore, I suggest a deep hollow grind to make it pop out after you forge it thinner and to shape. I also do not suggest to forge bevels otherwise you lose the depth effect that the hollow grind will do on the pattern. Awesome job so far. I can't wait ro see it finished
Dare I suggest .. Fairy flip and then twist?Also, one I've thought would be amazing, would be to run a weld bead or a few down the length, make a couple of twists, forge square again, then add a couple more weld beads the full length and twist again. Repeat however many times, and you'll end up with multiple twist rates, the first weld beads being twisted many times, the last very few. Just a thought, and I hope you see this and give it some consideration. Big fan of the channel, I've even gotten my 7 year old into watching!
Whoever edits your videos does an amazing job! That montage was on point! 👌
Great camera work on this video. It was a treat watching it!
With the billets of W's that you had pre made I suggest cutting the twist down to 5 then square it up in the forge and then mill the corners off making them into octagons revealing the explosion then forge it back to square on the explosions.
He *Lunns* something new every day! Just a bunch of fantastic *Lunning* experiences
I've found something more satisfying than watching scale pop off incandescent steel in the hidraulic press: watching scale pop off incandescent steel that's being twisted
If you check out “man at arms: reforged” they used the twist method on a pair of Ulaks. First they stacked the steel alternating types, forge welded, and drew out in to a long bar which they cut in to 6 pieces. Then they twisted those 6 bars 10 time individually, tied the twisted bars together, forge wielded, drew out to a thick bar and then twisted the whole bar one last time about 17 times. I think your patten didn’t come out as expected because you started off with a formed Damascus pattern before you twisted which actually just stretched the striations in to straight lines.
I honestly love ho Alec is constantly working hard and learning new things! It really motivates me to work just as hard! I really look up to you Alec!
Experimentation always worth the time, material and effort.
Yes Alec, if you dont already have a plan for the material, try Joseph D Harris' suggestion for an estoc!
I now officially bought some Merch of yours! And I'm sure I won't regret it! Love all of your work and a big shoutout from Germany!
I completely forgot I was wearing a "Where's my hammer?" shirt today, until you mentioned the shirts at the end. :D
Love this shirt. Along with "Fantastic". So many complements on it.
FUN FACT! These twist-pattern lines are often found in historical sword finds of viking age Baltic area. Even the Lithuanian name for sword "kalavijas" means "hammered lines".
Try a 60° Ferry/Fellicietti flip on the test piece - you should end up with matching rotations if you cut it closer to lengthwise
Hello Alec,
I am an avid viewer of your videos. I'm from Germany. I hope you understand my bad English. I've heard that you like to set yourself tasks, one more difficult than the other. I had a suggestion from the section "Back to the roots." You could build yourself a small blast furnace from clay and melt yourself from ore iron. From the raw material you could then make things. For example, a riveted iron kettle for an open hearth would be a change from daggers or swords, and certainly an equally challenging one
Is there something more satisfying than the scale busting out during the twist??🤤🤤
Make sure to clean up your band saw from all shavings and scraps, and you should do a video on you fixing/repairing/rebuilding your power hammers
Alec, there is no need to "neutralize" the metal from ferric chloride in banking soda or anything else. Reason is that ferric chloride is not an acid so you can just simply wash it. Ferric chloride bounds other metals to itself. I am using it to make PCBs (printed circuit board) basicaly it reacts only with metals (in my case copper). I did put my thumb in chloride for like 2 minutes and nothing happened. Except my finger was yellow for another week.
I'm sure you've worked it out by now, but when twisting Damascus you're actually twisting the outer layers around the outside of the bar. The further toward the centre you grind the more intricate the pattern becomes.
I actually nearly made this pattern at an Owen bush Damascus class the other day but decided to accordion cut half the bar instead. I might twist the other half of the bar after seeing this.
Alec I heard somewhere that neutralizing the acid in baking soda actually makes the details of the etch more blurry and I think where you went wrong if you wanted to see more detail near the seam is because of how much you twisted it doing fewer twists would allow for larger details but that's just my thoughts on it I always greatly enjoy watching you work and learn as you go
i have found that when i sand blast the scale off and then tack the ends, then forge weld the twists together it comes out much better. but not everyone has a sandblaster.
Too funny! I literally just went back happened to watch the episode you made the twisting wrench (bolt rounder) lol
That’s my favorite! Love the chevron Damascus, just send it my way and I’ll finish it from what you started
If you remember from your million layer damascus video you mention that the layers couldn't be seen very well because of how small the layers were, the twists have the same effect. The more twists the smaller the layers become. I'd recommend only doing about 3-6 twists in total for a nice pattern.
Alec on all twisted patterns you have to grind down in to the material to reveal the pattern, forge a blade from that nice billet leaving some axcess material, once you hav ground the bevels you will finde what you ar loking for. It is there it is hiding from you ;)
I believe that if you're starting out with just the forged billet and want just the twisted pattern, the more twists the better. When you have the explosion pattern, the less amount of twists are better. I believe that a master smith has a video on this. It's been awhile since I've seen it though
I think, for something truly spectacular, would be starting with a billet as you did then do a slow twist (1 in 3). Square it up. Then jelly roll it.
Should leave you with the explosion halves emanating outward from the center.
I know others have said it already, and maybe you know already, but the deeper you grind into your billet the more of an explosion you'll see. For the most dramatic effect, you could make another long bar of W's, cut it into bars the same way you did here, twist, resquare, then cut the bars in half lengthwise then flip them inside out and stick them back together. This will give you explosion on two sides of each bar. What you do with each bar from there is completely up to your imagination. I think it would be cool to put the bars back together like you did here, but rotate each bar 90 degrees so you have an alternation pattern of explosion and whatever the other face looks like.
Huge shout out to whoever edits his video's! They're great
When comes out a new Alec Steele's video is one of the best moments in my day! : D
Surely the inner explosion pattern comes from the deformed external spiral, as you make your spiral square again. Pushing the flat edge in onto itself?
Maybe less twists would have left the W's more noticable and bold at these edges as well?
Definately worth another go!!
So excited to get my shirt! Thanks for the discount Alec!
I appreciate your honesty with your experience level.
You always give me content designed for my lunch time! Awesomeness engaged! Thanks Alec!
How about taking the five welded pieces, hammering them into a rod and twisting the whole thing? The lighter bits in between might look pretty interesting as a swirled pattern.
Material doesn't move in the center of the twist - that's where all cool "activity" you want happens. You have to split your billet close to the axes of the twist or just grind it down some more to get the effect you want.
God, the editing on that timelapse was SOOOOO GOOOOD
I know it's not exactly what you wanted but it's still absolutely gorgeous!!! Always a big fan of your beautiful masterpieces, ling time fan. Excited to see what you do with it
I’m so jealous of your editing skills, and editing software, and camera.
I do agree with "M Astley" is like a Million layer Damascus too many layers does not show the pattern, 10 times twist is too much, think of it this like a screw if the twist is too many you are squeezing the pattern and it becomes to compact so what you are looking for "the pocket of activity" will be gone but give it like max 5 twist and let it show the pattern.
Also I believe that start pressing at the beginning instead of going power hammer, as you mentioned in this video as well you need to keep the gaps closed and pressing will give you that much better after pressing it go for power hammer.
I think that you need to keep on this idea and make a second part because what you are aiming at is an amazing pattern and I love to see that in a broad blade (like a chef knife), that you can enjoy the patterns every single time that you look at it.
awesome job and love what you do.
I wonder if it'd get more active if when you forged it square after twisting it, get it mostly square then turn it 45* and square it up the other way. probably only square it a little then turn it and square it up properly.
Good evening,
thank you so incredible much for your daily awesome and inspiring videos of your work, truly thrilling and motivating! Nice seeing you experimenting around with some new stuff.
With some V-grove grinding where the twisted bars meet and then flattening again under heat that will probably bring up more of the wanted pattern.
Maybe some ideas for future projects:
- polearm (e.g. bardiche, guisarme, halbred)
- a spear (e.g. boar spear, viking spear like the landbreen ice patch)
- double headed axe
- a falchion (there are some awesome and interesting styles, visit "shadiversity" on this he uses a well depicted classification)
- a (mechanical) padlock
keep on hammering!
greetings out of my forge in germany
Ahhhh i commented something about twisted Damascus a few videos ago, I'm excited to see the results!
I think the activity is actually on the outside (the cool pattern that you were looking at) so try cutting it into fourths lengthwise, then forging inside out.
FYI, i have no experience with any of this, but I have seen plenty of candy making videos and working with metal looks a lot like working with hot candy or hot glass.
have you considered twisting and then squaring like you did but then grind the length corners, this could even add a dimension from the untwisted top and tails to
Great fun to watch the experiment Alec! I'm sure it's given you plenty of ideas. At the rate your going you'll be at 1 million in only a few months, have to be something epic planned for that....then maybe take a week off :D
So great to watch vids you made only 500 days ago and contrast them to now. What a journey!
Should take the piece laying flat, cut across all five pieces welded together then turn said pieces 90 degrees and weld them together them forge weld. You’d get to see the twisted pattern🎓
👍🏼*
No matter what you make out of this, it wou look really cool overetched!
Amazing doing most things in Damascus and avoiding camp knives etc. The pattern on the seax is stunning.
Anyone know where you can do courses in blade making? I'd love to learn eventually how to make a Japanese Tamahagane Banboo Kyoto hammered Damascus knife set. Setting the bar pretty high I know.