MAKING A FALCHION!!! Part 2

[@jdowindahouse]

Very Nice work! My dad always drilled into me this, "Doing things right is a choice, if one makes a mistake, you can either correct it, continue with the mistake, or quit. Quitting is never an option, always finish what you start. If you continue, when you finish, you will never be happy with your work and it will be flawed. Only by correcting the mistake will you learn and be happy wtih whatever you have done." To see you not only start over, but also use the first failed peice as a way to learn something new is amazing to see and is part of what makes you so enjoyable to watch! Keep up the good work!

[@jpmo2714]

Sir, just a friendly reminder to clean your shop. Love the work you do.

[@lukearts2954]

yes! now that you have a spare swiper hanging out in the workshop! (actually, I'll never forget how you advised us to get an internship: go to a pro and offer to sweep his floor.

[@tommerbomber7471]

jp mo a

[@jeremyjensen867]

Obviously you have not worked in a real life metal, fab shop. They are dirty

[@gregmislick1117]

See ABOM79 channel - both his home and professional shops are always clean in the background - not a forge, but a machine shop. Forges will be dirtier by default in that they are burning metal up and creating scale and such and so forth, but "clean as you go" are watchwords to live by ( when I find a corner I haven't touched in my wood shop... I need a shovel for the dust!)

[@jeremyjensen867]

Sorry what are you on about, the comment was made while he was working, METAL SHOPS ARE DIRTY WORKPLACES. At the end of the day or first thing in the morning, yes of course they should be cleaned.jeesh

[@iiLucus]

7:14 that was probably the most badass sword flip I've ever seen.

[@iiLucus]

HEY I GOT HIGLIGHTED

[@TheChoncho212]

You must be new here.

[@iiLucus]

Actually no I've been here since the beginning , just finally got highlighted 🤷‍♂️ you must be new here because this is supposed to be a positive channel

[@scottmichaelharris]

My father used to say, I have to learn from other people’s mistakes, I don’t have time to make them all myself.

[@bushcraftcountryskills552]

However we have to keep in mind that nothing is a subsitute for learning from our own mistakes. There are things wich you just need to have done yourself to fully understand.

[@NeelsVandenBerg]

Lol! Really looks like you enjoyed playing with the traditional Japanese gun gum ... ;) thanx for the shout out and keep up the good work brother!

[@faustosousa_pt5749]

Neels Van Den Berg always lekker to see another South African

[@bigsyeah]

You know its traditional when it has those traditional plastic

[@henryfourie9256]

Neels I love your work and humour. I will be sharing your channel to get you more subscribers. Everyone believes we cannot do in SA and you are a shining example.

[@louismonkeybusinessswanepo5161]

oom Neels jy is infamous. Alexi in Africa needs to happen.

[@suravjeebodh]

Neels Van Den Berg. Big ups for representing our country :)

[@AdamIsUrqed]

The fact the two of you are learning and experimenting together is awesome. In any master/apprentice or employer/employee situation, that should be the case. Mutual learning, regardless of age or experience gap makes for an exciting environment that individuals even thrice your age do not comprehend. Good show.

[@darkhorsegarage9623]

Hey Alec I noticed the color of the blade after one of the heat cycles. Blue metal is amazing. Watch makers use a tin of sand or salt and heat metal parts up very evenly and slowly. This gives them the amazing blue you see on screws and hands. Maybe in a project later you can incorporate the blue technique into something. Keep up the amazing work. I watch you videos every day.

[@Greennoob2]

Alex is such a chill guy. It’s pretty interesting to me seeing the new dynamic of Alec and Alex

[@Breakalegs27]

Great to see Alex helping in the workshop as well. Hope both of you will learn a lot of useful things!

[@kevinpopescu9741]

"acid is what we need to do" - Alec Steele 2018 -

[@1aam17]

Hey Alec, had a thought while watching you put the clay on. After you wrap the blade with the wire, use tape to cover the part you don't want the clay to touch. You will get a cleaner and more precise line with the clay. Just remember to remove the tape before putting it in the hot hot. Love your work, keep it up!

[@azraelh1634]

I love waking up in the morning and seeing two beautiful men making some beautiful Steel

[@yr5135]

You should make the dothraki half circle blade would be amazing

[@jamestesseyman7141]

GamingWithYoshi isnt that the same as the kohpesh he made a wile back?

[@yr5135]

just A guy kohpesh is more of a half oval while this is a half circle you can tell the difference easily from photos just would like to see some game of thrones inspired vids

[@okokokkoful]

Dothraki sword are inspired from kopesh...there are several style of kopesh, and semi circle are 1 of them...

[@yr5135]

fkilljoy but he hasn't done that type yet

[@mcattack2009]

Respect that you started over. Humility is how you get better

[@evalenoyer]

Wow, I really love you guys ! It's so great to have a new face on the show! We love Alec, and now we're going to love Alex too... One british/french, one dutchman... I never felt more represented ! Great blade, great fun, great show! Keep enjoing every second of it, cause we never stop... Bisous de France ! & Groetjes !

[@calolson9572]

"The point is to make what we intend." Brilliant - totally hanging on to that quote for my own creating!!!

[@dylo4236]

these sneaky pick time are just so INTENSE WOW ! LOVE IT !

[@Justin-cp1ey]

There's nothing better than watching your videos, I enjoy every time!

[@thomasstevens2853]

I would love if you focused on the other parts than just the blade in a few projects. fancier guards and maybe a mixed wood handle ect

[@kallenilsson8365]

Major props on having the patience to be able to scrap a sub-par project and starting over again. It's never fun to have to start from scratch after hours of hard work!

[@tybertimus]

Yay, finally delving into differential tempering proper! Clay is the best IMO, since you can get some crazy hamon patterns. You should experiment with extending lines of the clay towards the edge to get those great waves really furious in there.

[@vijinsv1829]

I think the test falchion did get an inward curve after the quench. The katana will get an outward curve after it is quenched in water and will get an inward curve after quenching in oil. To get a straight blade after quenching in oil the blade has to be bend outwards slightly before quenching in oil. The blade will loose its curve when it is quenched in oil. I thought you should think about it.

[@WinterXI]

think mr walter sorrels does water hardening steel, he said it was something todo with the rapid cooling of water vs oil, and to avoid cracks he would dunk into oil straight after the water

[@mastertwitch1]

Japanese sword smiths coat both sides of the blade. They coat the edge with a very thin layer of clay, and the spine with a vastly thicker layer. They then spread a pattern of thicker stripes up and down the edge. The differential of heat between both sides due to the thickness of the clay, is what leads to the Hamon. The quenching in water is what creates the bend in the blade. The edge bends forward first because it cools MUCH more rapidly, then the spine cools, pulling the edge metal into a highly stressed state. But it's the point of differentiation that allows for such high stress without cracking the metal, and also allows the steel to give with impact, without shattering.

[@jeffhoward1000]

Alec you need to watch proper Japanese swords being built.

[@DoubtX]

Alex seems pretty cool. Definitely made a good pick there. Hopefully with two hands on deck we can see these projects come along a little quicker.

[@MySilentAss]

Appreciate it!

[@vgullotta]

Ham on, ham on, ham on whole wheat, all right! At the end of Alex's internship, it would be cool if you did a little section on a video that lets him just talk about the experience. What he learned, what he was hoping for, if he accomplished it, etc.

[@Str-wz8ns]

Great team work. I can see how your apprentice stood out in the applications. Good to see him on your show.

[@dogechannel9933]

Seems like the new intern is quite a hard worker! Love seeing another person in the shop again and everything is looking amazing so far! I'm only 7:00min into the video so, in the good Alec Steele type of videos, failures hopefully wont happen!

[@Mountain_Man]

Ordered some 1,000,000 subscribers shirts and sweatshirts! Keep up the groovy work!

[@j.r.w7636]

That shirt design is amazing

[@patbiggin644]

Tip for that hamon polish, the ferric chloride tends to super oxidize the hamon and make it more a pain to clean up. I use a few dips in ferric, scrub clean, then finish soak with either hot vinegar or lemon juice. They will oxidize more grey or white and be a bit easier to clean up. My final thing is to then rub it with some micro abrasive polish and it pops like mad

[@18yardsout96]

To add the gun gum a palette knife might make your job easier. Love you vids Alec!

[@hypersans6209]

Alec and Alex, sitting in a tree; F O R G I N G

[@robertjosch7981]

Hey Alec, its really cool you hired on an intern to help you in the shop. What caught my ear was when Alex mentioned that he uses a 1x30 belt sander. That is the exact same kind of grinder i use (except i attacted a 3ph motor instead of the factory 1/3). If you ever need another intern or anything along those lines, let me know! Ive done this kind of work for about 4 years and am pretty good what what I do.

[@gwcstudio]

The fancy Japanese edge-tempering stuff is cool, but some furnace cement with a bit of charcoal and iron oxide in it works just as well and is about 1/1000 the cost. FYI. I use 1:10 charcoal 1:10 iron oxide to my furnace cement. I have wondered for a while about vertical quenching. It's got to be creating differential heat in the quench tank as heated oil bubbles up to the surface. I quench using a horizontal tank and keep the blade moving in the tank - since I started doing that I've had far fewer problems with blade bend in the quench. You may wish to experiment with this.

[@Dohpamine_Design]

My favorite binge worthy channel 😊

[@aaron.silveira]

Really enjoyed watching Alex show how it’s done. Keep it up!

[@Gormancraft]

I would love to see the clay apllied with a piping bag like frosting. The precision would be incredible. You could even draw images in the hamon on the blade. I guess that's a challenge, then. Let's see that happen. I've considered giving it a go, but I usually stick to wood-butchering.

[@Raphael-rg5cx]

A German style zweihander would ne amazing

[@0GregorSchultz0]

or a flamberge :D

[@samuelrogers1765]

Imagine trying to grind that though.

[@Raphael-rg5cx]

Oh Boy grinding😂

[@shuwitza]

its like saying a british style twohander...just so you know.

[@JustDeniz]

yeh if he wants to make a series thats like 30 episodes long lol

[@fee_lo8346]

Me thinks this apprentice might teach you how to work faster 😂

[@BladeWalker91]

Fee_ Lo he can now get things done without stretching them up to 15 episodes xD

[@kusanag1698]

Honestly i think it's a good thing he works slower because then he's able to make things better where as when you're going fast you might miss something that you would see when you're going slow

[@samirlekiller3905]

kusanagi 123 but now there is two people who are able to watch over each other and they are more likely to notice faults earlier

[@kusanag1698]

Samirlekiller that is true

[@FullOilBarrel]

He doesnt work slower its just that he cuts less out at the editing so he can make more money

[@infamoussky22]

14:04 yes doing Acid is always a good idea.

[@alexanderflgesvold4823]

That hamon looks fantastic!

[@wescarver9487]

I am a beginning smith and you inspire me so much to work at it harder and harder

[@Prosecute-fauci]

I find that fireplace mortar works fantastically well for Hamons. It's cheap, and holds up to the heat very well

[@TheBeardedMario]

Episode THREEEE!!! Leaving on a cliffhanger. I'd love to see Alex the intern finish the first falcion himself, and compare with yours in the final video. Would be real neat to see. The hamone has me smiling from ear to ear. Looks great with the traditional Japanese gun gum.

[@TheWVgoodguy22]

Thee Alec & AleX Show part Deux of Thirty since he is a month long intern. Way to give him the hand sanding job that we all know you love so much. lol ... He has done well in the grinding room on the Chef's knife text piece and the Bolo Machete and Falchion, definitely very handy to have around. I like the Ham(on) Rye Sandwich design on the blade as well, always nice to learn new techniques. If in the future you make a Tanto, perhaps put one on since you didn't want to mess up the beautiful damascus in the Sweet Katana build you made, and maybe ask Samurai Carpenter to make traditional wooden scabbards for both? Cheers. :)

[@MySilentAss]

Cheers for all that!

[@mrscary3105]

For someone so young, you made a very wise choice in your intern. You make wise statements and choices often. Your parents must be very proud of you. I am not much for commenting, but I give credit when it's due, in this case it's overdue. I can't wait to see you dominate on "Forged In Fire" some day.

[@Metrion77]

The hamon, for those interested, provides a temperature differential during the cooling of the blade. Contrary to what you might think, the blade remains a mostly consistent temperature when heating up for a temper (though this can vary based on impurities in the metal). A hamon is actually there to keep the covered part from COOLING at the same rate as the uncovered part. When steel is heated to a high temperature, the crystal structure in the steel starts to melt down, and carbon atoms infuse the iron latticework. When it cools slowly, it naturally leaches out carbon atoms. This creates two zones, the parts that cool slowly and lose their carbon becoming an iron alloy Ferrite, and the parts that are already surrounded by ferrite and have to just deal with the carbon as it cools becoming an iron alloy known as Cementite (Drastically dumbed down because I can't think of an easy way to describe eutectoid reactions). Metal that contains both is known as Pearlite, and is fairly flexible and hard, because Ferrite is soft, while cementite is hard, creating almost a cushioning layered steel.. Steel that cools quickly doesn't get a chance to leach carbon. The crystal structure has to reform around the carbon, forming a much more uniform alloy known as Martensite, which is the hardest steel alloy you can get from a quench. The problem is that Martensite tends to chip, where pearlite tends to bend. In most tempering quenches, the whole blade is turned into martensite, because most blades aren't expected to deal with anything that can snap them. When making blades designed to impact metal, a purely martensite blade is a risky sword. It's harder than most armor, but it has no give, meaning that it will shatter if enough force is applied to it. It's why you don't make anvils or tools out of martensite. A hamon ensures that the covered part remains insulated during the quench. The cutting edge cools quickly, becoming martensite, while the covered spine cools slowly becoming pearlite. This allows for the blade to absorb blows without sacrificing hardness.

[@NoFear816]

I vote for more metal during montage segments. That was awesome.

[@sebastianolsson9063]

Your intern is doing AMAZING!! Great work from you both this far!! We haven't seen an axe-build in a while.. (Something damascus maybe?)

[@arronburford7787]

Headbanging and trying to watch the video is a skill I've yet to master. Kudos.

[@sijarunning]

I really like you having another guy infront of the camera helping you .. livens up the place :)

[@danielhoven570]

Alex behind you with that blade looks like a murder scene!

[@michaelskilton4191]

You should make some damascus arrowheads

[@tylermertens1933]

I made a 5in hamon blade, and I spent at least 12 hours polishing. Your gunna have fun polishing that massive thing!

[@856Dropout]

So glad you trying new techniques besides Damascus steel.

[@mastertwitch1]

Alec, that copper/nickel Damascus you created needs to go on this sword. Either as the guard, or the pommel, but the explosion pattern would look absolutely EPIC as the pommel piece!

[@charlesjenkins7535]

I've always wondered about the wave on edge of a katana. I love when I learn things like that.

[@leonardomezzomo3645]

This is what i miss on your katana build. Great work Alec.

[@Henrik.Yngvesson]

When you differential quench a single edge blade it will bend, in water it will first bend forward and then go back past it's original shape and bend backwards as the spine cools slower. In oil it bend forward and stops and doesn't bend backwards like in water so if you want it straight or with a backwards curve you have to bend before quenching to compensate for that.

[@dreamercj]

Alac would be the best dad, he has the best dad jokes

[@imallearsru]

My understanding was that the clay was applied to the edge of the blade. this is done to protect the edge from overheating because it's thinner, you judge the correct heat before quenching by the colour of the spine ( back ), knowing that the edge is safe because of the clay.

[@3vforge]

Love your videos and i love your attention to detail! Im just starting but the fit and finish of my work has improved immensely by following your tips and tricks.

[@VonZadian]

Looks cool. I really enjoy watching you try different things. I wish I had the skill and patents to do metal working. All I know how to do is play video games. I know it must be amazing to do metal working. I built a ramp to my shed out of wood with my dad and the satisfaction of that was great. I can only imagine what it feels like to temper something like metal with your hands. I bet its a good high.

[@samsupreme9296]

15:11 Jojo! this is the power of Hamon!

[@henryfourie9256]

Alex you are a great inspiration, thank you for giving Neels a shoutout, his in the same province as I am. It is now time for you to come to South Africa!!!

[@luckypenny6282]

Alec, As I understand it each bladesmith would apply the clay differently to create a unique hamone pattern. I was thinking you could create one that looked like your touchmark going down towards the edge. Can't wait to see what you create. Great as always

[@ExaltedDuck]

I saw a video years ago where a smith forging a bearded axe splayed open the edge like a hotdog bun tio forgeweld a strip of different alloy to take the sharpening. That could be a really interesting technique to explore.

[@COSMOKRAT_616]

When adding a hamon you should treat it as a piece of art. Use a stick to apply the clay and make a design that way your hamon is personalized. In Japanese katanas the hamon is often what collectors are looking for because it adds beauty to the blade. Some look like clouds or even trees in a forest. Very interesting stuff.

[@aidanhershberger8558]

Hey Alec, try looking into some spine filing on your next Damascus piece. Beautiful complimentary techniques.

[@brickbuilder5119]

Great camera work on the grinding section

[@platin2148]

Really like the blue color that it had after heating.

[@joecoastie99]

Thanks for showing the gun gun. Surprisingly it’s on amazon with free shipping to the US from the UK. Bought

[@breakpoint5364]

This inspired me to try this on a camp knife, I just used mud from my backyard and some crushed up charcoal

[@aaronwood3540]

Will you take those freaking Christmas lights down!! Haha. And don't forget your touch mark this time!!

[@kevinhamutov8778]

aaron wood well he is British Roots with Cowboy Boots so no....lights up all year round.

[@aaronwood3540]

Jack Mehov haha true, but they make my screen go crazy Everytime I see them in the background lol!

[@MimicKingAxl]

Can you start doing like 4 episodes a day? I don't have enough to watch! lol

[@jimpennock7622]

Did not know about the wire technique, thank you. I'm going to try it on my next piece.

[@victor9sur768]

Killer work guys, the hamon looks fantastic! Can't wait to see the real thing

[@kotelespopapetrudoru4150]

Beautiful work Alec.

[@vikereo3047]

Alec Steele is the first youtuber I bought merch from

[@starkai6806]

Idk why I have to keep hitting the bell icon for reminders at least once a week. Is this a new feature to keep me from getting spam? I just like knowing when Alec is uploading without having to manually visit his page to see if there are uploads. Whatever the issue.. I'm just glad my notifications from this channel are coming again. Thanks for the awesome project Alec!

[@stamatouvable]

I hope you have a wall that you have hung all of your projects up to this point. That would look cool

[@bryanchrismer169]

Looks awesome. Cant wait to see it finished.

[@tvanniekerk166]

Hi Alec finally playing with some hamon well done dude!!! If you are interested in some REAL hamon you need to forge some wire rope (cable) into a billet, forge a blade from that and apply the traditional Japanese clay recipe (which I can give you). This will enable you to quench in water witch cools the steel more rapidly and drastically enhance the formation of martensite. At the same time you can generate sori - the curve in the steel the Japanese are so mad about. Me and Neels studies together (a very long time ago) and know each other well. Keep it up dude now that you are starting to play with the good stuff :)

[@davidjohnston4210]

Looms really great, would be really fun to see you attempt to make Damascus scissors. Some thing with a mechanical challenge would be cool. Love the videos, keep up the great work.

[@ShayanGivehchian]

Can you do a historical blade made only with historical methods and tools ?

[@jeremyjensen867]

That's not what he does, and even if he wanted to he's not set up for it

[@theonethatwon8946]

Shayan Givehchian he has a thing where he made a knife without any power tools

[@ShayanGivehchian]

TheOneThatWon I mean like with a stone wheel and stuff. Old school all th way

[@TheDowntimesfl]

Working metal with power tools take a long time. Working them with manual old school ones takes ages. People were already complaining about the time it takes to do certain things. I can;t even imagine the amounts of complaints if an entire single episode was just hand sanding down one side of a blade for the 1st time.

[@ShayanGivehchian]

TheDowntimesfl I stilllll think it would be very educational. I'd like to see the level of detail achievable with those tools only

[@SkidinDingo]

hey alec you should save the botched falcion, grind it so the edge is properly straight and just have it as a machete. like, no guard, no discernable pommel, just a cool machete.

[@NathanOkun]

Face-hardened "Krupp Cemented" battleship side armor in the early 20th Century was "decrementally hardened" with the transition temperature where hardening starts adjusted by heating the face higher than the back so a given line in the plate (where depends on the manufacturer's design preference) separates the back, which remains soft, from the face, which has a high hardness near the surface and a lower, but still elevated, hardness in the plate middle region (you do not want too sharp a hardness step or it can crack at the boundary). This was the best armor used at the end of WWII in very thick layers hit at near right-angles (as opposed to highly sloped armor where softer, stretchable steel was best to allow glancing of the projectile with no holes in the armor).

[@keithburns5707]

Hi from Texarkana Tx. I had my Intern clean up the shop and he found my computer keyboard. So I though I would congratulate you for getting 1M subscribers, way to go!

[@___Ra_Ge___]

Great team Alex and Alec 💪

[@bmoney2011]

Alex seems like a super cool dude.

[@fleurcluistra2649]

Alec, I need to be honest with ya, Alex is a badass!

[@heathenous81]

Happy Independence Day from Arizona, USA.

[@paansukarjo90]

your energy level doesn't quite match your interns. I find it quite hillarious. XD

[@DrSimonCurtis]

Mohammad Farhan Sukarjo it’s impossible

[@saoerdy]

That’s because in general Dutch people are very down to earth.

[@MySilentAss]

Glad you're taking it the good way :')

[@ruirui7764]

Mohammad Farhan Sukarjo its like running after a cat

[@8BitRetroGhost]

And yet Alex seems to be quite extroverted guy himself. :D

[@Gdwmartin]

Looks great Alec!

[@ZacBurton]

Finally some rock music for the montage!!!! It's been so long!

[@arialflash3059]

Hey Alec, try making a Keris for your next project. It's pretty cool.

[@kennethgarmyn8440]

Alec you should try to make a beer stein! Love all the vids! You make me want to get into blacksmithing!

[@Grakoham]

10:09 Alec subtly flipping us off.

[@TheSGman66]

Appreciate your hard work Alec!

[@Dylan-hi4dq]

Congrats on 1 mill

[@d.mat.zero6525]

Most ppl get Falchions wrong they are closer to a razor blade than machete, James Elmslie has a whole typology of Falchions n has probably studied Falchions way more than anyone else. Also a Falchion is not about the shape of the blade BC it had so many, its about its construction for its use. The Falchion was used as an anti gambeson or padded armor which is why during the late medieval early Renaissance period (riveted mail and plate armor be came more prevalent)it started to disappear.

[@Williamstanway]

Good point ,

[@j.g.elmslie9901]

Nah, that bloke's a hack. I'm not 100% convinced by the idea that they are like razors - they're far too fragile an edge for a bladed weapon, but what they are is a fine cross-section which requires less effort to cut with (you need to force material aside to cut deeply, so a thin, broad blade serves as an excellent cutter as long as it has sufficient mass behind it - which these ones do, by making the blade wider than average. if they tapered like a normal Oakeshott XII, or something, they'd have so little mass they wouldnt cut nearly as well. these early type F1a falchions certainly died out as mail and coat of plates became more prevalent, however, so no doubts there.

[@d.mat.zero6525]

J. G. Elmslie true, it’s great to hear from you you!! That’s why reserved myself to saying that they are closer to a razor giving that most Falchions that have been recovered have a very thing blade that does not mean I’m correct which why I deferred to you

[@d.mat.zero6525]

J. G. Elmslie also I guess that the wider blade was made to increase the strength also to decrease half-swording which started becoming more prevalent to 14 century

[@Williamstanway]

I think they where alot lighter in the hand than people assume and probably had a great deal of taper hence the mass at the end of the blade but I think razor is a stretch but I see where he is coming from