BAT'LETH Finished! Hardened, Etched, and Handled!

[@mostofsky66]

So what exactly does the oil do and does it make a difference of what type you use

[@BennettTheSmith]

The short answer is quenching the steel in the oil cools the steel at the correct rate to cause it to harden. The steel must be at its critical temperature, where all the atoms of iron and carbon are in solution. Cooling too slow allows the iron and carbon atoms to separate, resulting in softer steel. Too fast can cause the metal to crack under the strain. The type of oil does make a difference, but how much difference depends on the steel you are using. Fancier alloy steels can require very specific oil. This blade's edge is 1084 high carbon steel, and is relatively easy to heat treat. In this case plain old vegetable oil works fine to achieve the mechanical properties I was after. Believe it or not, that all was still the short answer!

[@mostofsky66]

So basicly it's chemistry

[@BennettTheSmith]

@@mostofsky66 Chemistry, physics, and a little bit of magic. Also known as Metallurgy. I'm biased but I think it's actually pretty cool to learn about. Like.. it's the literal mechanical properties of the individual atoms and the crystalline structures they form and how those shapes interact that make it work! That's just neat!

[@princecharon]

I like the scabbard. Too many people wouldn't have thought of that. Also, now you know many things not to do the next time someone commissions a bat'leth from you (or when you forge one for your own use).

[@boristrautwein8689]

It looks like Kahless himself had forged it ❤️ Well done!

[@simonschandl9124]

Man you're amazing incredible job i love all your videos

[@BennettTheSmith]

Šimon Schandl thanks! :D more cool things are on the way!

[@forshia24]

It looks so cool! I love that your weird plan to cut it apart worked.

[@BennettTheSmith]

It worked so much better than I thought it would XD

[@Atlantismonkey40]

Nice, Great Wall Art.

[@mykstreja8648]

Here's a thought: Have you considered contacting the buyer and asking for a photo of the piece as he has it displayed? Could be better than the one on your website (sorry), and I would be personally grateful to see this work properly displayed.

[@BennettTheSmith]

A photographer I am not, heh. I have actually! and hopefully once the remodel of the trophy/collection room is finished, I will get just a such a glory shot.

[@mykstreja8648]

@@BennettTheSmith I had to come back to hit like for this and the other vids. Oops.

[@pixiemeg]

"I don't need ALL my blood, do I?" 😂

[@BennettTheSmith]

As it turns out, you make new blood all the time, who knew?

[@jasonthacker9884]

As far as the etching goes, the acid works fine but I found that electroetching works amazing and is very consistent and not dangerous like the acid..

[@zoyastorykeeper]

I saw it with the pieces cut out and yet it never quite clicked that this is what you did with it. I mean, wow. Also, can you talk a little more about the etching thing? When the title said etching, for some reason I was picturing scratching something into the metal. :P

[@BennettTheSmith]

So the acid I brushed on, that was the etching. It eats away at the whole surface and can leave a very consistent, if not literally "smooth" surface. It can be a more matte finish, which is nice. Also, different steels etch differently, so you can see the different steels I used in the build :D "Scratching" into the steel is more like engraving.

[@CoolIizard]

What a beautiful finished product! How long did it end up taking you, start to finish?

[@BennettTheSmith]

Oh. Geeze. Uh... I made it over a period of about 5 months, working on it very part time. Depending on how busy my regular job was I couldn't always work on it. The sum of all the video I took is roughly 37 hours. So considering I didn't record everything, but some of that video is just talking etc... 40 hours is probably a good estimate.

[@dustinscott8526]

Quench tank could be flat. I mean lay the thing flat in it. Same with the fire. It would need less oil and be safer. Nice vids. Well done.

[@BennettTheSmith]

A certain volume of oil is needed to absorb the heat, but more importantly doing it flat could cool one side before the other and could lead to warpage. That was my thinking anyway.

[@gannas42]

Very nice work. I don't know how you kept all your blood...

[@BennettTheSmith]

Thanks! And... well... I didn't. Just most of it.

[@northernselfreliance6943]

I want to buy that!! How much would you charge to make another one?

[@northernselfreliance6943]

P.s. you do amazing work! Congratulations on an amazing piece!

[@BennettTheSmith]

Heh, probably about 3,000$ but that’s not an official quote. It depends(tm) ;)

[@FuqArndNdFndOutBeach]

Dude, That is a thing of BEAUTY!!! You never gave in, you just kept at it and look what you ended up with! That thing is FUCKIN GORGEOUS! Now I see you packing it into a wood sleeve, Did you sell this? OMG I wonder how much for and if reasonable I am so jealous of it's new owner! DUDE, FUCKING AWESOME JOB!!! #RealTalk!!!

[@BennettTheSmith]

It was a commissioned piece, so yes I had to give it away at the end. And since it was a very early project for me, I basically gave it away with how much I charged... It would be quite a bit more if I did it again!

[@geekhillbilly2636]

You do know that Kahless forged the first bat'leth from molten lava, but your looks good Qa'Pla!!

[@BennettTheSmith]

For some reason this gave me a vision of someone making a vlog series in character as Kahless. Inexplicably on youtube in 2020. I would watch that. Thanks!

[@Redtailedhawk99]

It would have probably been better to have the tank of oil horizontal as opposed to Vertical? Looks good anyway!

[@BennettTheSmith]

It came out well :) I’m not sure I understand, but if you mean such that the sword would have been held with the sides facing up and down, that can lead to warping/bending due to its own weight. By holding it with the points pointing down, it is better supported while hot and won’t bend under its own weight. It also means both sides of the blade quench at the same time - further reducing opportunities for warpage in the quench.

[@BlueIsMyEverything]

Have I mentioned that you are really fuckin' cool? Because god daaaaamn, you are really fuckin' cool.

[@donnelsereika6404]

Im sorry for such a long statement or a question ? I've only been watching your vids for 3 days and I've watched a few skilled smiths , Alec Steele , Black Bear Forge , where my main KZbin forge vids till now and I've been trying to Smith for 2. 1/2 years. I have quit a bit of leaf spring from doing lifts on trucks and some leather and i would love to split it with you to be your apprentice ???

[@BennettTheSmith]

That's an interesting offer. It is possible we could work something out, though I'm not sure I can afford to teach in exchange for material. If you're local to the DC/Maryland area, send me an email via my website (in the video description) and we can talk.

[@donnelsereika6404]

@@BennettTheSmith im in southern California bummer well a friend and and i are gonna get a peace of land in Cern county in California to start a blacksmith shop ive just always had trouble making the hammer and tongs i can do blades just fine so ill see in a year or so ill love to exchange ideas and methods thanks for being so friendly

[@BennettTheSmith]

@@donnelsereika6404 That sounds like a plan. Remember you don't have to master everything. Always feel free to contact me if you want to talk shop!

[@donnelsereika6404]

@@BennettTheSmith o thank you so much keep forging

[@juank1026]

how thick was the blade?

[@BennettTheSmith]

Hmmm. All the steel started at a nominal 1/4 inch thickness, but a lot was lost to scale and deliberately ground off. It also tapered from handles to edge. I think it was between 1/4 and 3/16 of an inch at the handles tapered to about 1/8th just before the bevel. Been a long time so I can’t be 100% sure. But grinding that distill taper changed it from a heavy silly thing to a believable sword, at least in how it felt to wield -mechanics of combat aside.

[@shannon9993]

give that kitty scritches, for I cannot

[@BennettTheSmith]

Shannon she gets many scritches. She pays in judgmental looks.

[@robertcornell3451]

Can i commission one?

[@BennettTheSmith]

Yep. It will cost several thousand dollars and a good deal of time to fit it into my schedule, at least the better part of a year. Shoot me an email if you're interested.

[@maxmatthews2463]

Name?

[@BennettTheSmith]

In the end, it was was not mine to name, unfortunately. This was a commission and I left that to the guy who asked me to make it. If I were to name it... hmmmmmmm