Welding Rod Damascus Knife, Forging Electrodes Blacksmithing and Knifemaking Project

Forge welding a knife with 7018E welding electrodes. These welding rods are commonly used for mild steel arc welding applications. Today I'm going to incorporate a bunch of these rods into a super cool knife. The edge steel is 80CrV2 high carbon steel.
firecreekforge.com
/ firecreekforge
#welding #damascus #forging

[@Wonderboy46Z]

I’m so glad you actually forged the tip, not cut the tip in like all these other KZbin crap blademakers. They don’t know the “why” you should forge not cut on the tips and the entire blade and tang. They don’t realize they are putting stress risers in the grain. Bunch of ignorant copycats or wannabe’s is all they are. A forged tip and tang will ALWAYS be stronger than any cut in.

[@jefferythomas4414]

Coat hangers and welding rod are one and the same material. That's a dirty little secret that could have saved you a lot of time and money.

[@leemitchell3020]

As a retired welder/steamfitter I always wondered about the stubs in my stub bucket. Tig wire has a coating of copper on all the carbon rods up to chrome rod and stainless rods. Stubs in a canister of 6010-5p+ and 7018 would give a nice pattern without the powder I'd think because 7018 is lighter in color and more malleable and your 5p+ is darker. Plus stubs are just going in the scrap barrel so why not.

[@cameronlamb7274]

I’m pretty sure the wire is all the same it’s the flux composition that makes the difference and adds the different compounds in the puddle.

[@joelhoughton2593]

@@cameronlamb7274 you are correct the core electrode is trash steel loaded with impurities the flux contains deoxidizers slag formers and alloying elements to give the “as welded” mechanical properties noted in the classification 60xx 70xx etc

[@xenuno]

@@joelhoughton2593 "Trash steel" ? It's apparent you don't know much about welding rod. The flux is a deoxidizer and protects during fusion and cool down. That is by far it's main function. Yes you can have alloying agents in the flux but I would wager there is next to none in 7018. All the alloying agents are in the steel rod itself, which throws out your assertion of "trash"

[@joelhoughton2593]

@@xenuno try knocking the flux off and using it as a tig rod… it is rim steel

[@xenuno]

@@joelhoughton2593 It is mild steel of high quality. The flux does more than I gave it credit for as the core rod for 6010 and 7018 apparently are the same composition.

[@mrmongo6722]

Need to get some big old beefy 2024 rods in there mixed in with some 6010 along with those 7018!!!!🍻

[@scottames2334]

Awesome and I love the Appeal to Heaven Flag!

[@ericjenkin7461]

Ok I'll have to come back but the drill trick at beginning is cool I can already see it coming in handy, thanks

[@kingscorpion7346]

I can honestly say: I have seen a lot of bladesmith videos, starting with Forged In Fire, and others, and I was a welder when I served in the Navy, but not once did I ever think that welding rods could be forged into a blade! that's one of the reasons I love watching these videos; the creativity and artistry that goes into bladesmithing!

[@joebourke1018]

Awesome job, I have lots of knives and one Damascus knife that I rarely use. I like that knife, I think it's art I should get a case for it 😂.

[@jeffreywhitmoyer860]

In many cases, the core in 7018 is a low carbon iron rather than mild steel. I believe Carbon in a 7018 deposit is on the order of 0.07% max. Also, in addition to the deoxidizers in the coating the manganese content is picked up from the coating. Most stick rods get the alloy content from the coating. Basically, the electrode really only provided bulk to the mix and dilution of the 1084. E70S-6 tig rod would contribute a little more Carbon and 1+% manganese to the alloy. This would slightly improve hardenability to the body of the blade and a little extra toughness. E70S rod is available without copper coating. INE and Midalloy should have it available. Working from memory on this since I retired a few years ago, but confident in being generally correct.

[@NeverlostatBSgaming]

Beautiful knife and beautiful beard

[@shepardsforgeh2031]

Love the olive drab handle that screams jungle blade!

[@breakawaybooks4752]

3:50 the welded billet is literally loose inside of the cannister! That white paint never ceases to amaze me.

[@donnelhuddleston2478]

Learn something new everyday, I didn't even know what kind of metal welding rods were made from.

[@meninoandrade9833]

I like the pattern it's very clear and too forging. good kitchen knife tnx

[@Dooncat]

i would definitely buy it for my wife!

[@selador11]

Awesome! Next up... USE the rods. Build up a huge pile of weld. Then use that pile of weld, as your starting block...

[@marksindustries567]

Finally , someones videos who are simple,imformative , and enjoyable. No ad derailing is so appreciated

[@tokus64]

A beautiful knife without a beautiful sheath is just an addition to the scrapmetals in your shop.

[@fpscoco]

World needs more man like you. God bless you. Keep up the good work!

[@rosstisbury1626]

Better lookn than I expected. . Thanks for the vid

[@Hamit_HMT]

Nice. Too close to 100K. 👏👏👏

[@Jbrooks1219]

Me and my friends are wasted because we had to drink every time you said the word ubiquitous

[@cseevers1188]

Ok. I’m only like 5 minutes into this video….I’ve seen several forging/blacksmithing videos, and let me just say…I really appreciate the explanation of what you’re doing. The process is very interesting but most of these videos just show the forging and don’t actually explain anything. This is great.

[@aaronpreston47]

If you line the canister with burnt stainless foil it will pop off even easier. But the paint worked great. (Burnt stainless foil is just regular stainless foil oxidized with a torch or forge)

[@FireCreekForge]

I've used the foil in the past, but I prefer the paint

[@aaronpreston47]

@@FireCreekForge good stuff, whatever works best for you!

[@cameronwilkinson7972]

as a welder, i clicked onto this video and my initial thought was "what a waste of 7018's'' but by god was i wrong...

[@robertm348]

Nice Damascus pattern!

[@LastShelter-tb3wn]

All the way from South Africa I really enjoy your builds thanks for sharing!

[@FireCreekForge]

Thank you sir!

[@NOTSOSLIMJIM]

In the future, stick them in the oven at 550° for an hour. The flux dries out and comes off more easily.

[@dolphincliffs8864]

It doesn't work like that for 7018,if it did my flux would have fallen off ages ago,my 7018 rods stay in the oven.

[@NOTSOSLIMJIM]

@@dolphincliffs8864 yeah, only been welding for 20 years. You put them in a heater at between 150-200°f to keep them dry. When you crank the heat up, it hardens the flux making it easier to knock off.

[@dolphincliffs8864]

@@NOTSOSLIMJIM Yep,sure as heck wouldn't set the oven to 550! I kept all the half burnt rods from school too,kids love wasting consumables. Went to welding school last year in January at age 51. Wanted to learn smaw.

[@TheRich4187]

Bet making a smaller diameter dowel making jig would have ripped that flux right off. Just attach a drill to the end and run it through a couple times.

[@northernmetalworker]

I put mine in a drill, then run them against a wire wheel on a bench grinder.

[@robertr4193]

The pattern in the steel looks almost like a cross between a Cable Damascus and a rain drop pattern. Looks good.

[@shaungreen679]

the beard id majestic

[@AndyFromBeaverton]

The laddering really did add to creating a nice pattern.

[@jerrysanchez5453]

Honestly this has a pretty good example of why edge geometry matters.better than most anyway

[@rpandocchi]

Excellent forging skills!

[@FireCreekForge]

Thank you very much!

[@blackhammerartisan]

you are the king of canister.

[@PaulSmith-zi3sn]

I really appreciate the explanation as your video plays... thx, excellent job and beautiful knife !!!

[@jml6802]

Im a welder, when I saw this I was definitely intrigued. Great work man.

[@FireCreekForge]

Thanks I appreciate it!

[@user-gh5tp3es4u]

Clean the rods with a wire wheel, cleans them super fast

[@hulkthedane7542]

Very nice pattern, and ditto knife. 👍

[@andymason703]

Beautiful knife

[@rabbitnoise]

Now that's a knoif!

[@ryanblystone5153]

Thank you

[@jimmychastain8162]

If drill a hole in a piece of steel the same size as the welding rod steel then just chuck the bear end in a drill and push it through the hole you drilled and all the flux comes off leaving clean rod

[@forneyind]

Love the final results!

[@zanebaker5697]

The best way to remove the flux is to soak them over night in water. Once you do that it will slip off in a solid sleeve

[@jeremybanks719]

I've got a few pounds of some old black rods. From what I remember half was a high nickel rod for hard surfacing. Remembered it was hell to grind even with a hard stone, hardly and spark and just scratches on the bead. I beared down hatd on the hand grinder n it was bogging. Not a cheap 1 either. Think was marked atlas on some of them. Got some old bluish green coated rods, heavy flux on them to. Ill have to get out to garage n take a look. Got a few chrome molly rods and sure some for stainless. Been some years since I looked at these. They'd need to be ovened before used to weld wonder how they would work

[@OctaApe]

Very cool knife, good techniques to 🔪

[@timothyvaughn1451]

Thank you for shielding your welding

[@eulerizeit]

I like the subtlety of the pattern

[@mikeharris2359]

Absolutely beautiful work I love Damascus knives and axes great to see such good forge work good 💯💯💯

[@garywhen1]

Awesome work

[@monroesweldingservices6234]

Wow when u use metal u do it with amazing creativity and damn nice to look at and very functional you truely are a master of your craft

[@caramidacaramida3959]

A true artist, I love that you tested positive he knife and modified the age geometry acordinly

[@neilsimpson79]

Watched another creator do this recently but he welded the cleaned electrodes together and went hammer happy with the flux

[@cybermechx]

Looks Great !!

[@bruceb51]

That's a beautiful chopper

[@ultratorrent]

San mai steel for life!

[@Kratos_God_of_50_BMG]

Great pattern! That's quite the choppa you got there, well done 👍🏽

[@dalerose1694]

WOWED again It’s a Beautiful knife

[@AstraOG]

i wonder if its possible to get a geometric pattern on damascus by filling a canister with a bunch of small steel tetrahedrons. I know little to nothing about forging, but i think a geometric damascus blade would be awesome.

[@ben-me9jy]

Great idea thanks

[@_Merica_USA]

I have watched a lot of forging videos and this one is by far the most detailed, great job 👍

[@RichValentine1972]

That turned out really nice.

[@Horacio-Lorenzo]

Very good work, beautiful Damascus steel knife. I am fascinated by the creation of forged knives. I send you a big hug and blessings for you and your family from Buenos Aires Argentina

[@Zeechit]

still love your work and the way you explain what you are doing and why you did it.

[@wysestone]

Interesting, came out almost like a raindrop pattern damascus. well done

[@johngrund2567]

I think you did a great job with the knife, and the video.

[@anonymously241]

Very nice beard 🧔👌

[@martyparsons8395]

That turned out really nice! Im a big fan of the san mai edge with damascus patterns! Very cool!

[@jad6126]

That turned out really really nice. Thanks for another great video.

[@MikeT]

Cool pattern

[@user-ev9nj3sr3n]

Красивый рисунок на клинке👍👍👍

[@metubewot]

loved it, and thanks for the tips.

[@tonylyons5487]

Once again u killed thanks for sharing it with us all

[@MASI_forging]

This knife is really sharp and beautiful. 👍👍

[@duanebennett2961]

Beautiful work!!

[@aivarsbuls3399]

Comments durig the video are very good!

[@stephenjohnson6841]

The pattern turned out beautiful. I really like the looks of this knife! That's for sharing Elijah!

[@timvanboening9432]

That came out beautiful!

[@JSaltyfabricator]

Nice work! I've seen people asking about keeping the flux on the rods to help with the forge welding. Definitely a no no. The flux on welding rods will result in glass like inclusions in the weld. Flux has to be removed prior to making another pass when building up welds in structural settings. If the flux is not removed, you get inclusions and your weld could very well fail inspection. Would not make a good blade.

[@maniachill3069]

Great video. I'd like to see a video where you make a good, heavy base that will hold your vise so it is solid, instead of moving all over the place when using it.

[@texanonline1244]

just get a big truck rim. weld in riser, fill with concrete. problem is you cant move it around

[@selador11]

Use a jigsaw or sawzall without a blade, to vibrate the powder down in there.

[@butthedd0233]

EYE LIKE IT!!!

[@eddybarker5072]

Super nice pattern on this one! I really appreciate you providing tips as you go such as how to forge the San mai core around the tip and how to fix the edge geometry when it didn’t pass the first test before thinking the heat treat failed. Great video!

[@ronaldrvvanhook1437]

I've seen this done with a rods in a vise and twisted/folded

[@colinpopowich8687]

The Flux is what determines the the finished product, coat a coat hanger in that 7018 Flux, 8018, 6010, 7010, Flux provides the shield from oxygen, like like different gas shield for mig, or Flux core wire, gives different tensile strength

[@edwinlawrence1299]

Another job well done, looks amazing. I wanted to buy it, but I got a chance at getting on your books today. Someone else will get to enjoy it.

[@OlderthanIlookyoungerthanIfeel]

Very knife 👍

[@rickochoa366]

Awesome knife!! And an awesome beard as well!!

[@manfredseidel1413]

Sehr schönes Messer & danke für das schöne Video 👍

[@sunburstworx]

That was a great Knife Project, thanks for sharing! Nice to see it done right instead of those channels that fake it

[@swedejohansson2587]

Nice video and monolog 😊😊😊.

[@edwardchance2543]

Thanks for sharing subscribed

[@bizboy6036]

Had no idea you could use white paint. After looking it up that's all white out really is

[@TalRohan]

very cool, the etch difference is amazing.

[@kylecorey1436]

You know, when I was in metal shop I'm school I always looked at the boxes of 7018 rods and went "hmmm 🤔🔪

[@HeavyForge]

That came out looking awesome!! Btw love the grinding room! I need to that.

[@paulellington1505]

Could you do a Damascus axe with a cherry wood handle I think that would be a beautiful blade. Love the knife it was exquisite work.

[@arthurh2320]

*nice pattern*

[@RobertRider-is9di]

BRILLIANT!!!