I Forged A Knife From Hundreds Of Tiny Steel Cubes

Forging a big chopper from a small pile of steel cubes.
My Website: firecreekforge.com
Patreon: / firecreekforge
Join this channel to get access to perks:
/ @firecreekforge
#steel #knife #blacksmith

[@nicholaseedy3244]

Thanks boss, 6 yo watched this with me. We talked about integrity. We appreciate your teachable moments as much as we do the knives.

[@concernedcitizen2868]

I would buy that blade as is. Put my own handle on it, and use it to cut veggies. I love it, i think all the shattering cracks looks one of a kind.

[@iammattjones]

Came here to say that exactly. I like the crackly edges, makes it look like it was lightning forged.

[@J-B876]

Exactly! Hoping he didn’t toss it. Better than any blade I’ve made I would imagine.

[@Gman1024]

That texture in the etch looks friggin' sick despite the imperfections.

[@FireCreekForge]

Thanks I appreciate it!!

[@IWatchedWhat]

You telling us the issue and not selling it just shows your integrity to your work and your ethics. That was going to be a nice looking pattern too.

[@jeffbrown4382]

I love watching videos that allow people to understand life is not Instagram. We live in a social media Fantasyland, and you brought a refreshing truth to combat the fantasy. Respect. I know it's a bummer to lose that much time, but the next version will be amazing. Thanks for the video!

[@FireCreekForge]

Thank you, I appreciate it. Yes, life isn't really perfect despite what social media would lead us to believe. These failures are the price of successful builds.Thanks for watching!

[@bretmaples]

Beautiful blade! I love it when a creator is honest about their mess ups

[@HDBrown-wc9xt]

Truth is you love it so much you can’t part from it. 😂

[@FireCreekForge]

Haha, i do like how the pattern turned out.

[@gerogefinkle4764]

The imperfections make it look like a lightning strike, very cool for a display blade.

[@ghostdog662]

3:53 "I got this billet nice and hot" well that was an understatement

[@FireCreekForge]

As it turns out...

[@johnharris3390]

The pattern was incredible. Sometimes the imperfections in life tend to make things better. Thanks for sharing.

[@dagnard5707]

if you dont mind a suggestion, i use fire brick on the bottom of my forge and switch it when im forge welding and have another set for non forge welding. dont have to fight the flux that way

[@ziemec150]

Stand up dude. Mistakes are how we learn, thanks for sharing yours. Thanks for the great content.

[@tincansailor9437]

Do it again! That is one of the coolest pattern welds I’ve ever seen!

[@minnesotatomcat]

I mean…..it passed the chop test, no damage. If you’re not gonna sell it I would use the shit out of it and try to break it to see if that metal migration really was that detrimental. I think it’s a bitchin looking pattern 👍

[@yomamajo]

I’m sure the audience would love to see this knife die in battle.

[@davidguffey4538]

Your integrity gives me hope for our entire country. You have my admiration, sir.

[@arbez7k]

I'd gladly add that to my collection!!!!!!

[@yo.aj6391]

Something about science, trial and error and art.. truly fascinating.

[@kellyrussell3598]

Looks great… you could stain it and just make it a display piece because it’s a really cool stone wall pattern

[@RBLofton]

I always enjoy when you "learn" from mistakes. Most creators would gloss over or ignore imperfections. Even with the overheat, it still made for an interesting pattern.

[@harryvanniekerk7269]

Good conscience sounds good to me. My respect for you took leaps in growing. Integrity is what we need in our world.😃

[@quinn-676]

If you plan on doing this one again, when you cut the cubes put a wire kitchen strainer under them, it will catch the cubes and you can wash all of the saw dust out of it with ease.

[@marie-claudehenrichon3743]

That’s a darn shame 😢 I hope you give this pattern another try, it’s beautiful even with the imperfections ❤

[@stev231]

Grab some of those copper wool bundles for soldering iron tips or braided copper wire used to clean up residual solder and soak up all the flux in your forge with that.

[@chriscornell8766]

What an awesome pattern, bummer that it went bad in the end... Like they say, you live and you learn...

[@jonny555ive]

Bummer you had to stop.... But, thank you for posting instead of just sweeping it under the rug....shows that even a "pro" can make mistakes and learn what not to do next time. I applaud you sir. Looking forward to next time👍👍 Take care, ~Jonny5🥁

[@FireCreekForge]

Thanks for watching!

[@Errb_Sulaky]

Could have used some CA glue to glue the rods together before cutting them and then just toss them in some acetone to dissolve the CA glue and clean them up.

[@DavidEricWilliams]

Barney would be proud! I too appreciate your “warts and all” approach to video production. Keep up the good work

[@FireCreekForge]

Thanks I appreciate it

[@jameschesterman9060]

Sick etch 👍

[@jaredbraggs1]

Oh man this would have looked so cool.

[@mikkosalonen7894]

Pattern looks like breaking ice. Beautiful.

[@CarlWestBlacksmith]

You could name the blade "Debacle".

[@ufoe20011]

use a magnet in a zip lock bag and attach to the end of the billiet as you cut. a square magnet the same size as the square would hold them in place.

[@matt7401]

You could always send it to me....I love the fact that you didn't cut anything out and showed us.

[@oonamorrioghanblackthorne]

Use a magnet to keep the pieces together.

[@drcurioustube]

Plenty of folks would love to have that blade

[@VirginiaBronson]

That’s a bummer! It’s a pretty one. Thank you for sharing the journey!

[@FireCreekForge]

Thanks for watching!

[@tonyb1184]

Turned out a killer pattern too man. What a shame but your honest about it as always

[@pyrosmoak53]

Man that really sux that those imperfections had to happen. The pattern on that was wicked and would've looked great fully finished. The honesty and you not selling is great to see, kudos to you dude.

[@Eremon1]

Mistakes are nothing more than opportunities to do better.

[@andrewneilson227]

Man that was a sick pattern. Bummer that it wasn’t sellable. Love your work as usual

[@derangedmetalworks9489]

Even though there's issues, I still really liked the pattern concept.

[@brysonalden5414]

First, thanks for trying with the little cubes. Glad you did all that work, not me!!! Second, I add my respect to your other commenters; I wasn't sure what you were seeing until the closeups at the end of the video, and I am forced to agree with you. If that came out of my shop I couldn't sell it in good conscience, even if it was just going to be a wall hanger. Like you, I don't want my name on less than perfect product.

[@patlyn6784]

Idea maybe instead of grinding each square stock before cutting the cubes. Just cut the cubes then tumble them to get the scale off then clean and do the same thing. I would think all the sharp edges on the edge of the cubes don’t help with that stress of the heat and pressure. Vs tumbling would round them out a bit.

[@Eric_W_Knives]

Goes to show that if something doesn't seem right, it isn't worth it. Still looks cool. Thanks for sharing.

[@thetinkerist]

A lot of work man, and actually a nice pattern, you have enough material it looks like, to reheat and fold it damascus style, like 16 layers or so, and make a smaller knife out of it. anyway, always great to see your vids, thx!

[@yourilepp8078]

Wow. Stuff happens to all of us makers of things. Sometimes our efforts go sideways on us. Your steel pattern looks amazing! I would buy a blank like that and use it anyways.

[@minnesotatomcat]

I wonder if there is any kind of pyrometer that you could probe into the forge so you can set it to exactly the temp you want it?

[@MEATLOAFr]

A good display blade

[@chrisordiway7203]

I agree with a lot of the other comments, I'd buy that for the look of the pattern. Simply fantastic!! But I appreciate your professionalism and not wanting to compromise on your standards. Can't wait to see the second attempt.

[@MASI_forging]

Great work as always 👏👏

[@casketrace6087]

Such a bummer, what an insane pattern!

[@pjamestx]

Heartbreaking! Looked really beautiful, you did the right thing by putting it in the scrap pile, best of luck with the next one!

[@VelvetHippos]

Colander to collect the cubes!

[@mihailkozorici9794]

Next time do one blade like this one, but mix with some gold...will look amazing

[@58rkelley]

The blade may have imperfections in your eyes but i still like it. It has a unique character to its already unique design.

[@gregmead2967]

FWIW, as a geologist, I think that's a very interesting pattern - it looks very much like a breccia - a sedimentary rock composed of angular pebbles or gravel. Hope you can work the bugs out and get a solid weld in the future.

[@gregmead2967]

I don't know if someone else has suggested it yet, but why not use a magnet to collect the cubes as you cut them? Sure, you'd pick up the shavings, too, but you could sieve it afterwards to keep just the bigger pieces.

[@normandbujold6677]

Awesome pattern

[@Erinnem]

Bummer dude but it looked sick!! It’s a wall hanger can’t wait to see the next one!

[@entropy11]

You should try this with mixing a carbon with nickel steel so the cubes really show up in an etch I think that would look so neat. The nickel powder does a good job though!

[@timcopperton3595]

Learn things everyday

[@clifbradley]

That sucks. I woukd still buy that blade. It went through a 2x4 without issues. It woukd be an honor to have something you made. I woukd never use it like they do in competitions. It woukd be used to chop meats and veggies in my house. Maybe use it to whack a palm frond down to roast hot dogs or marshmallows in the firepit. That would be the toughest thing I put it through. If you want to sell it, I'll sign a waiver or whatever and won't hold you liable if it breaks or snaps. I understand that it's nitmup to your quality, but your standards are way above most companies.

[@Faesharlyn]

I'm a jeweler and I use Wite-Out as an anti-flux... it would take a few bottles lol It would look amazing cut into pendants!

[@KimP0612]

I love the end design. Try again!

[@dirtfarmer7472]

Live & learn, it’ll still work very well for you & now you know what doesn’t work & especially why, that’s the most important part. Thank you Sir for this lesson. A question do you use the cutoffs for future projects ???

[@jcubetube3778]

Just when I thought there was no new canister ideas 😮 👍🏾

[@Leonid-22]

Этот парень ценен тем, чио он пробует и ищет. Живет. А ее трлько повтрряет то, что придумали другие. И это ценно.

[@arkagy_ironworks]

Still a beautiful looking Damascus!!.. you don't see patterns like this.. And thanks i learned what it looks like overheating.. I did this on a twist pattern and couldnt figure out what it was..

[@aaronkreger1891]

That is an Awesome pattern!

[@FireCreekForge]

Thanks! Aside from the issues, I like how it turned out

[@drdumphole]

I'd buy it as is.

[@rezmedic57]

Beautiful blade with the imperfections

[@billmixson3218]

Beast of a blade........good to see you forging & the weather is just right.............

[@FireCreekForge]

Thank you. Yes the weather is perfect right now

[@kzarnold3678]

Interesting stuff 🤔. Still looks good better luck next time I hope you give this pattern another try

[@jerryhoffman9833]

Beautiful pattern….. hope you try it again!

[@caballitodehierro27]

Man, that looks beautiful, sometimes mistakes make the piece even better, there are thousands of examples, I sell it, if you don't feel satisfied with the result, sell it for less, but in my opinion that looks awesome

[@robertr4193]

At least it is a proof of concept and the pattern does look pretty good.

[@devinhardy1832]

Bummer it didn’t work out! That pattern is awesome! Hopefully you can make it work next time

[@sulliken77]

I think the cracks just adds to the design.. looks awsome. Even though I know that it's a fault in the knife. :-)

[@jeffallen1151]

Awesome blade!! You sir do some amazing work

[@FireCreekForge]

Thank you!!

[@GreenBeetle]

Great video. Are you worried it overheated in the canister? If that's the case you shouldn't have really lost much carbon, just pushed it around a mm or two. The grain structure and alloys are not uniform but it should be uniformly hardenable. I don't think anyone who buys a canister knife made with powdered steel that crosses the edge expects uniformity though. I personally found powdered steel makes a slightly porous edge and try to avoid it along the cutting surface but I see other guys who don't seem to have that problem. It's a great looking pattern I'd be tempted to finish it out. There's people here who seem interested in buying it! But if you can't stand behind it hats off to your integrity.

[@FireCreekForge]

Thanks Steve, I do think it overheated and the canister did appear compromised, but I didn't think much of it at the time. Then I found the striations and it looks like oxygen got to some of the canister and started burning out carbon, hence the lighter color to the lines. While it all welded back up ok, there's obvious issues, so I'll have to try the pattern again sometime.

[@PseudoSamurai686]

Next time you have to cut up stuff into little pieces like this try heading to a second hand store and picking up a cookie cooling grate or an old sieve and setting them up with a clamp to just catch stuff as it falls. I've had good luck doing that when woodworking. Then you just give it a shake and half the cleanup of the parts is done

[@FireCreekForge]

Great idea!!

[@bishopcorva]

That is one of the unfortunate things of forging experimentation. However now, after you get a template drawn and cut out for it. You could possibly cut it up into little pieces and forge it back into another piece billet style. Like cut it in half, leave the handle and have the blade to use as the moving platen. The rest get cut into triangles or whatever and stacked, heated forged together again and it drawn back out. Heck even the handle could be heated and folded in to make a new folded billet to work off of. Keep that piece that was cut off initially to work back in to rehomogenize it all back together probably to experiment to see how well that result would turn out.

[@13Nagash13]

I get why you wouldnt put a handle on it and sell it as a finished project. But I'm sure you could recoup some lost costs by selling it as is, a non functional display piece. The pattern is amazing. The overheat flaws make it a special talking piece to own.

[@christophersherratt7299]

Next time you cut up small pieces like that keeping them separate from fillings attache a bar underneath about 3 inch away from stock with strong Magnets to catch filling and the small cut section will just drop of or use glue gun on end of work piece that's more easier And yes it wouldn't hurt to clean up messy work area leads to messy working environment that's how thing's can go horribly wrong SO START TODAY 1HR CLEAN UP AT END OF EACH DAY IT'S GOOD PRACTICE FOR THE NEXT DAYS WORK WITH A MUG OF COFFEE IN HAND GOOD START TO EVERY DAY

[@davidbolton3376]

Build a wood base or plaque and make it a wall hanger. At least then you can sell it as a display and recoup some money from it.

[@00waldo]

Couldn't you sell it as a display/decorative piece? It looks fantastic and definitely something i wouldn't mind having on the wall.

[@supperwelder]

That is 1 cool pattern and the blade seemed sound😮 but definitely not one to sell I'd finish it out and keep it for personal use ❤❤

[@Tzarkyl]

I would have used a magnet on the end to contain the cubes

[@_BLANK_BLANK]

Yeah. I was going to say as soon as you said the crack thing. It definitely sounds like it got hot short. Tbh, it could potentially still be usable. But you wouldnt really know without some micrographs if it did or didn't end up with some wierd microstructures.

[@13ClaytonM]

There are thousands of people that buy knives for shelves bro, like 100x more than ones entering chopping competitions. I sell knives and people say oh i dont need a belt clip option, its for show... waste sometimes but people like pretty stuff

[@scrappyddz]

it's fine.... admirable that it's not good enough to sell, but it is good enough to give away to a friend - with a disclaimer.

[@tombeard2288]

that was a very interesting pattern,it's a shame that the damage occured but it was a learning experience

[@billwoehl3051]

Separating different small sized material? Cymatics, certain frequencies, will separate the large from the small, one material from a different material, etc.

[@superkjell]

In one of the Forged In Fire episodes, David Baker mentioned that they had to replace the forges due to all the flux

[@FireCreekForge]

Yep forge lining is a consumable material supply in a shop

[@rhodie33]

Cool pattern.

[@CarterSchonwald]

It kinda looks like it’s more a diffusion / erosion mixing between the two alloys with a phase transition that gives those tiny islands that look like fragments. Might be worth asking the knife steel nerds dude for his perspective.

[@gidi1899]

beautiful

[@patrickclark6261]

I love the theory! When you get the temp right it's going to be a sweet knife.

[@Zodliness]

I bet there's plenty people be proud to own that knife. Maybe you could start a line in less than perfect blades, then it's not a total loss. 😉👍

[@nogoodcops6557]

It went theought the 2x4 with no issue. Can you expand on why you think the knife is not worth selling?

[@philmcglen6194]

Right, hear me out! Can you make a knoife and then magnetise it? 🤔. Oh and thank you for filling the cannister like that! My tism and OCD thank you! 😂