Making a Knife From Pure Silver

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[@WillStelterbladesmith]

Use code WILLSTELTER50 to get 50% off your first Factor box at bit.ly/3JmwQbS!

[@rossgebert-goldsmith183]

You are so awesome I need more of you in my life less of me hahaha

[@dakotaknoble2556]

Hey idk if you know about Ceirro gordo the ghost town but a guy is rebuilding the town and exploring the mines. Might be able to do a colab and make something cool with the silver from the mine. He made a ring with another creator but wants to do more

[@Temp0raryName]

It needs to be straighter, sharper & harder if you really want to have a decent werewolf-fighting knife!

[@paulrichardspencer]

Top tip with silver casting, throw your mould in the furnace for a while before pouring, that way you'll get better flow through the mould and less cooling before you want it. Mum was a silver smith, learned a load about it as a kid, i have a lot of respect for jewelers that can turn metal into beautiful jewelry. Same reason i have respect for smiths in general really.

[@terrenusvitae]

Sterling work, Will.

[@tamus41]

😅

[@LazzerCurry]

Well played!

[@oatechaosincycles]

You win

[@whoshotashleybabbitt4924]

Hoy-oh!

[@Eyes0penNoFear]

Pound it 🤜

[@Spronkadunk]

The dad in me when you said "That went very poorly" and I'm like "Yeah it hardly poured at all."

[@ThatWorks]

Good stuff🙌 I've always said just doing something is the best way to learn!

[@whoshotashleybabbitt4924]

So many great lines, Will! “That should… might, could, do it” “I don’t know if thats what you are supposed to do, but its what we are going to do. Because i have the patience of an 8 year old.”

[@mrkiky]

"Turns out someone already made those" 😂

[@anthonybrown6413]

"This is dumb, let's go to the belt grinder."

[@h2energynow]

Amazing how she said yes she liked it at the end.

[@PotentialFireHazard]

3:11 "That went very pourly" -Will Stelter, 2023

[@billmatthews9813]

"Isiah, why don't you shut up." That had me laughing pretty hard.

[@B.McAllister]

Will going all willynilly losing all those silver filings. He obviously doesn't care but it does make me cringe to see all that silver dust being discarded when it can be saved hahah.

[@EricRoy85]

Was thinking it too, cause I'm cheap

[@erikcourtney1834]

Yeah me too. Just glad it wasn’t gold. Luckily silver is pretty cheap.

[@adelheidsnel5171]

at least Alex saves his gold dust

[@goyde]

yeah i cringed when I saw him on the belt grinder with it. My one daughter is a jewelry designer and she would be freaking out. but that being said, Will is awesome and love his stuff.

[@B.McAllister]

@@goyde Hahah I know silver isn't worth as much as gold. And all that dust gone to the workspace and quench/sanding tanks. I guess I am just used to seeing jewelers sweep up after every cut or manipulation of the piece in some way like Pablo or Scaffoal. Like I said, Will clearly doesn't care. I'm just thinking of all the other pieces that could have been made from the filings. I mean, taking a soft metal like silver to the belt is just going to eat it in seconds like a hot knife to butter. Will acting like he's working on a Damascus blade hahah. It's actually hilarious.

[@PurpleHaze2k9]

The bar getting stuck in the mold is the reason ingot molds walls are angled. Allows it to pop out after cooling

[@csskates]

"I'm going to experiment with this by whacking on it and seeing what it does" Will Stelter and every teenage boy ever

[@saginawdan]

Been there...done that.😅

[@Agropelters]

Always wonderful to watch you half-ass your work.

[@justinbanks2380]

Lol, I love that I'm not the only one who uses one tool, then realized after a bit, 'oh wait's I have this other tool that is much better suited for this! Lol

[@JohnJones-lb3bd]

As a silversmith I was screaming inside watching you work that silver lol but you got there in the end and looks great will

[@aloberdorf4579]

Just me, and little knowledge, but......back in the late 60's, we had a HS Shop teacher, who showed us how to make Silver, Wide Band Rings out of Silver, Franklin and Kennedy 50 cent pieces were used..all we used was a table spoon. and light peening, with constant rotation, till desired width was achieved, Then drilled and filed to size...Viola !! Pretty cool stuff to me.

[@checoleman8877]

So... Just an idea. Put the silver shot in the mold and place the whole mold in the forge with a pipe like you would for heat treating. Would be a nice even heat that would melt the silver into a perfect bar.

[@JasonGroom]

Silver is great, it looks amazing, it's cheap enough you don't need to worry so much about saving every particle like you do gold, and it is just hard enough to hold and take shape nicely but not need heat for anything other than softening it back up.

[@patiolunch]

Wow a lot of these KZbin smiths really just cut out the profile on a bandsaw so it was really nice to see you forge out the whole profile, it was an amazing job forging

[@Daves_Not_Here_Man_76]

they're not smiths if they only do stock removal. They're literally losers. Losing stock instead of using it.

[@travwalters8110]

I'd love to see these for sale! Any material really! As a chef, and a lover of bracelets, its a subtle nod to two things I love.

[@mattlaneblue]

i always get excited to see your new content pop up in my subscriptions

[@vandewt800xl]

When you started drawing it out, you could very obviously see what your hammer work was doing. Much easier to see on camera than hot steel. You could see the deformation from each hammer blow. It makes a great (tho expensive) way to show hammer technique and what the metal is doing.

[@DeathclawJedi]

ginger orange ... goldfish? Carrot! I duno why but that little interaction during your sponsor bit just made me chuckle.

[@switch176]

Love it! Silver is money!

[@alma4938]

When doing an ingot mold it's better to use a layer and of tracing paper because it makes a nonstick layer just under where the metal contacts each other.

[@isaacbenrubi9613]

This is possibly the most important video Will has ever made. No longer will he be plagued by roving werewolf attacks.

[@dmark8993]

Did you forgot about silverware

[@dcallan812]

Just to finish the look a couple of diamond set in the scale to look like pins. 😘👌 Great video 2x👍

[@vettepicking]

A trick I use is to carbon my mold with the acetylene torch. It prevents metal from bonding , u made basic silver solder which can bond to most metals.

[@ve7hun]

"I don't actually know anything." Untrue! But still hilarious. Great video.

[@martinchiarelli2582]

Would love to see these for sale! In any metal really. Big up from Italy, Will. Ciao! 🇮🇹❤️🔪

[@simeonmarkind6435]

Will - this is amazing! I started working with silver as a hobby in the beginning of this year and have been recently working on a project to reuse my scrap silver to cast, forge, and mill it into sheet before raising. Throughout the, (so far unsuccessful), process I have often wondered wistfully at what it would be like to try and do this work with you/Alec and how much easier it would be with a power hammer; although after seeing this video, I think a legit kiln would be a more helpful addition since we only have torches! It's also funny to me to see a blacksmith's approach to a jeweler's materials - I can imagine the horror on my instructor's face seeing someone use a belt sander or a band saw to just lop off material like that.

[@nottheoneyourelookingfor0504]

As a goldsmith, I too cringed at the sight of all that silver flying around without being reclaimed. But… if you make as much money making a video as he does, you can afford to lose a half ounce or so. Throughout I was trying to stop myself from stopping the video and commenting pointers for him. But, as most content creators don’t read comments this far off from publishing, not much point in it.

[@chrisulmer3925]

"Oh wait I have a bandsaw" Hahahaha Gold! err... Silver!

[@dropebk6069]

As a jewelry maker its great to see you forging some precious metals! Would like to see you try mokume Gane sometime!

[@Lorddanielrushton371]

Great job. And that was a beautiful Sheath she made.

[@gregtheredneck1715]

I saw silver knife in the title, and I assumed you were preparing yourself for a possible werewolf apocalypse. The bracelet is cool too.

[@dangolfishin]

Dropped this vid just in time for my break at work

[@DevilDog36th]

Mokume gane candy canes would be a fun Christmas project!

[@miles_world]

That's an awesome project. Good work!

[@ducomaritiem7160]

When using a steel mold for casting silver, first cover the inside with a layer of coal with a candle flame. Do not use a steel ladle for melting, silver will stick to it. Use a ceramic crucible. Use borax or boric acid on the silver when melting it. Melt it hot, it's ready to poor when the molten surface is showing "moving" patterns...I speak from experience.

[@Mmongoose13]

Really looking forward to seeing a mokume video, ive always wanted to try making it!

[@auroravivyn4827]

As someone who does metal casting at my university and at home, I was thinking through half the video "what are you doing". At the same time, you're working with what you have and I can respect that. If you do get into metal casting, getting crucibles would be an important part. I prefer graphite-clay since I've had two fused silica crucibles split on me while in the furnace, but that's just my experience. As for mold making, which is the most important part given it defines the shape of your object, I would suggest an oil-bonded sand like Petrobond. It is my preferred molding system, as sodium silicate needs to be mixed up and should use a CO2 tank, greensand is just annoying to maintain and I have heard that cores out of greensand are not the best, and the resin bonded sands are probably out of the scope of small scale. If you are doing jewelry or anything with a lot of small detail, you would want investment plaster and to use a lost-wax or lost-plastic system. As for making patterns so you can get your geometry in the mold, I prefer 3d printed patterns. It's super easy to do and with a bit of CAD knowledge, you can make a lot of things. Some people do say that printed patterns are too light and shift easily, that can be true and you just have to be careful when ramming up your mold. The alternative is making them out of wood or another material you can shape easily. Of course, for investment casting, you need something that burns off entirely and wax or PLA does this just fine once they get up to temperature. There is of course tons more to learn.

[@Tr33fiddy]

Make some videos... 🤔

[@paullmight42]

Will's whole shop is littered in sliver dust now hahaha

[@gonefishing2012]

Silver mining at Wills

[@paullmight42]

no werewolves or vampires there, 100%@@gonefishing2012

[@coleudall14]

Definitely want to see videos about the Japanese alloys!!

[@wsoeltkakd]

does this mean you and Franchesca are going steady now? I'm not sure about blacksmith mating rituals... lol

[@bobbycresap4440]

Pretty sure she has a husband based off her Instagram. Could be wrong though.

[@wsoeltkakd]

@@bobbycresap4440 it was a joke...

[@corruptedo1]

Will Smelter

[@jetshadowcrow]

I'm really interested in your Mokume gane, and shibuichi. I personally, am having trouble making Mokume. First attempt, not all layers took. Second, puddle... made a nice chunk-o cuppronickle.😅

[@Donorcyclist]

A beautiful gift for a beautiful woman. Classy move, Will!

[@rhysjames8693]

Silver for monsters, steel for humans. Our boy out here about to undertake the trial of the grasses.

[@TheScheckig]

Love it. Silver smithing has been interesting to me since I was a boy

[@kennethjackson7574]

I have a silver pocket knife, certainly English, likely Georgian or Victorian era. All the metal is sterling, and the scales are genuine tortoise shell. It’s a gentleman’s fruit knife. The blade would tarnish, but never rust, and is certainly adequate for cutting open fruit.

[@frankierzucekjr]

Great job man, you do such great work

[@mt2020]

You have fire scale on your piece. That can be fixed. Also make sure you crucible is seasoned with flux.

[@supperwelder]

that is awesome I would definitely buy one especially if its in mokum or some other exotic steel like co- mia ❤❤😂😂😂

[@chizumulu]

A dagger style bracelet would be nice 🗡

[@Andy-jq5yw]

In the future try adding ~1% Germanium. It will significantly decrease the rate the silver tarnishes.

[@nottheoneyourelookingfor0504]

How does that affect the porosity especially when casting? Does it change the plasticity appreciably? I’ve worked with many silver alloys (most I’ve made, lots which are proprietary alloys from large manufacturers) and I know that sometimes a small amount can pretty drastically change the metals characteristics

[@Andy-jq5yw]

@@nottheoneyourelookingfor0504 Germanium is the additive that makes Argentum from normal sterling. It's very easily worked and even fuses readily.

[@ChipoSkippy]

I know Damascus ones would be super expensive but even steel or bronze ones would be very cool!

[@BvrlyHillbilly14]

Love the new mezzanine area for filming!

[@Trindal]

I’m a very broke man trying to get the tools I need to start knife making. I’ve also tried my hand at a few other hobbies, never with a fine metal of any kind… I’ve not even got to the actual template design yet, but all I can think about is all the silver was turned to dust! I know it’s not a lot, but I’ll never afford used blacksmith tools if they go up in value from precious metals being all in/over them!.. hahaha! I did see someone wax their saw blades before cutting gold with a jewelers saw. I think it was to make it easier to cut with but also so the wax can catch all the debris and make it easier to recover later.. I’m not sure on that, I only saw it and didn’t get an explanation though. Best of luck.

[@ScottRedstone]

I’ve been doing some silver work recently. Watching you melt the silver in a mold without flux was a bit maddening. Then I realized you were messing with us. BUT if you plan more silver work at $25/troy ounce you might want to catch the filings and remelt them. You will waste a lot of silver if you don’t. Get a rolling mill to flatten knife shape to desired thickness then get the hammers out for shaping. Will be faster. Oh, and pop finished bracelet in drum with stainless steel shot and tumble for a while to work harden and a great finish. Then liver of sulphur for patina. But I think you already know this.

[@TheG4m3r4life]

Being a hobbyist silversmith I'm freaking out at the mistakes, but also understandable for someone used to working with significantly harder metals.

[@mikhailbegg7395]

Would you say there was alot of wastage going on there?

[@matthewstrickland1773]

Yes

[@eliasaabjerg9977]

Wow please make more jewlery! You should work more in silver but get the right tools! It's not that expensive, 300€ and you can get all you need. Just get a grafite crucible, a bunch of casting sand and some sculpting wax! And if you can set up some acid to pickle it in. 5% Sulfuric acid 95% water. Might also be nice to look at working with 925 or 800 silver. 800 is generally used for utensils and 925 for jewlery.

[@nottheoneyourelookingfor0504]

We use ‘safety pickle’ mostly here in Canada. Sodium bisulfate. Easy to work with, not as much nasty fumes.

[@reallunacy]

I'd love to see that silver bracelet on your store.

[@jefftabor595]

You really shined on this one.

[@davidcanoy8579]

Watching you file reminds me that Adam Savage built a die filer I think he called it little table top reciprocal file. I only mention it because you like tools.

[@WillStelterbladesmith]

I’ve got one from the 1940’s, but it can be a bit restricting for stuff like this 🤙🏻

[@MASI_forging]

Great work as always 👏👏

[@JaapGrootveld]

I think every gold and silversmith is now having a hard time with their stomach, but it's a nice video.

[@Mynameis7nad]

Id like to see you sweep up the fileings and see how much you can get remeltig it.

[@Btines01]

Fun stuff Will! Looking good!

[@numbersabcdefg]

Do you have rollers? For shapers, flattening, curling etc

[@BretCoffman]

“Greaat Success!!”

[@astang1072]

As far as I know (which aint a lot), silver and copper just need to be heated to soften, the quench is unnecessary other than it cools it down faster to get working on it again.

[@nottheoneyourelookingfor0504]

He’s working with fine silver (99.9% purity), no copper. But, you are correct. Alloys of silver such as Brittania or Sterling, even coin silver don’t really need to be quenched. We quench to speed up cooling, reduce the amount of time exposed to air while hot, and to help remove oxides and fluxes more rapidly (when quenched in pickle solution, which is basically various types of acids and other chemicals. ..Yes, we goldsmiths have funny names for things as well.)

[@natehenneman6766]

In for silver and copper bracelets Will!

[@hayworth.handmade]

Have you ever worked with silver clay? Might be fun

[@lllllukeify]

you should put butter in the mould so it doesnt stick

[@nottheoneyourelookingfor0504]

Right. ‘I can’t believe it’s not casting!’ lol. 3 in 1 oil does the job just fine. And is a hell of a lot cheaper, with food prices these days.

[@MoxkyBashwell]

@12:00 jewelers everywhere. are screaming.

[@saginawdan]

More please! 😊

[@anthonyp4209]

I love that he shows the mistakes ...

[@justinbanks2380]

I mean, I know I'm late, but don't you have a forge? Could have either put the ladle in it to heat the silver, or put the silver in the mould with the silver?

[@justinbanks2380]

Or the kilns, lol

[@crazestyle83]

Silver and gold damascus next!

[@TroubledOnePaydirt]

Rolling it out works better than hammering it.

[@tonyn3123]

Isn't the swarf from grinding and cutting worth capturing and saving? At least a small percentage? Curious. Thanks.

[@nottheoneyourelookingfor0504]

As a one-off like he’s doing, not really. It’s not cost effective to refine such a small amount of silver (filings is the term most widely used when not machining). Most refiners require you send pounds of silver filings and other scraps. He might find it fun to try and refine some himself, or if he doesn’t mind experimenting, use the filings as decorations like in epoxy cast handle scales etc.

[@ohiovalleyforge5383]

I love this idea Will, I'm gonna make my girl a ring with this method i think

[@2276scorpion]

I was wondering if you looked into damascus soft steel with hard steel for a edge. If work correctly it would be like a steak knife.

[@Dexterityracing0311]

Gotta love the usmc flag in the video. Semper Fidelis! Are you still using the emt cert or are you contemplating being a paramedic?

[@carolbuzelim]

Silver is expensive but could be worse, could be gold hahaha

[@boothbytcd6011]

You preheat molds so you don't get steam explosions.

[@feelthepayne88]

Also it keeps the material in a liquid state longer which helps it flow better and reduces porosity and increases detail definition.

[@nottheoneyourelookingfor0504]

@@feelthepayne88what he didn’t do/show is to lightly coat the mold with some 3 in 1 oil. When it starts smoking, you know you’re getting to a good temp. Also the soot it creates makes for a good mold release.

[@podpod321]

Does Isaiah make the sped up dremel sound with his mouth post production? Or is he doing it while you're actually working

[@TheWolfster001]

Ya need to preheat the mold and sprinkle some graphite, that will stop it from sticking.. I use a graphite mold when working with gold & silver.. Wasting all that silver, Still Loved the Video. Thank you for sharing

[@nottheoneyourelookingfor0504]

I’ve never used graphite myself. I use 3 in 1 oil, lightly coat the mold, heat until it smokes, giving the heat and soot to act as a mold release.

[@Mounty621]

Very cool project.

[@R34P3R00005]

Love the vid, brother!

[@Dexterityracing0311]

Ceramic crucible and borax! You got this

[@rastapuswelling]

very nice bracelet. looks like it was a fun project. i got an off topic question. i hear in a lot of your videos that you breath a lot through your mouth. it might be coincidence that you are having a cold on those videos. still its something i have heard quite often now. I Wonder if your nasal passages are narrow. i got a friend whos got a condition like that and he's got problems with being tired all the time (though it does not seem like you have a problem with that). from what i understand it can hinder oxygen intake and cause sleeping problems (snoring). besides sleeping with an "oxygen machine" (i dont know the proper term) its treatable through an operation and apparently it can make a huge difference. i am NOT a doctor but i recognise the way you breathe and i think it might be a good idea to ask a doctor to check you for that (if you have'nt done that already). love your work though. Keep it up. and i look foreward to see more of that old truck.

[@tylershea8669]

Will wearing a hat is like Morgan wallen shaving his head

[@alryky30]

GO GRIZ!!!

[@jessestanley1690]

I’ve watched this channel so long I remember when you had a kids voice now you got a man’s voice lol 😂

[@macedindu829]

Silver is so amazing. It's surprising it's not more popular than it is. It looks stunning.

[@jakestevenson6388]

People have an idea it isn't that durable. I've had my silver engagement ring for near 7 years now (we will get round to the wedding!), and it's absolutely fine.

[@Sokar12345]

Silver has the annoying tendency to corrode and turn black. It can also stain your skin. Its better if alloyed which also makes it harder but its still an issue.

[@merkyworks]

Well done

[@Spiralem]

Casting? More like reflowing. 😆

[@markoconnell804]

Your dermal drill sounded like it was saying Nyah Nyah Nyah.