Making A Nitinol Knife. Part 1: Forging Nitinol

Part 2 • Making A Nitinol Knife...
Looks like I've been sent original US Navy nitinol and asked to make a 7" blade! I got to squish it out into a usable piece and forge it into a knife! I've been hiding a bow and shoes in my videos in honor of my family, have you noticed?
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[@SignalJones]

"Making A Nitinol Knife. Part 1: Forging Nitinol" me, a guy with a welding degree and limited experience with Inconel, Nitinol's nicer younger brother, grabbing the popcorn and sitting down: "ooo this is gonna be hilarious" for the record guys: both inconel and Nitinol are "super" alloys. they don't really like working under hammers. or working at all. they machine like trying to cut steel with peanut-butter.

[@timothylongblacksmithing6743]

"trying to cut steel with peanut butter" had me laughing I had an oddly similar aggravating experience with some Aluminum-Nickel Bronze

[@bagochips834]

@@timothylongblacksmithing6743 that's a whole lot of words to say you had to sharpen your cutting tools after that

[@jeverettrulz]

content like this is precisely why this is one of the best knife/metal working channels on the Tube! thank you for sharing

[@Jbrimbelibap]

There's also Timothy Dyck if you like titanium stuff

[@RealNickTheCoolest]

Only knife maker I continuously watch and subscribe to here on yt. But I’ve been subscribed for a long time and been watching even longer so I have no interest in watching others. It’s more about the personality and content here specifically to me, because it’s what I basically grew up with. It’s a comfort space when I watch.

[@LilyBlossom1337]

Jesus, that stuff's a nightmare to work with. Solid attempt, man. Very educational.

[@krissteel4074]

And in this episode, a man sends Steve out to get a long weight, 4ft of fallopian tubing and a can of elbow grease

[@samnottheotherone4363]

Don't forget that left handed hammer.

[@joetaylor486]

And very bright orange sparks for the cut-off wheels.

[@SupremeShuckle]

@@samnottheotherone4363 left handed screwdriver

[@jimcherry685]

I once sent a kid to the tool room to get me a metric crescent wrench. It took an hour, but darned if he didn't come back with a real metric crescent wrench.

[@CHNO-ev4rg]

Has he tried quenching in blinker fluid yet?

[@deadrussianliberal2897]

It seems like you need diamond saw blade, adamantium hammer and dragon scale anvil to work with this stuff. Not to mention nuclear reactor core to heat it. Not worth, considering the end result would be a Knife of Corrosion Resistance+2

[@sirmontag]

You're running into fairly normal issues when trying to forge titanium alloys, I've been there. Short answer is that outside of expensive specialty equipment, stock removal is the only viable way to get anything out of it. And then when you go to try stock removal, it just chews through belts like no one's business, ceramic ones included. I have two different 50% completed titanium 6alv knives and I ran into the exact same problems when trying forge it - embrittlement, work hardening even when heated to glowing orange, and severe oxidation. Between the embrittlement and oxidation, my attempt at forging a usable knife was a complete failure. It is a knife shaped object though, so at least I have that. My second attempt, stock removal with a 2x72 belt grinder and ceramic belts was expensive - it ate ceramic belts like no one's business, it was both gummy and very hard to get anywhere, and it threw blinding white hot sparks everywhere. I got the rectangular block ground down to the knife blank outline and gave up after using a little over $100 worth of ceramic belts just to get to that point. I estimate that finishing it would be another two hundred dollars worth of belts, if I can even get a useable edge out of the end product and not just a wedge. Titanium alloys don't hold a edge worth a darn from everything I've seen. I think as knife materials go, they're right up there with plastic - can it stab something a few times? Sure. Will it have a keen, useable edge that can cut stuff a few hundred times before needing to be sharpened? Not really. So I've got tantalum next up on my list of 'exotic materials knives aren't made out of for very good reasons but I'm still going to try' list 😂

[@_DST0NE_]

As many times as I've rewatched old videos, I've NEVER seen the hidden Easter eggs. Bravo sir.. bravo. Now I have to watch them all again lol

[@jenniferjackson5243]

My father Gerald Julien was one of the forefathers of Nitinol research. He has dozens of patents and worked with Boeing and the Navy for decades. He passed away in 2020 but would have been intrigued to see you trying to work with Nitinol. We had an industrial laser operation and still struggled with this material.

[@GreenBeetle]

TY

[@JakHart]

As soon as you said your final words in this video, my first thought was "how can you leave me hanging"? And then 🎶. That hit me in my heartstrings.

[@paulrichardspencer]

It's usually single crystal cast or rolled, then cnc cut, with an industrial forge, with large environmentally controlled ovens and cooled oil quench machines. My ex partner used to work for a company that did this for airplane components and let me tell you the machines in operation are amazing and absolutely huge. I wouldn't feel bad if you cannot achieve the precision, i mean, the presses are inside ovens that keep the metal at temperature and the atmosphere inside said presses/rollers/forges is argon or some other inert gas to remove the oxidisation problem, something you will find extremely difficult as you cannot do hands off forging.

[@GreenBeetle]

Ya, thanks. I called a couple places about rolling and that’s what they said. Heat blanket, inert atmosphere. Ridiculously expensive to roll a piece they wouldn’t even quote it.

[@paulrichardspencer]

@@GreenBeetle totally, just to start those peices of equipment costs thousands. I remember being told they're on 24hrs a day and only turned off for maintenance, seeing as it takes 24hrs to heat everything back up to temp and ensure repressurisation of the system. The company that my ex worked for also had large orders booked upto a year in advance, so their forge time is often entirely spoken for. If you were to go to some of the bigger companies and speak to someone in their quality control department you may have more luck as they do small test runs fairly often to check the metals on output meet specifications and may be willing to work on the scale you need.

[@thecountbassy_]

Going around in circles, cracking valuable material left and right, congratulations, you’re a certified materials engineer! XD

[@GreenBeetle]

Yesssss

[@beezo2560]

Wow, what a cantankerous material to work with. My hats off to you for staying in there and battling it out. ...still looking for Easter eggs 😄

[@brysonalden5414]

I'd never heard of this stuff until you posted this wonderful video, so thanks for expanding my knowledge. As noted by another commenter, this is why I watch. The way it behaves and the grain structure are enough for me to know I'm better off sticking with materials I know.

[@gregmead2967]

I've been watching forging videos for a year or so, and I found this one fascinating. So many of them seem to go perfectly. It was really interesting to see how you were NOT able to successfully forge this.

[@trueherbsman]

you are so fearless and that's what we enjoy about your attitude dude

[@grovermatic]

Reminds me of a video I watched a bunch of years ago (hell, it could've been you) about a guy who answered a viewer question of whether or not you can forge a carbide tool. It just shattered like glass.

[@contra009]

Chandler Dickinson did one like that, if memory serves

[@GreenBeetle]

yes, chandler. i think alec steele tried forging titanium too.

[@grovermatic]

@@GreenBeetle IIRC, just bare titanium was fairly easy to forge. The orange-yellow oxide made it look like he was hammering on a piece of colby cheese. 🧀

[@2FuNnY4uDude]

@@GreenBeetle Ilya forged Blade's sword from titanium in man at arms. actual problem was the grinding later on. as has to be expected because machining titanium is hell aswell.

[@bagochips834]

@@2FuNnY4uDude titanium is like that perfect mix of gummy and firm to just eat your tools

[@numbnutz9398]

You know W2 makes a nice knife. And it won't BREAK YOUR ANVIL! That stuff is crazy. Maybe you need to use forge of Nidavellir for proper results?

[@DavidMoonForge]

Lol, "How good does this steel stack up against other steels for edge retention? Ha ha, not so good from what I can see." I love all the work and effort just to see if it's possible without any real reward. I love all your videos, nice work!

[@GreenBeetle]

🤛

[@Aleeknives]

The struggle is real! Great job sticking with it!

[@barthooghwerff1682]

Good job trying new things! Really chalenging yourself with this! Great stuff keep it up

[@clayrobins1284]

LOL, I love this. Thanks for the experiment!!

[@jamessnodgrass7360]

Wow!!!!!!!! I've never seen anything act even similar to that Steve. You gave it a helluva try. Only the navy would invest in something so difficult and expensive.

[@Noah-hz5ll]

We frequently use nitinol products in the operating room (I'm a certified surg. tech). It's used a lot in kidney stone retrievals (wire baskets) as well as guide wires for the bone anchors we use in various tendon/ligament repairs. Stuff is indestructible, just so flexible and tough. You can practically tie it in a knot and it springs back to original form.

[@BikeFitnessCoaching]

Big difference between NiTiNOL50 (that you are using) and NiTiNOL60 (what GB is using)

[@Noah-hz5ll]

@@BikeFitnessCoaching what I mean to say is, bendy metal make surgeon happy face

[@MarekTabi]

Another Nice educational video 😊 Nice 👍

[@chopkins_]

what a strange material. I can't wait to see how it goes in part 2!

[@dalevodden1359]

That stuff just don't want to forget crazy

[@tinkeringaround6241]

Nice job Steve ! You worked on it longer than I would have, that stuff is no bueno

[@1BoneChip1]

For an easier material to work into a blade that's in the EOD realm is frag. I've done a few projects with it before. I'd be happy to send you some if you'd like.

[@shawnglover887]

Great videos man!👊

[@b2bogster]

"You can be in my arms anytime" bahahaha.... not my choice in music but keep bring the heat man! Also, your SPEC ops ability to get crazy materials is great. Perhaps a camo Damascus T-100 robot next? You got this bro! Great stuff man and more please!

[@ilmbutton]

Awesome video Steve! The oxidation was insane, really cool to watch. Keep up the great work, its always a highlight of my week when you post a new video.

[@GreenBeetle]

thanks, man. what are you working on?

[@DannyRiskit]

Vintage Green Beetle shirt at the beginning of the video! I found mine this weekend while cleaning out the garage!

[@jerryjohnsonii4181]

Very interesting material !!!!!!!!!!!!

[@codybates2419]

Thats nuts.

[@ddayinvader6487]

Wow! That is some tough shit!

[@lonelyplanet1080]

Bro, you're pretty badass..I really enjoy watching your work..thanks👍

[@MCsCreations]

Pretty interesting metal, dude! Fantastic work! 😃 I hope the next one works out! Stay safe there with your family! 🖖😊

[@fxnepilogue]

Lol nice shirt... I remember that meme. I can see KZbin freaking out about it 😂

[@larrybud]

Best forging channel around. Anybody can film them banging on hot metal with no dialog (and dang, those are BORING!!), but the descriptions, explanations and failures are why this is great stuff.

[@SeaforgedArtifacts]

Knifemaker's adamantium.... Ridiculous to make, hard to shape, Soo worth it.

[@curm1778]

Next, Steve makes a knife out of frozen butter. Word on the street is that it's fantastic to work at low temperatures, and, in the long term, it can kill you by getting your right in the heart.

[@Smallathe]

Impressive test... Kodus for trying!

[@robertbailey8299]

Steve I noticed from your first videos to now and always wondered why switched forges and noticed alot of people have your last type , does it work better or what, been subscribed since beginning ,really enjoy your videos they're honest and you represent most of us that don't have million dollar equipment,keep up good work thank you for all you do

[@GreenBeetle]

I switched because it came w a forced air burner that I thought I would like more than I do.

[@corwin32]

6:00 "...so I'm going to use my bare hands throughout this episode"

[@Mr-Mojo92]

Now that is some insane material to trying in Forge out into a knife wow always ♥️ to ⌚ your there so interesting and easy enjoy Watching your videos ♥️✌

[@USAUSAM82]

Nitinol!? 😧 Thats crazy stuff!

[@michaelrobertson8795]

Very cool I've got one of a type of memory metal eyeglass frames

[@thelos3999]

This reminds me of world of warcraft when you try to max blacksmithing skill. You have to get it to max level, then take a quest to learn how to craft special gear. This is what green beetle is doing here. Good luck on your quest sir!

[@nickshepich8728]

I was just talking about NiTinol with my chemistry teacher yesterday!

[@CreativeDailyWorks]

I love you 😘 respect from Cambodia

[@cainvclark3249]

Man you messed up real good 😂 Love it

[@scambroselauntrellus3681]

This makes me realize how lucky humanity is to have steel.

[@justtouseutube]

Great content, Steve. Iron Man will have to hold off on the new socks. What was the song/artist at the end? Good pick

[@evaderknives]

I kept wondering how you were gonna pull off a part 2. Man, you are almost as stubborn as I am when it comes to not giving up, but sometimes it's the only way, hahaha(not giving up that is)... Hope all is well, take it easy.

[@kknives_switzerland]

1050°C should give you 63HRC 👌🏻 Stuff really is a nightmare to work with, have fun 😅😂

[@oneshotme]

Wow some how I missed this one. I would have just sent that sucker back to dude. I guess there is a reason you don't see many knives made from this on the market Enjoyed your video and I gave it a Thumbs Up

[@billbaggins]

🤣 Was just thinking about this yesterday, 5 min of google convinced me that nitinol is stoopid. Now I know for sure that I wont waste any more braintime on the idea😁

[@shotou]

Wow that was experience in frustration.

[@billwoehl3051]

Cheep roller for sheet, two offset cylinders opposite direction for rotation, and the work fed in the direction of exit, and the offset comes closer, squeezing the work until it spits it back out towards you, and at a relatively safe speed.

[@Feralhyena]

This is the 5th Titanium forging video I've seen on this website, and this is 1 of 2 where the material was unworkable. Keep trying, GB.

[@MW-jm6bj]

That shirt though 😁

[@SakeofScienceChrisKammel]

You intentionally torture yourself and I respect that! Good video.

[@michaelboelke6076]

I just watched your KZbin “Forging a knife from springs - part 2”. Needless to say I’m an admirer of you work. Your smithing is neat, precise and well executed. And the bonus is always a superbly forged blade. Thank you for the excellent videos. I would ask if your knives are for sale? I look forward to your next video. Good forging.

[@GreenBeetle]

whatever i have is at greenbeetlegear.com or goes up on instagram

[@patrickdean9797]

the bow. was on the self behind you with the aquire currency shirt

[@fuggleeartshow]

Nitinol is weird stuff. One of our plants at work makes it. Super strong and has shape memory when properly heat treated. We made tires out of strands of nitinol for the Mars rover for NASA among other things.

[@ncsaddlehunter77]

If the beetle can't make it into a blade then it's not happening lol. Great video

[@sayajooj9568]

Epic

[@th-pw8pn]

I got some "SM100" bar stock and made a folder blade and 2 fixed blades from it. The material was a problem to work with from start to finish... The performance as a blade material was also not worth the issues of producing a blade from it. I still have the folder, just to remind me never to buy any more!

[@Nurple17]

Clearly, the answer to forging this is doing so in the vacuum of space.

[@kingdarkem]

.....that seems like some forged in fire sneaky trick to test the smiths...

[@lockolot6704]

Whelp I guess I’m not sleeping. Got green beetle vid to watch 🤷🏼‍♂️

[@shanharlmall]

As a metallurgical engineer I love seeing the phase diagram but sitting here crying at the attempt to work it. Almost seems like it could be cast but its melting is somewhere around 2300F so..use a coal forge if a gas cant make it and see if a heated mold could accept it, maybe even cool it while in the forge lowering temp gradually. Crazy stuff.

[@michellebradshaw2801]

This is really cool. I have no idea the science behind most of so maybe I'm stupider then the Nitinol

[@FraustByte]

Steve (GB) send a piece up to Canada to Tim Dyck Black Smith he deff loves playing with the exotic metals

[@contra009]

This stuff belongs directly in the art bucket. Not that there was any danger I'd try it myself, but thanks for suffering

[@Derekj-gv2cp]

i would really like to see you do some forging with REX 121

[@billwoehl3051]

Known about nitinol for a while, am curious what bolo's on a nitinol cable would do, if cooled, then hit the target, would the warmth make the nitinol react?

[@darkdragonburns]

Maybe an induction forge could help out with that. Maybe try and get a sponsor? Or in you have enough to invest in one. Very good educational experiment. I like seeing smiths trying new metals and alloys out.

[@LorenXLX]

“Number 1, 2, 4, 4, 5, 6” lol!

[@vpolarbear]

Hey Mam, Love Watching your Videos they are Awesome!! when i was watching SHURAP make a cannister knife Right befor he closed the cannister he put Some Pepper, A Chili Pepper and maybe one more thing but after heating and smashing a few times the Cannister shell came right off.. crazy but i thought maybe you knew of it? anyway your amazing man!!

[@IshanDeston]

Was the bow in 14:05, but you really hid those shoes! :-P

[@GreenBeetle]

They’re easier than the bow!

[@barking.dog.productions1777]

My suggestion: crucible and a mold. Hard to believe that it wo't hold an edge as hard and brittle as that stuff is. If you find the secret to working it it should be like working ceramic and keep an edge forever...

[@MuppetSlayer]

@green beetle what temp gun are you using?

[@hannemannironworks1651]

Man that stuff looking like an absolute pain in the rear to work! Titanium works so much better in my experience with TI but I’ve never worked nitinal

[@tylerdurden3722]

Yeah, both metals have very high melting points, and both retain their strength closer to their melting points (especially nickel...hence why it's alloys are used in jet engines). Titanium is very reactive and becomes more reactive the hotter it gets. Normally, it is protected by a layer of Titanium oxide that forms very quickly when exposed to air, water, anything it can take oxygen from. Titanium Oxide is very hard...so as you cut, new Titanium oxide froms very fast. (it's why something inert like argon to keep the oxygen away helps a bit). On top of that, when nice and hot, Titanium will steal the carbide from carbide tools and form Titanium Carbide (which is one of the top hardest things known to man...close to the hardness of a diamond...Tungsten Carbide tools are sometimes coated with this stuff to make Tungsten Carbide more wear resistant lol). Can also form a ceramic called Titanium Tungsten Carbide (also very hard), if you feed it some Tungsten Carbide on a platter. Titanium is a poor conductor of heat, and to make it even worse has a low specific heat capacity. So the heat builds up in one spot, and does so fast. As you peel off the inert Titanium Oxide coating, it causes the freshly exposed, extremely reactive Titanium to react with oxygen (which is a very exothermic reaction...that reaction produces lots of heat...like when Aluminium combines with oxygen to produce lots of heat in a thermite reaction) generating even more heat in that spot and is confined there by the Titanium that isn't a good conductor of heat. More heat makes Titanium even more reactive, causing all this to happen faster...creating a feedback loop, contained in this insulated spot. Titanium deforms easily and turns to gum as it heat up very quickly as oxygen is fed on a platter for reactions. Titanium also reacts with water to form Titanium Oxide, so water plus exposed Titanium isn't ideal either. So: 1. Insufficient cooling of the spot that's being worked = Bad 2. Water + heat + removing oxide layer = Bad 3. Oxygen + heat + removing oxide layer = very bad 4. Tungsten Carbide or other carbides = bad 5. Even Nitrides = bad Nickle has an extremely high melting point, which adds to the problem. The same things that give these two metals in this metal compound their respective amazing properties, make them a hard to work IF you try to force them to behave like steel.

[@michaelmarsh4013]

Gak! What torture :/ I am on the edge of my chair for the second part. I wonder if the finished blade will be too brittle? I wonder if there will be a finished blade? Great stuff, as usual!

[@GreenBeetle]

🙏👍

[@douglascampbell9809]

This stuff is like AR500 armor plate or Armet steel . Without the big boy tools it super hard to use. There was a bike frame company that tried to make frames out of Armet tubes in the early 90's. They had tons of problems because they went through so many grinding wheels. I think the finally just abandoned the product.

[@vikinger-wolf2897]

The forbidden popsicle

[@shanemcguire170]

Steve- Just a thought on the Nitinol Steel. Is there a possibility the round piece could be chucked into a lathe and you could make turnings of the Nitinol, then place those turnings into a canister? Maybe then add some 15N20 powder to the canister with the Nitinol shavings? Would this make the material more usable for a knife. Yes it would be a mixed steel knife, but it could yield an interesting Damascus pattern, plus make the material more workable for the knife... Just a thought??

[@GreenBeetle]

Good thought but it apparently requires percussive arc welding to weld to other stuff.

[@dragonwaterforge]

Holy looks like forging brass

[@michaelrobertson8795]

High pressure, high temperature less shock?

[@davidb2416]

Is there any place to easily order this stuff in a reasonable size online?

[@cwmoss4124]

What would really be cool if you could make the handle of the knife from the horn of a unicorn, that would certainly make it one of a kind

[@93matarl]

cool to see you try titanium, but there are other types of titanium that are easier to work.

[@brandonbenjamin9452]

Hey cool

[@dilligafdude9434]

14:46 nice shirt. xD

[@Pablo668]

Well, that must have been really frustrating. Nice bowl and shoes......I bet you have my little ponies secreted around the place too.

[@GreenBeetle]

barbies, hatchimals, unicorns

[@GreenBeetle]

and Grogu

[@Pablo668]

@@GreenBeetle ha ha ha ha!!

[@shayanthis]

I have that shirt!

[@GreenBeetle]

6 dollar t-shirts

[@MrCrazyjayh2010]

Got the notification for your new nitinol vid but it says its private.

[@natemathewson5200]

Hey I caught the shoes at 10:04 on my own woohoo

[@GreenBeetle]

Woot woot