Making Mokume Gane From Quarters

[@nickjades]

Respect how real and honest your channel is, cool project

[@JPsBladeworks]

Thanks

[@magnoliaslim6802]

@@JPsBladeworks you're very welcome

[@davidshamblin5547]

I successfully did something similar by wrapping wire around the billet. It works.

[@RVsbladesnthangs]

It's Really cool to see you keep trying new things, that's the victory

[@JPsBladeworks]

I'm fun to try new things

[@Mordoria]

I used copper foil around the stack to hold mine together and heat them up. I then stood yhem up on end and crucshed them several times to make them into a random pattern. I use it in place of brass in handles. Nickels work really well for it.

[@AaronBosterMD]

Thank you for sharing, I hope you try again with this technique

[@JPsBladeworks]

I definitely will

[@larrys-qr6zr]

Btw. when Japanese make molkume they are welding pure silver to pure copper, silver's melting point is ~1760 F so they forge weld at ~1700 F, and they heavily flux.

[@JPsBladeworks]

I should have used flux more on this build.

[@Dustins_Woodworking]

So what do you do with them from this point? Do they get incorporated into a knife or are they made into necklaces or what?

[@JPsBladeworks]

Maybe a necklace or something

[@matthewmarting3623]

I tried this about 4 years ago with different methods and similar results. Your temperature control is so much better than mine was. These little billets are perfect for making jump rings or other jewelry. I’m not sure how to get a better pattern than wood grain without a lot more material manipulation before flattening.

[@JPsBladeworks]

This was my first time. I'm pretty happy with the result. The introduction of unwanted scale from my press was a bummer but luckily it wasn't too difficult to do so ime sure I'll make lots of cool things from it in the future.

[@dougkucsera-ry8fp]

Cool use of a old pair of tongs! Nothing wrong with doing that! Thanks for another interesting video!

[@JPsBladeworks]

Thanks for watching

[@Rosewayforge]

You could try my method of making it. Take a oxy acrylic torch and but 3to 4 bucks worth of quarters in a vice get them to sweat and squish with vice.

[@JPsBladeworks]

That's also a thought but I don't own n oxycetelyn torch

[@Rosewayforge]

@@JPsBladeworks I’d recommend a little portable one at Lowe’s for like 300 dollars. It’s also great with a rose bud tip you can take a Damascus bar and have a bar twisted clock wise and counter clockwise every inch

[@tegaidayt]

That was fun! Another heat stuff up and see what sticks episode!

[@JPsBladeworks]

It's fun to heat and stick

[@justin_ray]

Love the honesty. Christ Centered Ironworks has great videos on how to make a lot of blacksmith tools and on blacksmithing in general.

[@JPsBladeworks]

I enjoy his videos as well.

[@FranksNextchapter]

Another great video. Your honesty is inspiring,💙

[@JPsBladeworks]

Thanks. Glad you liked it

[@TheMotownPhilly]

Cool video. Hit those with the torch to set off the patterns.

[@JPsBladeworks]

Last night after I had everything done and edited I looked up tryrell knifeworks video he did not long ago and saw he did that and he also put it in ferric for a little bit and it made the copper contrast better. I'll do that next time for sure.

[@Millergohogs]

Wonder how it would do in a canister

[@JPsBladeworks]

I've seen people melt them but I'm not a fan. It just becomes a melted pool of copper.

[@brianfalls5038]

I'm thinking maybe try to weld those quarters together using a canister demascus style.

[@JPsBladeworks]

In a canister it's hard to keep it from over heating and just melting instead of forge welding.

[@brianfalls5038]

@JPsBladeworks I hear that ok. I am brand new to forging myself and I have never tried to weld coins together before

[@secondhandlyon2603]

Get a piece of pipe the quarters will fit into and a piece of round stock the same size as the quarters. You get the idea?

[@JPsBladeworks]

Yup

[@samuelsiedschlag4486]

We grow through experience. You got this.

[@JPsBladeworks]

Yes sir

[@merlynsfire1275]

nice honest learning video :) There were some shadows in the heat that looks like the stack hadn't properly heated all the way through, I think you just needed to chill and let them soak longer to get to the core. I'm in the UK I associated nickel and quarters but didn't know what the filler was so I learnt something cool and helpful today :)

[@JPsBladeworks]

I agree. I saw a little bit of copper bubble and I jumped the gun. So some parts where hotter than others.

[@paranoiia8]

I wonder if using steel foil would keep them together for those few seconds to make them stick together when hammering them. Also I would try to use few other alloys between coins to pop up colors more.

[@JPsBladeworks]

I've seen people use brass in there as well. It ends up looking pretty good.

[@ddole147]

Have you considered filling a canister with quarters and powder steel and forge it into a Damascus billet ant then use it to construct a san mai knife?

[@JPsBladeworks]

No. I have to get it pretty hot to forge weld the powder. By the time I get to that heat the copper will just be pools of copper and I figure it will look weird.

[@osirisatot19]

I think you did great for your first time, mine came out with less flaws but I didn't draw them out nearly as flat as you did. Quarters are a pain in the butt to work with, but mokume gane looks so good.

[@JPsBladeworks]

I'm happy with it for a first try. I introduced forge scale from my press dies and that was hard to remove. Next time I'll probably just hammer forge it.

[@osirisatot19]

@@JPsBladeworks Yeah I did it all by hand, I think that or a press would be the best bet.

[@Prompiriya_Pimsomboon]

I would like to see you create a weapon like the one in the game. "Wukong Black myth" would be a great decoration for your house.

[@JPsBladeworks]

I haven't checked out the game yet but I've heard a lot about it. I'm going to have to check it out.

[@steelcappedstrength]

Ive tried mokume gane maybe 3 times. I got the best results by flattening the coins with a rolling mill first, enough to get rid of the embossed images. Then using a lil clamp made from 2 plates and 2 long bolts and nuts.

[@JPsBladeworks]

That sounds interesting. Unfortunately I don't have a rolling mill

[@colejester161]

Very interesting. Glad to see it!

[@JPsBladeworks]

Glad you enjoyed it!

[@celticphox]

Mokume gane, or wood-grained metal. You've pulled off a great successful fail, and I really liked the raindrop Damascus! You ought to make the edges non-sharp, put your mark in them and sell them for $20, or something to people who want them!

[@JPsBladeworks]

I'm thinking of drilling a whole in them and making a necklace

[@brysonalden5414]

I've always had success using baling wire to hold the quarters together until they're brazed, and then it comes off easily.

[@JPsBladeworks]

I tried using wire but I had trouble holding everything together with my butter fingers while I tighten it up

[@Cluster-Duck]

Love to see a canister made with old pocketknife blades. worn or broken blades or even pitted weathered blades clean and added to the can. i think i make a really cool looking pattern and because they are all blade steel it should work out....?

[@JPsBladeworks]

Yes it would work but I would need to find older blades.

[@Cluster-Duck]

@@JPsBladeworks yard sales and or estate sales when older people didn’t throw away any of there old tools and stuff.

[@flamefalconz]

Nice work, interesting to see the learning experience

[@JPsBladeworks]

Thanks

[@jcubetube3778]

Ive made guards and pommels from quarters

[@JPsBladeworks]

I'm pretty sure next time I can get the whole stack to weld and get a pretty neat size and pattern.

[@nanaki-seto]

Just smooth them out totally then re weld the results do it a few times gutting them up like you would Damascus. First step after reweld would be to cut them so they are square. Once you have them squared up take the cut offs that have the curved edges and weld them in on both surfaces randomly. Then introduce your chosen pattern to the final product

[@JPsBladeworks]

That sounds complicated

[@nobilismaximus]

This never gets old. However, its more traditional to make from gold, silver and copper and or various alloys of those metals. It can be done with sheets of the metals with a steel pressure plate.

[@JPsBladeworks]

I've seen the steal pressure plate your talking about. I might make one for the next attempt but maybe I'll have a tig welder by then and I can just fuse the ends together.

[@magnoliaslim6802]

Hey it was still a good video worth watching. I've seen you make great knives and I've seen successfull failures. I bet you could still make something out of what's left.

[@JPsBladeworks]

I might make it into some necklaces or something.

[@J.j.C-bb9nb]

Try etching it with dilute muriatic acid, it will dissolve the copper and make the nickel stand out more.

[@JPsBladeworks]

I'll give it a try

[@dsan2910]

Love your stuff! Can you tell us about the press? Might get one.

[@JPsBladeworks]

I made it myself.

[@Davesknives]

Next time use clamping pliers to hold your tongs bud

[@JPsBladeworks]

Yes sir 🫡

[@TheRedWon]

Interesting experimentation video. You going to do anything with those pieces? Belt buckles or something?

[@JPsBladeworks]

I'm thinking of making them into the centerpiece on some necklaces

[@larrys-qr6zr]

Clean your billet in sulfuric while it is at least red-hot, second use an oxyacetylene torch to weld the billet in two small places and plenty of boric acid as flux (I used to use boraxo hand soap as flux), third do not touch the coins after you degrease them with your un-gloved hands flux the coins before your first heat and keep fluxing with each heat. Molkume is made just like Damascus except at a slightly lower temp, nickel's melting point is ~2650 F and copper's melting point is ~ 1980 F, and you are forge welding nickel to nickel.

[@JPsBladeworks]

Thanks for the tips

[@ericwilliams1659]

Acid bath to help the pattern pop?

[@JPsBladeworks]

I saw that's what tyrell knifeworks did

[@jazzbonewest]

Can you make a can and stack them in it?

[@JPsBladeworks]

Yes. That would work too

[@Redneck_Hero]

I hope you checked those quarters to see if they were rare. My late step father collected coins and some are quite rare and worth more than their face value

[@JPsBladeworks]

I checked. No luck.

[@Adromir1980]

Your Explanation of the Term is not quite correct: First its not only limited to Nickel and Copperbut can be made from several Metals with similar properties like Meltingpoint and Hardness. Second: Mokume-Gane is the name for the specific resulting pattern which resembles grain from Wood. A classic layered damaskus pattern would be Masame-Gane.

[@JPsBladeworks]

Thanks for the info

[@Adromir1980]

@@JPsBladeworks Maybe as an Idea for the next attempt. Ive seen a lot of Goldsmiths using steel clamps to put the stack under high pressure and then heating it up to forgeweld temperature. This Goldsmith even just used a pair of pliers to achieve it kzbin.info/www/bejne/mnvTfYihbpKkaqs

[@Steven5teven]

We will always make mistakes, We can learn from our mistakes, As always, I'm waiting for your next video,

[@JPsBladeworks]

Thanks. I appreciate the support 🙏

[@Marcus-ig4sw]

Why not try to fold a bit of steel to clap the coins and stick the lot in the forged 👌

[@JPsBladeworks]

It's a thought

[@grumpytinatoys9522]

Yes be careful because destroying currency is illegal but sometimes we all need to make shortcuts

[@JPsBladeworks]

It's not illegal in this case.

[@patg148]

Ending the video by flipping us off

[@JPsBladeworks]

Nah you seeing things 🤣

[@gregorynicholls1299]

It is no longer illegal to deface currency.

[@justinreel-t8g]

I think they all would have stuck together if you sanded down the engravings on the faces of the coins.

[@JPsBladeworks]

Maybe but I never saw anyone else do that in the videos I referenced before I tried this.

[@justinreel-t8g]

@@JPsBladeworks oh ok it was just a thought. Or maybe you gotta get it so hot it looks like a stick of butter 🤷

[@JohnSmith-pt3hl]

You should make a video of how to light your forge with 100 dollar bills

[@JPsBladeworks]

Loser

[@311Bob]

you'll let us know if the secret service calls?

[@JPsBladeworks]

🤣

[@calvinhaynes5850]

never dull or brasso

[@JPsBladeworks]

Never

[@gabereal3225]

U made belt buckles 😂 orale!

[@JPsBladeworks]

That would be cool

[@Kuznica_Maria_Leonid]

Я слышал, что перерабатывать монеты запрещено в Ютьюбе... Во всяком случае на Украине так говорили. Писали. :)

[@JPsBladeworks]

I've never heard of that. Here many people have made the exact same video I have with no issues. Also I'm not trying to fraudulently pass it off as currency. It's don't for educational and artistic purposes.

[@Kuznica_Maria_Leonid]

@@JPsBladeworks Это понятно, что работали без злых мыслей. :) Были два видео с монетами, думал и я такое сделать, клинок отковать. Но - прочитал про это у украинского мастера, сказал здесь. Прошу извинить, если огорчил. :_

[@JPsBladeworks]

Nah you good

[@dagnard5707]

that is how we learn is by failing and doing it again.

[@JPsBladeworks]

Yes sir

[@Rattletrap-xs8il]

You can make tongs that lock, kinda like hemostats. A ratcheting bar on either handle of your tongs.

[@JPsBladeworks]

I can't make tongs. I suck at blacksmithing.

[@TamaraWiens]

I'm about halfway through, and I don't understand why you didn't just use a cylinder to hold the coins until they were forged together, like you do when making a blade out of lock washers, etc. It seems to me that you could have been done if you didn't need to do all the other things that you did. Admittedly, you may have explained this in the video, but I watch with no sound or subtitles, so my confusion may all be my fault 😁🙄🤣

[@JPsBladeworks]

No I don't explain it but if I did it's easy to over heat and have a puddle of copper and nickel instead of welding the surfaces together. So I didn't want to go that route.

[@jahurtadon]

How many quarters did you use, and how mad were the kids? Lol

[@JPsBladeworks]

I used 40 in total. So $10. No kids yet so they were pretty angry to not exist yet or with this economy maybe they are happy to not exist just yet 🤣

[@mattnobrega6621]

Blacksmithing rule #1: Always wear gloves and assume everything is hot even if it does not look hot.

[@JPsBladeworks]

I had already dipped it in water. I was checking if it was toasty or cold but i knew for sure it wasnt black hot.

[@chrisd3884]

Get a lapidary table.

[@JPsBladeworks]

What's that?

[@chrisd3884]

@@JPsBladeworks A flat circular rotating table used to polish gemstones.

[@Fly-SanDiego]

You seem like a guy that charges forward with brute force to complete most things

[@JPsBladeworks]

Pretty much

[@Frie_Jemi]

You need a canister!!!

[@JPsBladeworks]

I don't think so!!!

[@joshuagay2702]

Wow I got on comments to say that's actually defacing the federal dollar

[@JPsBladeworks]

It's not

[@06stangsc]

Isn't destroying legal currency a felony

[@JPsBladeworks]

No

[@JPsBladeworks]

@06stangsc a simple Google search could answer you that. As well all the videos of people using quarters to make the same stuff or jewelry.

[@alloounou6900]

Coin clipping is illegal, as in taking material off and sending the coin back in circulation. Though coins have those ridges now as a deterrent.

[@DisIntegratedLife]

18 U.S.C. 331 says, “Whoever fraudulently alters, defaces, mutilates, impairs, diminishes, falsifies, scales, or lightens any of the coins coined at the mints of the United States..." The key word in that law is "fraudulently." You can cut, press, alter, etc. a coin as long as you have no intention of passing it off as legal tender after having done so. Same with a bill. You could replace Washington's face with your own if you want, but if you do so then attempt to spend the money, at that point you have violated the law. but if you took that same bill and framed it on the wall not to be used as currency, it's legal. It's the "fraud" aspect that is illegal, not the alteration itself.

[@BiggYTRAIDER]

How to create a fedral crime in less than 13 minutes

[@JPsBladeworks]

Great title but that's a bit clickbaity 🤣

[@EK--ry3lr]

Thanks for showing a successful failure 😂

[@JPsBladeworks]

You can't always get it on the first try.

[@TonyLoechte]

We go to jail in Australia For defacing Currency 😢

[@JPsBladeworks]

'Merica baby!!!!

[@kooz-miester6245]

Bro is fuckin up my money lol I want my 2 fitty back LOL 😅 JK JK

[@JPsBladeworks]

🤣

[@guyrollf8956]

You might want to be a little more careful about showing this video cause what you're doing is illegal. It's called defacing currency. You could get into a bit of trouble for melting it down.

[@JPsBladeworks]

Many people have videos doing this exact same thing with no issues. I'm not trying to fraudulently pass it off as currency so it should be good.

[@DisIntegratedLife]

18 U.S.C. 331 says, “Whoever fraudulently alters, defaces, mutilates, impairs, diminishes, falsifies, scales, or lightens any of the coins coined at the mints of the United States..." The key word in that law is "fraudulently." You can cut, press, alter, etc. a coin as long as you have no intention of passing it off as legal tender after having done so. Same with a bill. You could replace Washington's face with your own if you want, but if you do so then attempt to spend the money, at that point you have violated the law. but if you took that same bill and framed it on the wall not to be used as currency, it's legal. It's the "fraud" aspect that is illegal, not the alteration itself.

[@andrewneilson227]

It’s not illegal to make art out of coins. It’s illegal to try to alter them to pass them off as a different value

[@justinreel-t8g]

You can do whatever you want with your money as long as you aren’t altering it to pass it off as a higher denomination of money

[@pudermcgavin4462]

Actually it is not, if he defaced them to act as another form of currency then yes!

[@jedgarren2901]

Man,I would delete this,Uncle Sam is funny but his money

[@JPsBladeworks]

According to uncle Sam's laws it's fair use 🙄

[@jedgarren2901]

@JPsBladeworks I'm talking about melting US coin. That's what the Feds hit Chris Colombo with,Joe Colombos son. I'm just trying keep the homie outta the USP

[@REDWhiteblue-uh1zp]

Mokume gane is indian for crap?

[@JPsBladeworks]

Nah its japanese for your mom

[@REDWhiteblue-uh1zp]

@@JPsBladeworks funny, you're a pencil duck bug f♤cker. Probably a democrap

[@charleshoadley6882]

Just a head's up: 18 U.S. Code section 331: This statute addresses the mutilation, diminution, or falsification of U.S. coins. You can be charged with on offense for fraudulently defacing coins, mutilating coins, altering coins, diminishing them, impairing them, scaling them, or lightening them. You can also be charged for defacing or damaging foreign coins that are, by law, made or circulated in the U.S. as well as for possessing coins that you know are altered, defaced, or mutilated. The penalty for fraudulently altering coins or knowingly possessing altered coins is up to five years of imprisonment as well as a fine.

[@JohnSmith-pt3hl]

I just came to comment that this is illegal dumb dumb

[@JPsBladeworks]

Loser

[@stupidsignals2363]

OMG really you are keep destroying tools for that when you could use a tighten steel wire to hold the coins.

[@JPsBladeworks]

Yes and I would do it again mwahahahaha 🙃

[@MarsG0Dofw4r_]

Ok Yoda

[@MrRagequitnow]

I bought a Yeswelder Mig-205DS multi process welder. It's been a very solid welder for over 2 years, and was less than 400 dollars for the machine, and it's digital, and has smart wire feed for MIG. TIG, I've been in love with it, I had a Miller TIG only machine, I ended up selling it, as it was a pain in my ass. It would constantly would leak gas, I replaced my regulator, twice, lines more times than I can remember, then finally figured out it was the welder leaking shielding gas. I am done with Miller, they used to be good when I learned to weld, now imo they are just over priced crap, like Intel or Apple products,

[@JPsBladeworks]

I've been using a harbor freight welder for 3 years now. Works great only thing is I couldn't afford the one that was also tig and stick when I bought it so I'm missing those components but other than that the mig works great

[@grabindragin3307]

Trying to spend defaced currency is potentially a crime. Making art or items with currency isn't a crime

[@JPsBladeworks]

Yes, sir. Most people don't tend to do their research.