ONE MILLION LAYER DAMASCUS STEEL!!!! Will it work!?!?

[@conkrcstf6405]

2:22 don't forget to season your steel with kosher salt and freshly ground pepper

[@serotonin.scavenger]

This would make great flavor text for, say, a dagger named Kitchen Knife.

[@OptimisticNihilist15]

A fellow Babish fan

[@falsehashtags6581]

Pretty sure it’s called flux, I don’t remember what it does lol

[@urneighbourhoodchomie5339]

Shurap be like

[@jenbooob]

@@falsehashtags6581 its meant to keep the metals from oxidizing while forging it, reducing the buildup of "scale" as blacksmiths call it. Mostly its borax that is used nowadays. Its also used when melting metals as well

[@blasefoot8485]

You should look at it through a microscope!!!

[@arevelee92]

Blasefoot84 Yea he should so we can see the transformation of thick to thin layers invisible to the naked eye

[@BrandonCurtis753]

Yea I agree! I'd be really interested to see how thin those layers really are.

[@arevelee92]

Right

[@arevelee92]

They have to be microscopic

[@rionmotley2514]

Starting with 1/8", that's just north of 3mm, so 3x10-6 would be... 3 microns. So about 1/50th the width of a human hair, or roughly the size of your average E. Coli cell. The layers that were on the outside during each forging step would be slightly thinner, possibly half that thickness, but we're still talking *just* barely visible under a normal light microscope. Oil immersion is usually required for things approaching nanometer scale. Pretty ridiculously crazy thin. According to Wikipedia, steel grain sizes range from ~1 micron to ~100 microns, so the layers of steel are actually smaller than the vast majority of the grains, at least in the annealed state - so that'd be another thing to look at under the 'scope - annealed vs. hardened and whether it shifts the pattern!

[@lukeg.9461]

Cant believe he is only 20. its hard to find such a passion this strong in young people like you man. love your work its 10/10

[@furyberserk]

Every young person has passion, but it's just hard for them to find them.

[@windigowhispers]

Battenkill Rambler funny thing is it's his shop. In his game of thrones hammer build he shows his father's shop and it's a wood working shop

[@mrrein9550]

i wish i had is motivation

[@PantsB4Squares]

All the hobbies i would be doing with large amounts of cash. Money is the thing keeping most people from succeeding. Imagine if humans needs and wants was based on expendable income. We would exponentially progress in every field.

[@bouncycastle955]

I can't either, he looks about 14.

[@DracolegacyOfficial]

something oddly satisfying about red hot metal getting crushed by a hammer.

[@apacifistmachinegunner669]

Dracolegacy That is your ancestors speaking to you my friend ! Try it out one day

[@chasemoyer5858]

And being stoned at 1 am

[@Adhdemon1]

Yes it's been 4 years but idc, do I have the show for you. Forged in fire is a forging competition all about fire and hot metal, each episode is roughly 40-45 min and each is unique.

[@DracolegacyOfficial]

@@Adhdemon1 yeah, there's only so much of their bullshit you can handle, it's too much production and not enough metal working.

[@Adhdemon1]

@@DracolegacyOfficial fair, I jsut like it cause there's enough hammer hitting to keep me entertained while I play a game on my phone

[@johnsmith-oc2xc]

Whoever the videographer/editor for this Chanel is is absolutely fantastic!!! No shot is boring time filler it's all entertaining and completely enthralling!!

[@maxprophet2401]

You had me at 372,000 layers

[@chris-zm8bu]

Bart Layman hj

[@chris-zm8bu]

Hi

[@GabrielThorpshaniqua]

Make a spork

[@XavierAncarno]

Gabriel Thorp 😅

[@guytypeperson]

Gabriel Thorp YES, a one million layer spork!

[@ThePelletgunguy]

@alecsteele please make this happen

[@bradybouteiller6464]

i kinda agree with the spork. never seen one forge. so you'd have a first probably

[@salvationship]

I know that i am late to the party, but my belated vote would have been for the spork.

[@politicalGRAFFITI]

Little known fact... Alec uses a Vandagraph Generator for his awesome hair styling.

[@rastakyborg97]

you mean Van de Graaf generator, right? :)

[@politicalGRAFFITI]

Indeed... lol Thanks for the correction.

[@shortlong8936]

You should put it under a microscope or some other lense.

[@DerMacko]

SEM would be the best bet.... SEM = Scanning Electron Microscope like if you think about it, the cube he ended up with is what,,, less than 2 inches, more like 4cm each side. If each layer is even in thickness that would make them 40 nanometers thick each!! That was the smallest repitetive feature scale in semiconductor manufacturing like 6 years ago! (They are now transitioning to 10nm and 7nm process nodes and these things costs billions in r&d moneys). Theres absolutely no way to see those with naked eye or normal light microscope!

[@MmeHyraelle]

@@DerMacko 10nm from intel is getting delayed over and over so much i'm worried they will never get it. But yes, we are reaching the limits of process node, it's like a 30 atom thick transistor.

[@mattgavioli6762]

You can clearly see how much fun he's having while working, and it's amazing!

[@isaacfarmer7138]

Honestly your videos are of the best quality I've seen in blacksmithing and it's only getting better, I love your content and I can't wait for all the awesome videos in the future

[@AlecSteele]

+Isaac Farmer thank you man! Really appreciate it 😀 Im also very pleased with how my filming and editing is progressing 😀

[@tyler1988]

Alec Steele your filming and editing are great. Really enjoy the "pounding" look you get when using the power hammer. Whether that's an effect or not is irrelevant to me, it gives an immersion element that videos usually lack. Kinda makes it seem like you can hear/feel the impacts.

[@tyler1988]

Alec Steele Oh and side note, if you get it magnified, make sure to get pictures taken of the different levels of magnification. It'd be awesome to see.

[@wiartalexandre9349]

Very agreed even if I would go further by removing "in blacksmithing" in your comment ;) Such quality contents are very few on KZbin, this just makes Alec even more amazing!

[@93hickey]

Hey alec, contact a local university and ask them if they will help you look at it under a microscope, you'd definitely see a pattern under an electron microscope, and you might see something under a high powered optical one. Edit: when I say definitely I mean maybe lolol, I'm not entirely sure if you will be able to distinguish between different types of steel using an electron microscope, or even if the grinder ruins the pattern at the surface of the metal anyway. It's definitely worth a go though, also if you are going to try this, bring some normal demascus and take pictures of where the different layers meet, you might find something cool. Also I thought I'd approximate the thickness of the layers for you: it's about 100 nanometers (assuming you started with 1/8th inch stock), maybe a bit less when you consider the steal lost through forging. That's beyond the limits of any optical microscope so you will need to find an electron microscope after all. Also you'll need to polish the hell out of it with the absolute maximum grit sandpaper you can find 12000 grit or something. Signed, your friendly neighbourhood nerd..

[@AlecSteele]

+93hickey awesome idea!

[@mikefornecker1393]

93hickey agree that would be amazing

[@mattbehnke779]

That would be very cool!

[@nom6758]

More specifically a SEM or Scanning Electron Microscope.

[@blidness]

I can make it happen, since I work basically with both - reflected light microscopy and electron microprobe. Needless to say, that SEM guy would be better, but still... it's something. Did I mentioned the free of charge part? :D

[@The_Cyber_Nomad]

Japanese style Cheff's KNIFE!

[@justinmtz7753]

Jeremey Allen I agree

[@bigdrilla9378]

Jeremey Allen chef's

[@pusswhakker]

I agree, and then look at it under microscope.

[@boshtillings9254]

I love the camera shake with every strike of the piston. Really gave it the feeling of power you don't see in other videos

[@shaynebaldwin9806]

I am completely addicted to your channel Alec. You seem to love your craft and that is admirable for sure. Keep up the great work.

[@kurtispeters3763]

Make one single horse shoe, for Sam to shod one single hoof of one unknowing horse, with a one million layer Damascus shoe. For no apparent reason

[@andrewaustin6941]

Kurtis Peters lol

[@mrdestroy4381]

hahaha

[@AlecSteele]

Sorry for the double post! Had to pull down the first attempt as I had accidentally deleted the ending before uploading! This is the fixed version - please do the liking and sharing on this ;)

[@DaleModisette]

You need/should make a sword.

[@Obstruct329]

Alec Steele make it a push dagger!

[@johngstudios2607]

Alec Steele, at this point with so many layers, have you possibly created your own alloy?

[@tyler1988]

John Gaug An alloy usually consists of combining metallic elements in a liquid phase actually combining into a consistent material. Being that these two carbon steels aren't taken to a liquid phase and are simply fused together, I personally wouldn't consider it to be a new alloy. Even though you can't see a pattern, it's still layers of metal bound together which imho doesn't constitute calling it a different alloy.

[@RecoilOperated]

I've always been told that after folding 5 times, a billet of Damascus steel behaves very much like a homogeneous piece of steel

[@jeremythomas4392]

So from what I can see, you've essentially made a wootz steel, the hard way. That's really awesome. Keep it up, Alec!!!

[@s216674]

Great to see a young guy so enthusiastic about making things with his own hands. Keep it up!

[@roflcopterkklol]

The editing is just amazing, really top level stuff i have seen less quality on discovery channel documentaries.

[@sidsmith6184]

Damascus style brass knuckles, awesome work brother!!!

[@kurtjakub6275]

How about using it to make a folding knife, not many KZbin videos show that process. Keep up the great work Alec!

[@isaacfarmer7138]

Forge it into a KZbin play button

[@unholykraut1107]

I remember subscribing when you have about 3k subs. I'm very happy that your channel has become quite the success.👍☺

[@r_nine.99]

meet the Robinson's

[@TheOldBosun]

It is cool how that the million layers give the billet a powedrcoat look. If it were me I would make something that would show off that. Everyone keeps going with things like hammers and knives and those are cool but with this you need something with some surface area. I say make a mini shield (desktop item) and inlay your logo into the center of it using a contrasting material. Something like shined brass would look great as an offset material.

[@gorisenke]

Chris Lawrence this. This is a good idea. And yeah I really like the softer color. It's only slightly darker than regular steel, and the sheen is basically nonexistent. It's a really interesting piece.

[@Dustflinger80]

i agree while i would love to see a bushcrafter made. a sheild is a great idea.

[@ThatOneBlacksmithGuy]

Make a baby damascus anvil!!

[@shookings]

If it's a novelty, make a six-sided die out of it. I'm positive that some gamer geek out there will may through the nose for it.

[@glennwiebe5128]

He did end up with a six sided "die". A cube has six sides.

[@leadboots72]

They may indeed.

[@sixtoramos6323]

But not all dices have. There are 4,6,8,10,12,20... sided dices, and they're not only a modern gamer thing. They had them in ancient Egypt, Greece, Rome, as back as 300 BC.

[@maksuree]

+Sixto Ramos | for a moment I was wondering how the hell you'd read a dice with 468101220 sides... i'm an idiot

[@werk62]

Gary lol at that point, it would basically just be a marble

[@missionDan]

Im new here, but i am so impressed with this guys personality, obvious enthusiasm, talent and editing skills. This guy is the full package

[@snelpiller]

I could watch those powerhammer montages for days

[@987P123]

there might be no pattern to see, but your hair is looking fabulous today :)

[@AlecSteele]

+987P123 hahhaha 😂😂😂😂

[@doodlefox9837]

The camerawork is so friggin effective, great job on that alone :)

[@sebbes333]

First: I want to see it through a microscope! Second: Make a really large and thin sheet out of it, maybe that can bring out the patterns again? and make something out of that sheet (a hollow cube? a knife? baking tray for your oven? ;P )

[@artfan101]

his enthusiasm just sells the whole thing.

[@moun10high]

This dude is going to be a KZbin star!

[@MrDouglas180]

I subscribed as soon as I saw your hair " he's crazy, this goin to be good"

[@AlecSteele]

+Douglas Porto 😂😂😂BEST COMMENT OF THE DAY!

[@billrobbobjo]

Bring it somewhere and look at it under a microscope? before u do something with it?

[@dukeofalltrades4470]

billrobbobjo i

[@RcBlade]

Make a knife and put it through some cut tests to see if it's more superior than less layered Damascus!

[@aepiis4166]

By no means a bad idea but I just wanted to put in my 2 cents and say that it should be no better than standard steel. Damascus steel has no real advantage, if anything it leaves room for more problems to occur with a blade, so from a purely utilitarian standpoint it's worse. That being said it would be a pretty awesome thing to have and a cool trinket for him to keep.

[@captain0bubbles]

You are the greatest human to ever touch metal.

[@Yozzy22]

That is amazingly good production quality for a blacksmith channel.

[@calebdevries9994]

you could make it a dice and then hang it from the mirror of your vehicle

[@SoHeisstnochkeiner]

heavy metal fuzy dice

[@tyler1988]

Caleb De Vries I've had mirrors come off just from too much vibration/bass. Adding that much weight to a mirror would almost certainly pull it right off... Also, that thing would turn into a ball of instant death, if the vehicle carrying it ever wrecked.

[@scottshelton3934]

if you want to break your windshield

[@christophercassidy-schroed9169]

Damn, i just posted the same without reading this - I concur

[@christophercassidy-schroed9169]

Wheres your adventurous spirit... :P

[@ezhekial]

WTF? unimaginable video production quality, who the fuck makes this and produce this ought to get themselves and you on a major channel show, thats some A game stuff.

[@MOOFAZAA]

Remy - he does it all himself

[@RobertsolutioM]

I bet a couple of those cameras he used took a little bit of heat damage from the red hot metal flying everywhere in some of those shots. Definitely not something good for expensive tech anyways.

[@Daniel-fc2xi]

GoPros have some pretty good high speed camera function at impressive resolution these days

[@lol38111]

Thats not go pro

[@michaelfoncannon9421]

I was thinking the same thing. Like, how do you keep slag from burning your camera??

[@pierreandre6120]

Hi, Alec. Sir, your title made me watch, but your Hair made me subscribe! Great video. Oh, and never ever cut your hair. Blessings, pierre from New Mexico

[@heyscottmarshall]

Really good and fun to watch. Great mix of amazing forge metal craft and expert videography combine for something special.

[@gradyfrey1384]

Wow, this is filmed very thoughtfully and well planned. Cool.

[@luciano_remes]

This guy man, look at him, i feel like at any time he's just gonna burst out into a random frenzy of movement, his hair makes it even better... love u lol, keep up the vidz!

[@btmccaskill]

Alec, I'm thinking a nice Viking sax

[@benwilson9416]

Damascus cut throat razor??

[@camiloa3595]

the video production quality is off the charts!!!

[@chaugen1]

A little nostalgic about the old shop. New one definitely has better lighting and a LOT more space, but not quite the character... YET. Love the videos!

[@mrmisterman999]

*YOU'D NEED 2 MILLION LAYERS TO CUT THAT HAIR*

[@apimpnamedslickback2748]

More American than most Americans I know. You're awesome, keep it up.

[@AlecSteele]

+Kelly Askew Thanks Kelly!

[@Powerofriend]

Was sure he was british. Hah

[@apimpnamedslickback2748]

Powerofriend He is lol.

[@derkdirk3553]

Sable Burden P

[@trevic1346]

With an American Flag along with a Texas flag.... He doesnt seem to embrace the UK. AND he is in america, so he is american.

[@nathanbird8213]

Cool stuff Alec! Just wanted to say mate, I've joined a bunch of Facebook groups on Blacksmithing because you inspired me to give it a go and guess what, I am not the only one.. Many people reference you in these groups as a source of inspiration. Your enthusiasm and charisma is infectious! Just a little thank you message to let you know, because of you many people are putting their hand to hammer and their hammer to steel. That's a beautiful thing man :)

[@AlecSteele]

+Nathan Bird thank you my friend!

[@nathanbird8213]

No worries, keep up the great work, whatever it be my friend :)

[@jamesschnurbusch711]

I know this is an old video, but still awesome to watch! Being a chef I think I would be amazing to have a 1 million layer 10" chef knife ❤

[@Geckomayhem]

Upvoted, just for the hair. This video was more impressive than I was expecting. But who has time to watch KZbin every day...?

[@JuanVega-rf6wf]

I really like the microscope idea ( must do ) and what to make out of it ... i liked the trophy in the form of a mini anvil. Or a high end Japanese kitchen knife. The dice idea is nice but i think something more related to blacksmithing or blade smithing

[@ryanshort5703]

sushi knife!

[@qwerty1357-u9p]

1:36 wrote it on the table solved it and the. solve it again in a calculator just to make sure xD

[@pinkguy219]

This is the most hardworking channel ive ever seen

[@soulwagon1251]

Cool work Alec. I noticed at 3:11 your right hand has a bad burn. I hope all is ok. Great channel, love your work.

[@KC-gv5mj]

Great editing, love your videos.

[@virtualxip]

What's up with his hair? ó.Ò He looks like he's carrying a portable tesla coil ^^

[@virtualxip]

Cool vid though ^^ That hydraulic anvil - or whatever you may call it - battering down on the red hot block of steel looks pretty awesome :)

[@douro20]

It's called a power hammer and it costs more than that.

[@queenofyeay]

Yes, you can certainly expect to pay at least $5000 for a used power forging hammer and as much as $22K for some of the bigger units but I have seen a few in the $2000 range and IF you have the time, patience and ability to travel to get one via Craigslist you probably could score one pretty cheaply. Shop closings and estate sales etc. The best bet might be a large tool auction but if anyone else at the auction wants it, it probably won't be cheap. You never know though, I saw one from the 40's that was a bit smaller (but not much smaller) get thrown into the scrap bin because one of it's flat pulleys (made of wood) had split and someone to make a replacement wasn't found!

[@chrisdaldy-rowe4978]

he stuck his fingers in a light socket when he was a wee boi...never went back to normal...poor lad :(

[@a.g.silverbane6335]

Tesla coils are no joke! Ouch

[@TheFlamecobra]

Not 1 Million Layers at 2:36 you can see him welding it next to each other not in a straigth line so it isn't *4 its *2 and then its not 1 Million anymore

[@tartaroshero2070]

I saw that too but maybe he wanted to get as close to a million as possible. So he multiplied by 2 instead of 4 for that step.

[@TheFlamecobra]

Tartaros Hero but he calculated *4

[@ffhammack]

indeed, he's at 558k

[@soarerazvan2927]

if you take a closer look you will see 4 metal blocks ..... not 2

[@welshman100]

Yeah its defo 4 at that point.

[@ShaggyMummy]

Just found your channel yesterday, absolutely love your video style. Very charismatic. Keep up the great work 👍

[@Vegardriise]

This has such high production value ! Love your slow mo shot

[@russellmitchell9573]

you should try acid etching it to see if any patterns show up.

[@Coolgoy69]

Russell Mitchell he did that's what the brown liquid was

[@sixtoramos6323]

Ha, ha, ha... You had to try it!! Well done... I congratulate you on the effort and curiosity, but as I said the other day on the spiral damascus video, I don't think it's worth the time and work... unless it is to experiment and, of course, to make a video or two out of it. ;) With so thin layers and so many heats, diffusion surely has balanced carbon content so both steels have almost the same amount. Only difference now might be the nickel content of the 15n20. I wonder if with a million layers, all carbon has turned into graphite and all steel has become ferrite (wich is something nickel does if allowed). If so, it might not be the best material for knives anymore...

[@vitabricksnailslime8273]

I'm still in the dark as to whether it will "work", other than as a very expensive block. Guess I'll have to watch the next video to find out,

[@Tungmoto]

I like how you keep your appearance safe from all those hard work

[@johnlang1030]

That was a great demonstration. Lacking any noticeable pattern, it may look good between two bolder pattern laminates for a double edged knife or dagger.

[@johnlang1030]

Microscope is a good idea.

[@shanhussain6114]

Dude, are your ancestors Nordic? Because, you look like Viking Harry Potter!! \m/

[@DoughDaddy1]

A knife please Alex!

[@rondeco30]

Love your videos and your infectious enthusiasm! You should make a podcast mix of the music from a few videos because that's very cool too :)

[@nomekingg]

So happy this wasn't clickbait

[@emilycrank5975]

The cinematography is incredible, the way you did this is awesome

[@abnersteele]

hey my name is Andrew Steele I'm a big fan if your work!!

[@aceburgers8801]

Andrew Steele if you have a son you should name him Demascus.....instant legend

[@xxslayer4889]

You Spelt Damascus wrong Christopher DiPietro

[@z777luck777z]

boot knife! and look at it through a microscope!

[@andrewaustin6941]

David Jones yes!!!

[@dustintaylor2843]

What's song did you use in this video?

[@f1nalfantasy]

I also would very much like to know!!!

[@HoffmanHook]

I too would like to know

[@dustintaylor2843]

Thank you so much!

[@HoffmanHook]

Fucking legend man

[@MedBrato]

hi, you know the name of the song? please help me out

[@alanmccall4335]

As far as content goes I love your work man! So amazing. The clarity of your video content and voice is amazing and furthermore the entertainment factor of your videos are very well done please keep it up and thank you so much for sharing!

[@MPCreazioniLegno]

1.000.000 compliments Alec....master piece

[@MrMartoos]

Alec, what is name of this song? Many people ask you name of the song. TNX

[@MrMartoos]

:(

[@Rose_Bro]

Martoos Garage Darude Sandstorm

[@PedanticHunt]

If it's not forged from Wootz steel, it's not Damascus Steel, it's Damascus Style.

[@breakingaustin]

Keep going till you create a black hole? Only logical progression..

[@navedshaikh2774]

Nah that's colin furze' s job

[@Kiaroh-Zen]

Dude this video editing is so on point.

[@rockyrockyroad]

Never knew sword making would be this aesthetic

[@ITpanda]

Feel like this is cheating, cutting into multiple pieces before folding. Shouldn't it be cut nearly through then folded. Also tack welding every time had to effect end product.

[@K3Flyguy]

Nathan L , yes, that's exactly why most smiths will call this sort of thing pattern welded steel and not Damascus steel.

[@K3Flyguy]

Even folded layers are not strictly Damascus steel. The honest to goodness Damascus was made from a first melted then poured ingot, it was then smithed into blades ect... The process is being reinvented and near perfect results have been obtained, however it is not exactly known what the original process was exactly. Pieces of certain woods and grasses were added to the nest of ore as well as a small piece or Magnatite or Wooest iron was essential back in the day. Unless most recently the secret code or recipe has been broken, modern Damascus steel is kind of not Damascus. Never the less, folded or pattern welded steel blades are most beautiful and can be very strong as well as hold amazing edges! I personally love the look and have made several blades myself, none of mine are as beautiful as some of what I see here on u tube! A 1000000 layered steel blade would be awesome in my collection never the less! This guy does nice work!

[@KaffeinatedKate]

This is called the "chop and stack" method. A lot of smiths use it but TBH folding the steel is the traditional way that it's done

[@HoffmanHook]

What is the song?

[@Rose_Bro]

Kyle Kirk Darude Sandstorm

[@JJ-si4qh]

Very good videography and makes what could be a boring subject to some people interesting almost anyone. Subscribed.

[@shipjumper6068]

Alec Steele, that was 100% necessary to make a 1 million layer block of damascus steel, but it was also 100% cool. Fair play young man. Fair play. I can't wait to look a little bit more into your channel and what you come up with sir.

[@nomado-sensei]

Amazing video montage. With such video editing skills you can put together shots of a clerk's daily work and it'll still look great.

[@mhero9189]

Jesus finally a knife smith who can edit

[@RBWZ0]

Nice Production! Congrats

[@levicoombs9874]

Your actually really good at editing

[@ryanbradford87]

Great video. Although there is one minor problem. At 2:37 you clearly see the four pieces welded into a quadrant shape. Therefore you are only multiplying by 2. But your chalk maths show x4 for that working out.

[@duby149]

Man that would be so cool to have like on your desk, it will be a perfect conversation starter.

[@jacktaufer1559]

Yo dude, it is super dope that you make and post so many vidoes. Keep it up.

[@ganyu3315]

A great way to blind yourself is to watch him weld pieces together at 2 am

[@attilaalmasi8326]

Great video! Great work! Congrats.

[@1pcfred]

Make a hammer with it. For all the hammer heads that want a million layer Damascus steel!

[@sebastjansslavitis3898]

camera work is just stunning :D