Restoring and Reforging Fire Damaged Tools

[@htme]

Thank you to Dr. Squatch for sponsoring this video! New customers can receive 20% off $20 spend or more using my code DSQHTME bit.ly/3pvUEPw

[@AgentLokVokun]

Do you still need help from people in the MSP / St. Paul area? I am right in the area and willing to help out. I'm on your discord.

[@bow-tiedengineer4453]

I understand that you need any sponsor you can get right now, but I hope this thing with Dr. Squatch doesn't become a long term partnership. Their advertising is so full of toxic masculinity that I just can't stand them, and on top of that they make a big deal about synthetic detergent, AKA soap made in a lab, not actually being soap. I'm not going to like you any less for taking their money to help you rebuild, but I hope they don't get many sales out of it.

[@AgentLokVokun]

@@bow-tiedengineer4453 Quick followup to this. Their business model is also ecologically unsustainable. Sooo. yeah

[@kohhedley3772]

Try to rebuild your house out of cement

[@deamicisfrank1308]

how long did the vinegar take

[@LittleDergon]

It's so strange that the solution to damage by fire could be more fire, but so many of those pots turned out amazing. So glad you managed to salvaged so much and are making steps to get back what was lost

[@MGSLurmey]

The importat distinction would be that in a house fire, the combustion is almost always incomplete (as you would expect), so it leaves a lot of soot, ash, and other byproducts all over everything involved. Whereas in a controlled fire like a kiln the combustion is more complete (especially if using charcoal) and is left to cool down slowly, giving any leftover carbon plenty of time to burn off.

[@dcard228]

It's mostly stuck on carbon. Once it's all spent it it essentially turns to dust

[@GaiusCaligula234]

How is it strange lol

[@creativenamegoeshere2562]

@@GaiusCaligula234 fire damage being solved by fire. Oxymoron if I’ve ever seen it.

[@GaiusCaligula234]

@@creativenamegoeshere2562 More like uneducated and uninventive people being surprised by the most basic things

[@htme]

Looking to do a few short videos coming up on making some other tools that were lost or we haven't yet made. Let me know if you have specific tools you'd like to see us make!

[@Meropespica]

idk if you have done this, but you should make a sickle

[@joshd2013]

Make some gardening tools like a hoe mattock trowel etc since gardening is a large part of the channel it seems appropriate to make some tools for it

[@onebackzach]

You should definitely make a few chisels and a hand plane. To me, chisels, a plane, a saw, and measuring/marking tools are the fundamental parts of a basic hand tool woodworking setup

[@ramboturkey1926]

id definitely love to see you guys delve into abrasives

[@natemaclachlan]

Maybe a nice forging hammer and anvil to start redoing some tools you lost. -unless you already have those of course

[@HarroKitteh]

I feel like there is something poetic about how throughout history we have lost so much to fires, war, etc, and the KZbinr who is trying to recreate historic tools and such has suffered through a fire but thrived by restoring what he could.

[@GoodandBasic]

This was a fun project! Best of luck on the rest of the restoration! It made me so happy to see you using that billhook!

[@htme]

Thanks again!

[@forgingluck]

Love yall's channel too!! Glad to see the continued collaboration 😁

[@kekz0r]

Thanks for the Mora shoutout. ;) Great knives, cool area, hilarious dialect. 🇸🇪

[@Nighthawkinlight]

Orange oil or orange based hand cleaner is one of the more effective ways to get carbon buildup off of stuff.

[@xiphos5740]

Thanks for keeping going after such a terrible incident, very inspiring.

[@SpeakerJohnAsh]

this is the type of content I want post-burn most. feels the most in the spirit of the channel.

[@supersloth4635]

Fires happened to our ancestors too, and they also had to salvage what they could. Grandma has two scissors that were salvaged and she tells the whole dramatic story every time someone is around to hear it.

[@andrewadams9686]

I know the fire has been hard on you and I totally appreciate this content of restoration from loss. I imagine this same thing was experienced by many struggling ancestors and it oddly falls in line with your channel. It's great to see you're making the total best out of this and I'm super sorry for your loss.

[@TheLonelyBrit]

It's good that you're rebuilding & continuing! Keep it up & you'll be back & better than before.

[@VincentGroenewold]

Wow, this feels pretty positive. Fantastic to see you were even able to rescue items and great to see you all going forward!

[@TechieJunk]

Lost my house in a fire back in November last year.. Lot of damaged tools. This video helps me.

[@prescottme]

i feel how this fire has affected you when i was a kid our garage burned down i lost basically all of my childhood and baby pictures its a life changing loss and rebuilding is the first step to being stronger and smarter keep your head up man i love this series iv wanted to do stuff like this but never really had a idea where to start.

[@AvianYuen]

It's incredible seeing the before and after! You couldn't even tell it was in a fire. A good thing, restoration is, in our disposable culture.

[@tiffanysandmeier4753]

I am glad you are making progress. I could hear how much this hurt at the beginning of the video. I can relate. My basement flooded almost 3 years ago, and I remember that helpless pain of loss. They may just be things, but it still hurts. How your voice almost cracks with emotion when talking about it. It gets better with time especially as you see the progress of rebuilding better than before, but it takes time.

[@410colepyro3]

It's cool that you're restoring your tools instead of buying new ones and the wood actually looks better on them with the slight charred look

[@ReviewyCA]

For the broken pottery, what about trying the kintsugi style of repair (using thin gold to repair and celebrate the imperfections)?

[@KainYusanagi]

Specifically, you use resin or epoxy as a glue, and then apply a very light layer of gold to the outside as accent to the damage fixed.

[@OptimisticNihilist15]

Cody'sLab wink* wink*

[@sypernova6969]

hey! great job! just be careful with the ultrasonic cleaner. The bottom of the... "bowl" is what vibrates and makes the thing work, so if you rest metal objects on the bottom, you have a significant chance that the metal item will rub through the bottom as it works it`s magic. that`s why they give a mesh container or plastic bottom with the cleaner

[@Joyo292]

When you said “just re-fire them” to clean the pottery I thought there was no way… but everything came out pristine 😮 I learn so much from this channel

[@wickideazy]

I am so happy for you that you were able to recover as many of the tools and vessels that you did. I honestly never would have even thought to just throw the pottery back in the kiln to burn off the char on the outside. The fire was a huge setback but you guys are doing a hell of a job overcoming it. Here's to seeing you guys get all the way back up and running and moving forward!

[@hfw3]

With everything going on these days, seeing you resurrect your creations fills me with joy and excitement! Great job!

[@lemmonsinmyeyes]

Happy to see you getting back on your feet and not just giving up!

[@Carterironworks]

I have used the vinegar method with great success, I leave it for the 24 hours then dunk it in Windex brand window cleaner or spray it on. It neutralizes the acid and what rust is left tends to wipe right off. Great video sir, glad to see you're still going.

[@NoobieTaco]

Most of these look even better now then they did when they were made. Good job and I'm so glad you were able to salvage so much.

[@aaronpaul5990]

Nice work ^^ The handles looks way better then the first round around ;) You can really see the progress.

[@HubcapPointOutdoors]

The fire just helped jump start the series.... I see this doing big things for you... Before... It was just I'm doing this because I think it's neat and I wanna try it... Everything seems so much more practical now.... Being that everything was lost and now you legit have to "start over"

[@paulmiller6545]

I love seeing this process and I love using the tiny amount of iron to make that tiny knife! Good work HTME!

[@LordSmyrnian]

Your videos are a fantastic display of taking lemons and making lemonade! Very inspiring!

[@MarcusWolfWanders]

we use large-batch vibratory tumblers (colloquially "media bowls") where I work to polish some of the blades and vanes that we cast for the hot section of jet engines

[@coldstone01]

Awesome that you guys are working to replace the fire. it means so much to see that items that can survive really are important to invest in even in the convenient and modern world.

[@akhasshativeritsol1950]

As terrible as the workshop fire was, I really enjoyed seeing a revisiting of the bloom iron knives! I felt like the jump from that first knife to blacksmithing commercial grade steel was a bit of a leap, it was very satisfying to see something more functional being made from steel completely from scratch! Really makes you appreciate how hard it must have been for the first people to "unlock" iron

[@TheElfsmith]

My poor little drawknife :') Let me know if you want to reheat treat any of these!

[@vixrobinshood]

its good to see the work you painstakingly did still hold up after all that. this made me smile so much. very much a phenix

[@CandyGramForMongo_]

You’ve done very well in the face of a difficult situation. You are a strong and inspiring fellow! Thank you.

[@ИгнатАртурович]

That workshop got that night theme going.

[@pawa-cu1dv]

glad you got back up again after the fire! i understand how it feels as i have had half my house burn down the other week myself. keep up the good work!

[@jasonflay8818]

I am sorry to hear about your loss, I hope you bounce back to normal quickly

[@pawa-cu1dv]

@@jasonflay8818 yeah we already got most things up again however we need to completely redo the kitchen si we are waiting for the contractor to come and rebuild it, my family is currently sleeping around at friends houses and stuff since we don't have heating at home

[@drstrangefart]

Damn it's good to see you getting as much back as you did. Without redoing the heat treatment on the medium carbon steel sledgehammer head you have basically a soft face striking hammer. It'll mushroom out with heavy use, but it IS good for striking other steel tools without dangerous chips breaking off, so it's still a very useful tool. Looking forward to seeing what's next.

[@alexanderhuff8758]

Just a quick tip! Those tumblers work a lot better if you put in a little liquid with them. About two cups of water and some dish soap will help make your parts look a lot better, and not build up all that mess on the outside.

[@RaysHobbies]

Been subscribed for years, and not going anywhere. Just looking forward to the next vid.

[@eq2lornick]

The pottery coming out of the kiln was remarkable. I would never have expected that to turn out so well.

[@townsville69]

Amazing how well the vinegar works. I had a completely rusted shut pair of (pricy) fishing pliers. Salt and vinegar solution for two weeks (working the action everyday) and good as new. With some cool looking pitting as an added bonus.

[@NotRite225]

Glad ur getting back ur tools .... can't wait to see the htme letters

[@KaddiKannDas]

Thanks for not giving up and sharing with us! If life gives you fire forge some tools in it!

[@micahphilson]

Wow, so cool to see all the tools and vessels looking almost like new, some maybe better! And I'm super excited about rebuilding and having your workshop back, that'll be great to see this summer!

[@danbowes]

So happy to see you climbing back up after that terrible disaster. Everyone is rooting for you!!! Awesome job on refurbishing those items that you could salvage, they look great! Awesome job, I cannot wait to see what comes next :3

[@chrisfox961]

It is great to see you reclaim some of your tools. That is such a creative way of taking a bad experience and learning from it.

[@plakumunac]

You don't have to ask us to be patient, you've been through hell and the fact that you're coming back strong is amazing in of itself.

[@aaronbart87]

Soul food. Wonderful to see your tools looking like new.

[@jonah_jo]

I actually did make some high grade steel, completely on accident. I used a bucket with a hole just above the bottom, and a tuyere (a small steel pipe) leading to the center. (Basically the bronze furnace Andy made). It basically smelts every/anything.

[@johnnyboy8498]

I use evaporust on old axe heads. While more expensive than vinegar it doesn't leave tiny pits that can further rust later like vinegar.

[@tracybowling1156]

Working in Crocs! I like your style! I also loved watching you restore your tools and pottery. It has to feel like things are getting back to normal!

[@esmeraldanadeaujasso550]

I had a house fire last year and lost my whole workshop, and all the things I spent hours creating. It sucks im sorry, it takes a surprisingly long time to get back to normal . It does get better eventually.

[@noahmcqueen7040]

Best thing to watch while attempting sleep

[@Jamndude3]

Might be a good idea to put some glaze on those older works to make any future cleaning a bit easier, though a lot of the recovered pieces cleaned up very nice. Nice work, hang in there!

[@bslaws]

My shop just burned down. My neighbor had a heat lamp in his dog kennel which caught fire and spread to my shop. I'm inventorying my tools now, so far at $50,000. The majority of my hand tools are Snap-On and just have smoke/creosote damage and were not exposed directly to flame or excessive heat. I stumbled across this video looking for ideas on cleaning my tools. I am currently working on my inventory for my insurance company, who will in turn go after his insurance.

[@erich9244]

Well done in recovering your things that you MADE! Keep on keeping on!

[@Ensensu2]

I've had some luck with using a knife held with the blade towards me in an icepick grip to sever branches of around pinky diameter or lower. Holding the knife in such a way ensures some level of safety as well as priming the use of your pectorals and deltoids to sever the branch after it's bent around the blade. This is probably ideally used on small, green branches, so it's not the best way to gather immediately useful firewood, but can very well be convenient if you're only carrying a knife.

[@Wubbadubbadubdub]

The fact that our ancestors made weapons in mass what seems could be even better than us with less technology blows my mind, only because of this channel!

[@FrauWNiemand]

I didn't thought that vinegar can do the job. But I formerly transformed rusty nails by using Coke, so I think different kinds of acid may work. When we found our garden scissors after 1,5 years in the compost, they were rusty af and I was impressed by the rust remover we bought in the shop. it gets a nice finish with WD40 and is like new.

[@jacobrodriguez3712]

Seeing the tools being restored was so satisfying to watch

[@matthewmccalister5594]

I LOVE your videos. Thank you for continuing on through such shitty circumstances. Like a phoenix, you will rise

[@Lordike3]

It could be really cool to fix some of your busted pots with kintsugi, where you fix pottery with metal like gold or copper. It's more decorative but has some relevant symbology.

[@kmetz878]

That's really cool that the pottery looked basically like new coming out of the kiln. I never would've guess that would work.

[@arakheno4051]

There is a historical irony here. Civilization's fell, things needed rediscovered and reworked. This is an interesting angle that I am looking forward to see.

[@hemanko007]

He is like a Phoenix rising from the ashes. Reminds me of my childhood days when my parents sold all my comic books and closed my library...... they thought I was ripping off the local kids by renting my comic books

[@sambowen7341]

One of my favorite parts of this channel is the positivity

[@andrewcoburn5060]

I started this channel late and cruised threw it until the fire happened super cool to see you reset after the great reset

[@iteerrex8166]

15:42 Not only superb quality alloys, but a million and one other amenities, including cell phones.

[@GeorgeDolbier]

the view of your bare hands in the burnt out workshop gives me the creeps. Hope you wear some gloves man! Good to see you back and great vid!

[@angrydingus5256]

Seems my notification bell was turned off for some reason so Im catching up now on the last couple vids. Don't get me wrong, I HATE that you had to deal with the fire and all the loss of all that hard work. But, silver lining is a LOT of us are going to love watching you restore and remake some of these tools so you can continue the work you do. Thanks for not giving up, I can only imagine how much that may have crossed your mind. BTW I find for a modern method that simple electrolysis with a dc current is the fastest, most effective way to remove rust from any metal. I usually do the process in a vinegar solution though.

[@ThaFedejp]

Love to see things coming back together!!

[@mtpaley1]

The active ingredient in Evaporust is tannic acid. Have you tried using this instead of acetic acid? Looks to be tricky to make for yourself though - wikipedia says this " Commercial tannic acid is usually extracted from any of the following plant parts: Tara pods (Caesalpinia spinosa), gallnuts from Rhus semialata or Quercus infectoria or Sicilian sumac leaves (Rhus coriaria)"

[@mrpalindrome3067]

Yo Andy, If you want to look at a more primitive chelation agent you can look to molasses (with water added). It's a bit weak in comparison to evaporust and has a tendency to mold on top of the solution, but a definite option!

[@Milites98]

Crazy how well the pottery came out! Good luck with the workshop rebuild!

[@RaptorJesus10]

Try doing the ancient Japanese art of Kintsugi to fix the broken pottery.

[@MiscMitz]

You rock. Thank you for fighting on.

[@cmw184]

“Just how lucky i am, to live in the future.” Man, i think about that all the time.

[@True_neko]

I love he loves so much he's craft that he brings it back.

[@danielemur]

I’ve been a long-time fan of the channel, and I’m so happy to see you guys rebuild after such an awful tragedy!

[@Slikx666]

Andy. You're awesome. 🙂👍

[@thomaspryor8202]

Brother, I'm sorry to hear of your fire. Such an event is hard to get over. I wish you the very best on this. Get knocked down seven times, get up eight.

[@Smokey_bacon_]

This is so great that you guys can recover some of the things

[@Crosley1933]

If he really wants to find the blade, maybe Andy can sift through the rubble with a magnet. He might also find other iron pieces.

[@dhawthorne1634]

The tools that went through the fire are going to be softer and won't hold an edge very well, also the hammers will deform faster from the impacts. Since the handles are on, I suggest using a torch to heat just the contact surfaces and quench them. Differential heat treatments on blades actually makes them a lot stronger than a full quench would anyhow. As for bronze, that'll have to be work hardening; unfortunately there is no work-around.

[@shadbanta14]

Ive been watching since before the reset- i think around the time you guys made the sandwich. i promised myself i would see this series through and no fire can stop that. I trust you and your friends will do well and succeed for the effort you guys are putting in to rebuild.

[@hikingpete]

This was really satisfying to watch.

[@dhawthorne1634]

The Evaporust attacks iron oxides, but not the carbon or elemental iron. Vinegar will attack everything. Because of this, vinegar needs to be thoroughly removed but Evaporust just gets a light rinse. Both methods leave steel a dull grey color, Evaporust is darker because of the elemental carbon that is left behind on the surface. I use both methods but much prefer Evaporust if I'm working with steel or iron. For bronze and copper restoration, you have to go with an acid.

[@keithnorris5929]

Glad you are starting to rebuild the workshop, this is by far my favorite KZbin channel, looking forward to seeing you back up and running!

[@TatoRips]

For some of those broken pottery , you should try the japanese mending method with gold "kintsugi" , may be able to salvage something or atleast make it look nice

[@newthornsamerose]

Have you thought about lacquering broken pottery back together?

[@AbananaPEEl]

You should try Boiling it in water to rust blue some of the iron or steel peices. It was historically used in firearms to make a rust resistant coating of gun iron and steel

[@lbg5435]

I love ur channel and its great to see all u have been able to fix. Ive loved ur journey so far and im honored to see it and what u will do in the future

[@PlmCrzyKD]

I bought Dr. Squatch soap after the holidays when I was in Michigan.

[@jamesh5460]

It amazing to see how many other youtubers are coming together in support. Keep up the work and hope to see workshop 2.0 in the future.

[@pogostix6097]

So the fire was, no mistake, a tragedy... but it's provided a very interesting opportunity to explore the rebuilding/recovery process, which is probably entirely historically accurate. Fire alarms didn't exist for a loooong time, so no doubt many, many huts and houses burned down back in the iron age. It's interesting to learn how they might have gone about recovering from that. Experimental archeology at its finest.

[@obieldenook1142]

I'm thrilled and proud of you for doing such a fine job recovering almost everything.

[@dim1723]

Great video it is great they offered to help and make you a new knife.

[@monkebetao]

watch this video gives me great hope

[@Thejigholeman]

the man just turned a tragedy into a learning experience. gotta give him some credit