Thread: Alec Steele on Youtube

Originally Posted by bluesman7

Just watched part 3. He ended up with a pretty wide bevel especially considering his blade geometry. But I still congratulate him. Good on you Alec!

Caused by the fact that his is a quarter hollow or so, and probably not as thin as we would have ground it.
But it certainly looks cleaner than my first

Originally Posted by Bruno

I like that he protected his edge during etching, but a better way would have been to use tape to mask the blade before applying the nail polish, and then remove the tape. That will give you dead straight lines that perfectly follow the edge geometry.

Something I was wondering about when I saw him do that: if the entire blade (including edge) had been etched, would the bevel itself not have come clean with honing? Curious as I'm in the mood for a workout (i.e. making another pattern-welded billet sans power hammer/press) one of these days so I'll likely be dealing with the edge of something soon.

The edge section itself is (should be) so thin that the etchant would destroy it. And it takes a whole lot of honing to get through that to the good steel.

Originally Posted by Bruno

The edge section itself is (should be) so thin that the etchant would destroy it. And it takes a whole lot of honing to get through that to the good steel.

Not hard to tell I've only made knives and not razors so far, eh?

Originally Posted by Cangooner

Not hard to tell I've only made knives and not razors so far, eh?

For knives I don't bother with it either. They have the thickness to protect them and you need to remove steel to set the bevel anyway. I do it with a 240 grit belt. For razors it takes a ton of unnecessary work to hone through the damaged layer.

Alec is only 19... That's crazy.

I've watched every video and live show since this thread started. Caught up on a few that I had missed before that too. The're mostly short enough that even the boring ones are easy to watch.

I have watched many of his videos & he is a really good Smith. Having power hammers can make a smiths life much easier but also will let you screw up much faster. There is a lot to learn in using a power hammer & remember you can't do all operations on one so you will need an anvil, tongs & all the usual smith tools. Sure wish I hadn't sold all my stuff but that is another story. Looking to set up a new shop in the near future. We are looking at a place south of us that has a big quansit (sp) hut & a thick concrete floor. Wish it had 3 phase power but that costs the big bucks. I want to build a press & get a self contained air hammer. as far as fores go a gas forge is easier to learn. Coal forges are great but there is a lot to learn to use them properly. Also gas is much cleaner & easier to regulate the Temp. on. Good Smithing coal is getting harder to find every day it seems. The cost goes up & quality goes down. There used to be a coal yard in Indiana that got great coal but it is now closed.
Guess I am just rambling but but I love to talk Black smithing.

Slawman

Originally Posted by Slawman

Guess I am just rambling but but I love to talk Black smithing.

Slawman

Poke around the rest of the forge section of the forum if you have not already: The Forge There are quite a few of us here who enjoy playing with hot steel, hammers, and anvils.

Best of luck in your search for a shop! I first learned with coal, but I reckon my neighbours would not much appreciate the smell of a coal fire, so I'm running propane now. Have you tried charcoal? I never have, but am considering that as a more neighbourhood-friendly option to play around with.

I would *love* to have a press or power hammer, but as this is a hobby for me, that is way, way down the priority list. Ah well... Even without the big toys, there is still nothing better than some time spent at the anvil.

Is 3 phase difficult to get in the US? Here it is fairly common for regular households to be wired to 3phase 400 volts (240 between each phase and the neutral). Those 3 phases are usually distributed across the various single phase 240 volts circuits in the house to balance the load, and 3 phase circuits can be hooked up for e.g. induction cooking plates or big ovens.