Mastering the Secrets of Carbon and Steel

Today we're exploring the relationship of iron and carbon. Let's see how we can use their relationship to produce exact properties whenever and wherever we want in hopes of making steel. Check it out!

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Created and Hosted by Andy George
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[xXMACEMANXx]

I've been a blacksmith for 4 or 5 years now, and I remember my first big hurdle to overcome was understanding hardening and tempering, or that is to say, the metallurgic fundamentals of steel. Very good video! Keep up the good work.

[Ilzhain]

For anyone wondering about the difference between Wootz and Damascus steel they can be the same thing but Damascus is also used to refer to pattern-welded steel which is where two or more different steels are welded in layers to create patterns in the metal which can resemble the pattern found in wootz steel. Basically, Wootz exclusively refers to steel made in a crucible whereas Damascus can refer to either crucible or pattern-welded steel.

[storyspren]

I love how Adri started as a guest smith but now there's been so much metalwork that they're a core part of the team :D

[kaitlyn__L]

I love how this demonstrates exactly why the village/town blacksmith was so revered and important! Not to mention, why some gods in pantheons were blacksmiths too. It really is arcane knowledge, in the best way!

Sure, it’s not “one person figuring it all out by themself” like the intro used to be, but if anything this is an even more fascinating demonstration of why and how societies evolved in the ways they did!

[nickverbree]

I've given really similar "what IS steel" talks (though focussing on modern steels), and you totally knocked it out of the park. All the time and effort that goes into actually filming the entire process, and then to use it to explain steel metallurgy 101 without it getting confusing or boring? 11/10 brilliant video. I have a ton of people I'm sharing this with.

[Sanity]

I really liked this episode it finally answered some of the remaining questions I had about how iron goes from the bloom to a workable piece.

[nhe]

A video on sanding stones and how you' re able to get a stone deadflat could be interesting, albeit maybe much shorter. It would be the 3 stones technique(?) Anyways, steel is a crazy important development but having stones flat enough to sharpen a chisel or tool crazy sharp/flat and accurate is an immensely forgotten aspect as well.

[slartbarg]

I think you did a pretty good job at explaining the iron-carbon system for steels. Only thing I would have added was a line or 2 about why grain size affects properties (including grain boundaries affect on these properties)

[drstrangefart]

Dude, that was a VERY good crash course explanation of how steel do.

[inserttext]

Hello How to Make Everything team, you guys should check out high phosphorus iron. It's somewhat of a stop gap between wrought iron and steel. It's a lot more finiky to work with but would be an interesting topic to cover. There's even an old Norse saga that involves a magical blacksmith using bird droppings to intentionally up the phosphorous content of his sword. If you are looking to pursue case hardening father Clickspring has a great video on timings and mixtures to use.

[jt]

I watched another video on making steel with black sand and they used silica a a flux for the ore. They also graded the size of coal to roughly 2” x 1” so they weren’t clogging up the chimney. The chimney was made with a few other ingredients besides horse poo and clay to withstand the heat. I would love to see you guys try making steel again but do some modifications to succeed. You guys rock and I look forward to seeing more videos

[jameskelly]

Impressive series, starting with dirt and charcoal and ending with case hardened steel chisels. Very good work and a lot of talented people.

[SF-likh]

Eagerly looking forward to Wootz steel. Maybe it can be used for your Ballista project

[MicroMidas]

One of the best series I follow on YouTube hands down! Such an interesting topic, with so many opportunities to explore various cool topics! Can't wait to see what the future holds for this channel!

[danielkanes]

As a History and Geography teacher in AUS, thank you! I will use your videos as part of my upcoming lessons!

[Freakmaster]

Just for reference the iron-steel-cast iron rough placements are a good rule of thumb. Bot nescessarily hard and fast rules. Super high carbon, high alloy steels can have well over 3% carbon in the mix. Rex 121 and zdp 189 are good examples.

You can also have steels with very little carbon that instead rely on elements like nitrogen or boron for hardening. Vanax is a good example.

[itachiify]

Watch htme be the one to rediscover true Damascus steel or something.

Keep up the good work!

[trogdor]

The secret of steel has always carried with it a mystery. You must learn its riddle, Andy. You must learn its discipline.

[pheorrungurd]

If you take that steel, and put it into a crucible, you can melt it completely into a solid ingot to Forge easier. That is how I was taught to make steel, before hammering it into nails. Nails were the first thing, from what I was told, every black Smith started out actually forging. That is because you can always heat them up and fold them into a larger piece later if you need something else instead of nails.

[Khitiara_]

fun fact if you cut a case hardened piece the cross section shows where became steel and what stayed iron and it's super visible