Why You’re Wrong About Damascus Steel (with Steve Schwarzer)

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[joeywhite]

"There's a lot of experts out there, and some of them actually are."
Wise words from a man who knows things.

[oskarirasanen]

Steve is exactly the kind of guy I want to be at some point. Man's the definition of cool old dude.

[metalbob]

Are there going to be more interviews like this? Nothing wrong with being a historian of your craft.

[timm]

“Do the stuff that’s hard, because it makes you grow.” Thanks Steve and Will for this video because I’m living in that difficult season right now.

[ZevVeli]

I've always enjoyed learning from people like Steve Schwarzer. I'm a chemist by training so listening to him talking about the properties of Bog Iron and bloom-forging kind of excites me because that's the kind of thing I studied, and I know for a fact that there are upper level chemistry courses just dedicated to those sorts of things, and it just kind of drove home a point I've made many times to people about how everything we know is built on hundreds of lifetimes of hard work and experimentation.

[Moondog-wcvm]

Every scrap of Steve's knowledge needs to be recorded in detail and preserved. He has gathered together every tiny little bit he could find, and obviously tested all those nuggets exhaustively to understand what works and what doesn't. So much of the understanding of the smith's craft could have been lost, but his careful examination and experimentation has conserved some very important details of it. I wish there were more people like him who held on to the knowledge of the past and passed it along like he has. I bash metal on an anvil for fun, and I have a decent teacher, but this interview shows that there is grandmaster knowledge out there that should be preserved for future generations of craftsmen. Thank you Steve for sharing, and thank you Will for knowing and caring and sharing this with the rest of us.

[AvanaVana]

As someone who has studied the geology of iron formations and is pretty literate in history, but with only limited blacksmith experience (built a forge when I was a teenager), I appreciate the special quality of this man’s lived experience as a unique window into the past. He has the ability to understand and fill the holes in the history with the combination of his visceral experience and accumulated knowledge.

[johnhobson]

I was working with some of the predecessors of the Internet (Usenet and Arpanet) in 1980. So, yes, Steve was doing Damascus before the Internet was invented.

I can say from my own experience that the old saying, "If you want to learn a subject really well, teach it." is very true.

[UncleManuel]

"You can't pour knowledge into a broken cup."
Old man's wisdom is still the best. And these days the young guns are willing to learn from the old guys, apply modern material knowledge and share their journey with a broad audience. Like Alec and Will do. And that is very much awesome! 😎👍

[JK-zweu]

Honestly that was a great interview. It's hard to encapsulate all of the subject matter in such a brief video but he certainly didn't give any false or misleading information which is wonderful. As a bladesmith, sword seller, and metalworking educator and communicator it is nice to see others in the industry giving down to earth and pragmatic information about their craft.

Judging by some of the comments section of this video it seems like we still have a long journey to go to get proper information out to everyone.

[markfergerson]

I'm loving that you decided to own the whole pallet jack thing, the T-shirts are terrific.

What he said about tamahagane is so true. The fact that they got wonderful swords out of it is a testament to the Japanese smiths' dedication and willingness to put in thousands of man-hours into taking what you've got and making it work.

[bbogster]

It's nice to see the younger and older generations together. Sharing knowledge, particularly things that are more hands on. It's important. So Thank-you to both of you for what you both do. I've learned from both of you and I'm 40 so the sky's the limit. Thank you!!!

[WilliamLi-ndlz]

2:23 In fact it was southern india, modern day Kerala, Tamil Nadu and Sri Lanka that invented and exported wootz steel to the arabians; yes some of this steel found its way to the northern indian kingdoms yet the art of making steel was cosistently a Southern practice.

[waiakalulu]

One of the greatest videos yet! I love the fact that the younger guys are willing to pay respect to the guys that have been holding this trade down for years and years and giving them the kudos they deserve for sharing their knowledge and providing inspiration.

[mikec]

im a 22+ year glass artist looking to get into forging. the stuff glass artist do now is amazing. its even more wild when you learn not one of the techniques is newer then the roman era. ive dione glass classes at corning 20yrs ago. they have the best glass collection on display. 5000k-7000k year old egyptian glass ovens. some of the roman caged glass we still are not sure just how they did it back then. what a awesome breakdown for newbies like me lol. thanks

[NateAIM]

It's so refreshing to see something like this where he gets it right. No bad information, no mis-information, actually good quality information and a good presentation. I honestly can't recall a better video of this nature.

[velvetine]

I am a collector and started to learn about damascus and damasteel along with other blade steels M390, S90V, VG10, CPM 154, Magnacut etc, etc. The concepts of Edge Retention, Corrosion resistance, toughness and sharpenability. Different blade washes, stone, satin, etc and coatings, San Mai cladding, Rockwell hardness and quenching techniques, etc etc. Handle materials like Timascus, Zircuti, Zirconium, Anodized finishes. Lock types and hardware, ergonomics, etc etc. Little things like steel inserts on titanium lock bars to avoid lock stick, etc, etc MY GOD IT'S ALL FACINATING!!!

[forjanatalense]

Man 14 min of a master just spreading knowledge out there, this was beautifull. Thank you Will, thank you Mr. Schwarzer

[Lancealot]

What a awesome interview! We gotta learn from our elders, they know things, it’s not always about the future it’s about not forgetting our past, that’s how we do better by not making mistakes and learning from the experience of our elders. This man is awesome.

[rscalliwag]

I love him explaining Japanese sword forging. It's one of the best examples of taking something impure and brittle, and through hard work and dedication, turning it into something beautiful and strong. The amount of work that goes into Japanese forging is a testament to that. All without scientific measuring.