Making a BEASTLY Chopper from an Old Sledgehammer Head | Knife Making Challenge
Join me on my latest knifemaking adventure as I take on the chopper knifemaking challenge! For this build I'm creating a massive chopper from an old 10 pound sledgehammer head. One of the unique features of this knife is the tapered tang, which not only makes the knife lighter overall, but also gives it a cool and modern look. I'll show you my techniques for tapering the tang and how it adds to the overall functionality and style of the knife. As you'll be able to see at the end of the video, this knife could easily fell a 40' pine. So sit back, relax, and witness the birth of a true Texas chopper.
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🛠 Notable Items and Tools:
xTool D1 20W Laser Kit -www.xtool.com/products/portab...
3M Versaflo Respirator - amzn.to/3HLbz89
Long Gooseneck Light - amzn.to/3fcEyYO
Buffer - amzn.to/3BPLbrF
BA Vander Sander (Promo Code = redbeardops) - becksarmory.com/becks...
House Work Sharpening System - housemade.us/collections/acce...
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#ytchopperchallenge
#knifemakingchallenge
00:00 - The Hammer Head
00:39 - Forging
02:38 - Rough Shaping
03:52 - Drilling Tang Holes
04:06 - Surface Grinding
04:29 - Prepping Handle Scales & Drilling
05:16 - Tapering Tang & Bevels
06:27 - Heat Treating
07:09 - Finish Grinding On Scales
07:49 - Final Blade Finishing
08:40 - Challenge Details
09:15 - Handle Shaping
10:27 - Sharpening
11:02 - Mustard Patina
11:59 - Pre-Testing Thoughts
13:07 - TESTING
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A Notice from Red Beard Ops LLC:
The information provided on this channel is for entertainment purposes only. Any action you as the viewer takes upon the information on this channel is strictly at your own risk, and Red Beard Ops LLC will not be liable for any losses, damages, or personal injuries in connection with the use of this content (including injuries, damages, or losses sustained while you were trying to emulate the actions and projects on this channel). Attempting to emulate any of the actions or projects put forth by this channel should not be done without training and even then, at your own risk.
⭐ Make sure to VOTE HERE - forms.gle/SkQJZcKHMLk9o64s5 .... and watch all the other builds! We have some amazing works of art in this challenge. Cheers!
Thank you for the link friend and loving the pattern and style of the chopper.
Truly extraordinary craftsmanship and quality, looks good 👍👍
You did that ol' sledgehammer proud!
Thank you!
Sweet, beastly is right. Works for me
I'm blown away with how that mustard patina turned out. Simple and a unique finish. Nice build!
Thanks man! Cheers
I also like the mustard knife it's a winner in My book am going to have to try that tecneek on my first knife that am going to make some day
@@williamlevey8712 did you watch my submission?
@@williamlevey8712 Very nice! Thank you
I like the mustard patina. I think it came out nice and gives it more character. Over all a beast of a knife.
Thanks man! It grew on me a little...
Beastly is the word, nice job
Thank you Ian!
Get to the choppa!
GET TO THE CHOOPPPAAA
Easy job to make a perfect chopper with a complete useful equipment good job
Thanks 👍
Very nice video I like it tanks for sharing ❤❤❤❤
I am totally stealing your 2x4 C-clamp sanding jig idea! Genius.
Cheers sir!
Sweet chopper!
Knife is a beauty!
Well, I can say this. If you don’t win it’s definitely not due to the lack of tools. Very impressed with your tool arsenal sir!!!
Thank you sir; it's been a slow accumulation. Cheers
@@RedBeardOps you’re welcome sir.
My name is David from Arkansas and I think you have a good kind of knife and I think it is just the best the way it is
Thank you David!
NICE, I love the "swoop" of the tip - it gives the chopper an assasin-look. 👍👍🌞
Thanks Hulk!
Amazing work. Never I was seen it
What a weapon
Dude that beast whittled down a friggin tree trunk!!! Love the taper on the handle too- awesome build!! 😃🤘🤘
Thank you greatly Smitty! Cheers my friend
Absolutely- and man I gotta get a respirator like yours, all this hair and beard that thing looks super effective
@@SmittyTutDesigns It's effective for sure... pricy... but I figured so are medical bills
Hahahaha so true!!
It's unique idea, so few give repurposing a chance. It turned out otherworldly. The trend of forge presses really takes the soul out of the game.
Awesome work Red!
Thanks!
Love the mustard patina! Great build!
Wow, that's nice, brother, like the mustard trick not too bad.
Thank you! Cheers
This is a beautiful knife. Great work as always. 👍👍
Cool concept!
Fruit ninja!!! Great job James 🙏🏻🇬🇧🇺🇸
Oh... I'm a fruit ninja for sure! LOL
Wow. ❤ Amazing ❤
Holy smokes! That is a beastly blade! Great to see a new video and a dangerous chopper challenge entry!
Thanks Victor!
Now that is a knife! Best of luck in the challenge. Thanks for sharing!
Thanks Stephen!
Great work there!
Thank you James!
Amazing chopper! This video really flowed well too and it was fun to watch. Great job!
Thank you sir!
Right on man! Nice work!👍🏻
Thank you sir! Your axe was epic!
I concur! A beastly zombie chopper! Fantastic work sir!
Thank you!
a nice stencil to lay the mustard , would have made the mustard thing look more uniform, well done either way.
I would call that working and usable chopper. Good work.💪
Thank you greatly!
The quality and effort you put into your blades is always breathtaking... This is no exception. Beautiful work! 🤘
Thanks for the kind words sir! Your Bone Chopper was a unique work of art my friend. Your channel is one of the most under appreciated; I'm excited to watch your growth
Thanks a lot! Good luck with the competition! :)
Брово мастер класс 👍👍👍👍👍
Great craftmanship. amazin ❤
Thank you!
Great job brother
Thanks Tony!
Beautiful knife
Thank you!
The entire time i was like when is he gonna do the Damascus folds.....🤔🤔 why ain't he folding the steel.....and then i saw the mustard and i understood....lol nice work man really beautiful work.👍
Lol, cheers! Glad you enjoyed it!
Very cool build!
Thanks man!
I haven't been a fan of the mustard patina but yours won me over. Nice build!
Thanks Bryson! It has it's applications for sure
I definitely like the style and angles I totally want to see it out to the test
Thanks!
Nice Damascus!
LOL
I knew you would make a beautiful knife. 👍👍
Thank you!
I like it :) First glance i didn't think I would but end product looks great and the patina actually works IMO, adds to the overall well. Good Build.
Thank you! Cheers! It's growing on me
I like the voice overs. Don't get me wrong. I like all your builds but I like to learn from you as well. Thanks and keep up the great work.
Thank you greatly Mike. I will sprinkle in both. I was under a time crunch for this one.
Subbed. I was a little late to the dance for the chopper challenge but I've watched all the vids nonetheless. Love the channel. Personal preference but I enjoy the fact that there's no thumping emo music over everything you do. I enjoy hearing the sound of work. And, you had me at mustard lol.
Thank you sir!
Great video, man. Still going through the videos, but you are in the lead for my vote at this point.
Heck yeah, cheers Charles
Beautiful and great knif. Looks like Uzbek pichak!)👍
Thank you!
Not what I'd consider a chopper, but a large kitchen knife. Well done tho, turned out well.
Thanks Miller!
Waw good 👍
Very distinctive and charming knife. Nice to be able to participate. Greetings
Cheers Leandro; you make some awesome knives!
Berry good Jovi.i loveli..
Corretor meu e louco..
Que bom que gostou da construção!
That's a f@cking chopper alright 😳 Well done!
Thank you!
Oh Man, I was hope you will chop this wooden log in half😂! Very nice looking "Chopper Beast" James!
I got tired! LOL
I thought that the slightly longer handle brought good proportion. The patina was refreshing. I liked your video!😃
Thank you greatly Harry! Cheers
See now thats what these old school bowie knives looked like I use to find at stores when u could buy em anyplace a heavy thick blade wide good for bout anything now days can't find em like that
Cheers sir! Glad you enjoyed this one
Beautiful forgeing brother.
Glad you enjoyed it! Cheers
keep learning
I'm doing my best!
that would made a great kukiri
Muito bom
Obrigado!
Great vid man. I've been busy lately so i might not have been checking as much. But i feel like i haven't been seeing you drop as many videos lately. Maybe ill check the channel after this to see if i just ended up missing them.
Thanks man! Yeah... My output has been slower... Sorry about that. I'm not quitting though; don't worry
@@RedBeardOps all good man. Still great to see the videos you do put up
Looks great man! With mustard, do multiple sessions and give it a light scrub with 0000 steel wool between sessions. About 3 sessions will do. Then give it a quick dip in ferric ( maybe a minute). Final scrub with the steel wool and your done. I’ve had good results this way.
Thanks for the tips! I'll give that a go next time
Some how my comment was at another video sorry about that. Lot of work forging that hammer great handle & tang, been awhile since your last video great fan outstanding video 👊🤙👏
Thank you greatly! Happy you enjoyed this one... Yeah my pace has slowed a little bit for sure. Don't worry; I'm not quitting any time soon. Have a great weekend!
Very good chopper. Now all you need is some bbq beef.. One thing about the chopper ya don't have to swing it too hard to get it to cut.
Aint that the truth! Cheers will
very nice knife. kind of like a bbw, but a bbk LOL
Glad you enjoyed the build!
“It’s perfect”
Looks great. Tapered tangs confuse me. How do the holes for the Corby bolts line up?
They confuse me too. I drill the holes before tapering so that they're straight though. There are a bunch of fancy jigs to use to drill the scales. I need to make one...
That's pretty cool! What kind of steel do you think that sledgehammer is made from? Or, true temper tools in general? Thanks for the video, mustard patina is something you don't see every day.
Thanks John! The most common steel used for making sledge hammer heads is high-carbon steel, specifically 1045 or 1060 carbon steel. These types of steel offer a good balance of strength, durability, and impact resistance, making them suitable for heavy-duty applications like sledge hammers. Honestly I really don't know what True-Temper uses... but I bet it's one of those.
Love it. How long does it take to fire the mass so it can be worked, and how long can it be worked until it has to be fired again?
It took a while with this large hammer head. Maybe 15-20 min. Then I'd work it for about 30-60 seconds at a time
Man this looks AWESOME. What about cover edge with a nail polish and then do a ferric chloride bath and a stonewash to really finish this patina?
That would look cool for sure! Nice idea Michal
I live in a suburban area with houses about as close as they are from you, from the looks of your videos. I've been leary about hammering on an anvil because I don't want to make my neighbors mad. What are your thoughts on in town blacksmithing?
Hey D Patt, I haven't had many issues to date with any complaints. Probably depends on your neighbors. If they're outside on the other side of the fence trying to have an event or relaxing evening; you should likely use common sense. Really depends; sorry hard to say.
Honestly, excellent and elaborate work. It produced a very beautiful and powerful cleaver. Please, what is the length and width of this knife, because frankly, I want to make one like it 😊
I have a PDF of the template on patron if you're interested www.patreon.com/posts/yt-chopper-81886773?Link&
How long does the original firing take? And then how long before refiring, that is, how long can you work the metal before it has to be refired?
Not very long between heats. Depends on a lot of factors though
Good job. Not damascus, but cool knife with hummer
Thank you!
Maybe I lack imagination but I didn't care for the tip or the patina. I do think it could have been a beautiful Bowie. At any rate it is FAR nicer than I could do.
Thank you for the thoughts! Always trying new things over here
Is sledgehammer hardenable to decent hardness
I'd say.. decent, but not as good as 1080. It's probably 1060
Verry nice Knife. 0:19 Is that a German license plate on the white Car in the Background?
It's a diversion tactic ;)
@@RedBeardOps that looks like a License Plate from Stuttgart Germany. That's only a few kilometers away from me 😊
Do we know what kind of steel hammers are?
I think they're either 1045 or 1060
🤫
using a Coconut to cut hahahaha
This is really beautiful. Just one thing: why that shape of the top? It's a little useless a tip like this. Sorry, I'm a kitchen chef..! I thought with the mind on my job!
Just for some flair! lol
Yes absolutely that top shape makes the knives prettier ❤
😮😮😮😮😮😮😮👏👏👏👏👏👏
Bummer to do all that forging and then just cut the shape out.
Sorry to disappoint you
Try to make Kris
What a weird design to use…. Just looks weird
Sure is!