Taking on forging a titanium axe in the blacksmith shop today. It's a very challenging project, as titanium is incredibly tough and hard to forge. First I had to carefully heat it up to forging temperatures and then by a combination of working under the power hammer and at the anvil, I was able to turn the raw piece of titanium into an axe head. Grinding the axe as it turns out was harder than hard, but after spending a couple months at the grinder I was able to get it done. For the handle, a beautiful piece of purpleheart hardwood was selected. Carefully ground and shaped to fit the hand, it was wedged tight with a black walnut wedge. What a cool project to build as it makes a very nice axe when it's all finished up! Hope you enjoy the video.
My name is Timothy Dyck. I got hooked on blacksmithing when I was 13 years old. I quickly realized that in order to keep blacksmithing I needed money to buy costly supplies, so I started making small items and selling them at the local farmer markets. The farmer markets turned into craft shows and craft shows turned into custom projects. Right out of high school I had the opportunity to apprentice under a blacksmith, where I worked with him for four years. We did projects for some of the most prestigious houses around the rocky mountains and were apart of many large public sculptures. I learned many valuable lessons while working under his training, but the desire to set up my own shop and go out on my own was always something I dreamed about.
So in 2013 I started setting up my full time blacksmith shop out of BC, Canada making custom projects and products like railings, gates, lights, stairs, fences and all the many blacksmithing tools required to keep the blacksmithing shop running. I love what I do and this is my dream job. I enjoy showing you what's going on in the blacksmith shop through the lens of a camera and would love to have you along for the ride as I live out my dream of being a blacksmith in the 21st century.
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#blacksmith
#forging
#titanium
#axe
You Timothy Dyck are a superfine craftsman, I haven't seen any better and I am 71 years of older age in times when blacksmiths were still about. All credit to you Mr.Tim.
“It feels so smooth because its so hard” - Thats what she said!
Ricardo Smarts Much hilariously My is English is such good too! Lol
much wow
doge doge doge doge doge doge doge
Says it as he's stroking it too
Innuendo Bingo gold - stroking his purple wood shaft
I am very fascinated with blacksmithing and follow a few other blacksmiths on KZhead. I love the fact that you don't just play with regular steel. Love the titanium knife series using zirconium and now this beautiful ax. It always brings a smile to my face seeing a notification from you channel on my phone. Keep up the awesome work 😊
It’s like Matthew McConaughey and Mark Zuckerberg had a baby 😂
and one of them had an affair with chills
@@jameschambers3981 Burger King foot lettuce.
An ugly young Pete Townsend.
And Woody Harelsson was born.
Yea.... On the monster truck rally bathroom floor
I just watched Will Stelter (Alec Steele) snap a similar shard off his pipe tomahawk handle. On May 14th in '68 for my 6th birthday present I forged a hatchet head with my Dad watching to learn. When he offered to help seat the handle of our second and last prefab hickory handle Dad let out a couple words in early dairy farmer, prevacuum pump I thought. The look on his face backing that sliver from his palm went directly into permanent memory. He calmly walked out side saying nothing coherent and fired that handle at the next train that passed our Agassiz, BC farm. We settled on a temporary yellow cedar handle to have something to hang on to what we had made. After many years of, go on smell my hatchet, never could get around to replacing it. Funny how a couple broken handles can bring up an old memory. Thanks, I appreciate the coincidental reminder. Peace.
I'm not really into axes, but even I gotta admit that this was is beautiful.
The rhythmic sound of that power hammer is super relaxing.
Who taught Matthew McConaughey how to make an axe?
you mean Sarah Jessica Parker
@@void3923 Parker cut her hair short & started using skin cream!...
@@void3923 you mean Bert
@@mrsir2378 like Bert as in Bert and Ernie XD
Alright...
*stay tuned for the titanium sledgehammer* Axes are heavy tools for a reason
Andrew Keeton It would probably be a good slitting wedge because of the durability but wouldn’t be a good splitting maul.
Titanium in this case would be great for backpacking, And because its lighter you get more control and less strain on your arm, Also no rust. yes, A good steel with a good heat treat can be better edge retention then titanium, but axes don't need to have a pristine edge. So i agree with this axe, but Ill never have a titanium knife.
Carson Hague backpacking requires carrying some weight in my mind. An axe that size is maybe 1.5 lbs. Personally, I’d rather have a hatchet that takes a bite instead of bounces off wood. To each their own though
@@andrewkeeton3627 Yeah true, But of course the titanium axe would need near perfect edge to be effective, But In the end, Its a titanium axe dammit, Its pretty damn cool!
@@Soggyliquid Get a saw instead at that point. I have a Sikly GomBoy, and love it.
Really beautiful work. The grain of the purple heart matches the curve of the handle so perfectly. Subbed.
Swinging axes standing right in front of each other, had me start my prayers, "Oh Lord keep everyone safe ..."!
I think what makes the titanium ax better is the craftsmanship you managed, otherwise it's just a lighter ax that won't corrode easily. Nice video!
Yeah and not chop well. There is a reason why the end is heavy.
@@Jd-zl7mn It isn't the weight (or lack of) that is the problem. Modern Ti framing hammers have shown lighter weight isn't an issue. The real problem is that Ti doesn't hold an edge worth crap, and for an axe that is a bit of a problem.
@@PhotoBobBarker titanium isn't as great as people say. Frames it's great for. Aluminum is showing the greatest potential among metals.
@@PhotoBobBarker yeah you lower the mass but increase the acceleration
Great to see the 'serious shut down' machine in action :-) You can't beat an axe when it's made from Tim-tanium :-) Beautiful work.
Meet Timothy, the man who really does have an axe to grind.
Incredibly interesting video. Reminds me of the 5,000 yr old copper axe recovered in September 1991 . When the video of that axe was aired on TV everyone was saying it was a bronze axe and I was thinking it was a copper axe. I was correct from day one. I was surprised that the Ti hatchet still had an edge after Tim's demonstration.
THAT TITANIUM AX IS WICKED AWSOME FROM AX HEAD TO THE PURPLE HART HANDLE IT'S --1--BAD ASS AX 🤯👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍👍
PURPLE HEART. This is the only time I've heard anybody talk about it. I tried cutting it once with a Dremel. Spent 10 minutes, got nowhere except almost causing a fire. Very fitting to match it to a titanium bit.
That axe looks like it should be mounted on a wall instead of being used. I wouldn't have the heart to use such a beautiful piece of art. Could you make a tungsten axe?
Hmm tungsten...yeaa.. about that...i dont see him sharpening that..he would need a fcking diamond to scratch that shit
Tungsten is a hard (and brittle) metal, would be interesting if some alloy of tungsten was used though.
@@BannedEvECharacter a real pure tungsten is not brittle...the brittle 1 are tungsten carbide which is 5050 ceramic...a pure tungsten is goddamn strong and incredibly heavy...
@@kiro253 This is exactly why I was hoping to see a video of him making a tungsten axe because it would be so unique and interesting. I suspect that it would be very difficult but quite beautiful at the same time.
check out my ax
Awesome video. Thank you for making 1 build 1 video. It grinds my gears seeing a 7 part series of a hammer build.
Good Lord thst ti axe head is absolutely gorgeous. The color is so unique and amazing.
That is sweet! Loved the cut test👍 im sure it was crazy to work with. Awesome work my friend 👍👍
check out my ax
Awesome ax! I think the chopping contest just proves that a sharp ax is a sharp ax! :D
Ahh - craftsmanship like this is so satisfying to watch. And that axe is beautiful.
I love purple heart. If you ever want to experiment put a little heat on the wood with a torch then sand it back smooth. you don't want to blacken the wood just enough to darken and raise the grain. It will turn bright purple if done right. If you ever turn any on a lathe you can turn the machine up fast and use some 1000 grit or better and the friction will burn it and turn it as purple as can be. love the axe it should hold a edge very well thank you for your upload. I am new to this channel but I like what I seen so far thanks. keep up the good work.
I'll bear that in mind thanks, I always look at the purpleheart blanks at my local woodshop but I've never picked any up - but now I'll be sure to try this.
i remember watching you do demos at Fort Langley almost 10 years ago
Bing, with a lightbulb too. The now extinct Albion Ferry way too many times to play at Langley Airport. Can't quite place the year yet.
Everyone keeps talking about the weight being a problem. The real problem here is that titanium only has the edge retention of stainless steel, which is weaker than carbon steel. It works but is it great for an axe?...eh, carbon steel is the way to go.
That's what caught my attention. Forged in Fire just had a 'challenge' that included titanium and the judges all said it cannot be 'hardened'. I wouldn't know, I just like the show but aside from being pretty it does beg the question how useful this axe will be?
Many higher end stainless steel have better edge retention than carbon steel. In this application, toughness would be the disadvantage of both stainless and titanium. However, some specialized semi-stainless steels such as CPM 3V are far tougher than carbon steels such as 1095 and have better edge retention.
Sure, but when you are going on those 945 hour hikes with a 100 pound backpack it makes a difference. You know, when you decide to go on one of those hikes, where you say to your wife you are going to make, it or you are going to die trying. Retreating is not an option.
Of course, yet I am referring to generic stainless for the average person reading.@@leibniz2024
@@dnciskkk9037 We already get the lightweight purpose. It is a matter of making the baddest ass axe ever that the discussion is about. AKA we want lightweight and edge retention.
The handaxe is my spirit animal
Purpleheart is my favorite o love that stuff glad to see it in this build
A long handle would look so sick especially in the Purple Heart
I would recommend a colab with Alex Steele, formerly from the UK, now residing in Montana, USA. You both could make Sweet sparks and cool stuff together!
I second that
Coolest Collab name ever >>> the Steele Dyck Stump Buster
Yeah one video with this guy is like a whole month of content for Alex lol. Im subbed to Alex, he's good, but man does he stretch out his projects.
Respect to you for a fabulous looking axe! Many years ago I worked for IMI in the UK, they were Titanium makers and I made myself a wrecking bar out of the stuff. I could not believe that a metal that was as light as aluminium could be so hard and challenging to forge. Thanks for making the video, I loved watching it and chuckled a fair bit whilst you were forging and grinding it because I remember how long it took me on my very simple job!...good luck to you!👍
Titanium 4.506 g/cm3 Alumium 2.7 g/cm3
@@heinrichkrull2523 yes, but it is stronger than aluminium so a same strength part made out of titanium is about as heavy as one made from aluminium.
This guy out here hand crafting epics n legendaries
Very cool project and result, but I feel like you forgot to show the most important part from the test, which was hold the edge actually held up on the Ti axe. A lot of metals can take an edge good enough to chop through wood decently a few times, probably even mild steel, but taking a keen edge and more importantly keeping that edge during use is (as I'm sure you're already well aware of ) the most important aspect of what makes carbon/tool steels the main choice for axes, probably followed by either price of manufacturing and/or price of the raw material materials. Could ya give us an update on how the cutting edge is holding up compared to your usual axes? Thanks for sharing, this was a fun project to watch. It also would pretty cool to have seen the axe electrically or heat anodized a nice, deep peacock blue 😉
Yes i wish to know toasty too!!!
Please! that was the one thing I was looking forward to was how the edges held up!
A decade or so ago, my wife, always looking for cool and unusual presents for me, got me a titanium crowbar 24" in length. Incredibly light, so very easy to carry. Then I went to use it. No. Nope. It had no 'ass', no weight behind it to help you do the work. It worked less well than a 12" steel crowbar would have worked. Certain tools need a certain amount of weight, to make sure they have enough 'ass' to get the job done. An axe is one of those kindsa tool...
For a small hatchet like that Titanium would be fine, it's for small branch and tree clearing and gives good control in tighter spaces. Now for a full size wood cutting axe? Hell no, steel all the way, you need that extra heft to split large logs cleanly.
For a small hatchet like this you don't need it to be very heavy. besides the purple heart is heavy enough to still give the axe enough heft to be nice to use.
Ha. Way to blame your tools. Time to get a gym membership, lightweight.
@@yourdad9168 You've obviously never used a titanium crowbar.
It's like admantium in Dwarf Fortress. Can be razor-sharp and is nigh-indestructible but is like hitting people with styrofoam.
Sounds like a axe many collectors would love to have !
Love watching someone who is a true craftsman working. Nice video.
11:12 for him stroking a hard woody and saying it feels so good
Lord Feish oh nigga you gay
I like how Tim makes a beautiful perfect notch and the other dude just bashes it over and over until it snaps
Good work, IMPRESSIVE!
You are a man of many talents good job thank you for reassuring methat there are younger men in the world that care
Not really that safe swinging an axe with a person in front, you never know your final destination your partner may slip the handle with that axe sticks to your face.
Good thought.
Thinking the same during the test...great way to see how they function as tomahawks...by accident.
pussy
I am glad I am not the only one thinking this thought.
i was expecting the worst, thanks goodness it didn't happen. sweaty palm and axe goes flying. Is axe not a word? auto correct tells me, it has no "e"
A titanium axe with a CPM 3V insert at the edge would be very interesting. High strength to weight ratio due to titanium. High edge toughness due to steel edge.
yeah titanium doesn't like to keep a edge
Great job guys! You know how hard it is to come up with something new in your brave new world and you nailed it. CONGRATULATIONS
FASCINATING PROJECT! SPLENDID videography and production values!
I'ma be that guy: 16" handle means hatchet to me, not axe... but you do you dude.
I am with you on that. With that said, it isn't any less impressive!
Me too Che' . But any one hand axe is a hatchet to me .
Oh well most people are so damn stupid anything with a handle and a blade on the end of it is an axe
@@6061 no fair, I thought that snark beat out logic every time!
@@chemusvandergeek1209 it does but you need more people. At least a 2:1 ratio.
That looks like such a great tool for bushcraft, the lighter weight is so appealing since my axe is usually the heaviest thing in my pack. 👍👍👍
Use a tomohawk
Such a joy to see a master craftsman at work, if it were me, I would keep that titanium axe for ever!
a true Nord would be proud to own that axe !
"it feels so good... It feels so smoothe. its the smoothest ive ever felt wood. I guess because its so hard." while he's stroking it.. lmfao... I cant be the only one who thought this.. but even if i am............ ^^ Thats what she said...
🤣me to
Hahaha my thought exactly
I screen recorded that, imma post it tmro and let the hearts roll in 😎
Joshua Stagnitto 😭😭
Man i had my resrrvations and benifit of the doubt untill he said that.
A light weight axe head seems self defeating - the purpose of an axe is to maximize the weight behind the edge while maximizing the toughness of the edge. Titanium alloy has the toughness but the mass would be bit light to use it. A tungsten alloy axe would be interesting however.
Best reasons I can see would be to carry the lighter hatchet on a long hiking and camping trek and it would stay sharper for longer. Oh yeah,reason 3 would be more rust resistant.
I see no benefit to a lighter full size axe head. Less weight, one would have work twice as hard to accomplish the work of useing heavier steel. In other words, with a titanium axe you would burn more calories and only have half the work done.
Tim, Another great video. Thank you for taking time to film, edit and post this video.
As a 2nd gen jeweler,I'm amazed by the machines that do all the pounding.Thinking 200 yrs ago all hammering was done by hand,I wish he showed the reheating as I was wondering about it.Great job bro,Make a knife w all the lovely scraps please!
To be honest that was pretty scary while you stand facing each other and swinging axes. If anything would happens with hand or axe... Whoa hospital in best case scenario.
Best case scenario is nothing goes wrong. Which is what happened...
you know some of us never worn a bicycle helmet either. The safety police is everywhere man. I mean i guess a head could fly off if he sucks at building axes but i think you are just being silly. cant see how 40 people agree that it was dangerous.
@@jvmiller1995 I've seen enough people lose their grip while swinging tools that I ain't ever standing in front of their swing.
@@jvmiller1995 I don't know about you, but I never let anyone stand in the line of the axe. Doesn't take any extra effort to avoid the area.
It's a shame it's so small. Titanium is lighter than steel. Imagine how massive a 3.5 pound head could be! You could make a big fat splitter with a crazy light weight for swinging.
Even when it comes to watches, titanium over stainless steel makes a world of difference.
Jonny boy Do you print via lasers and titanium powder or cut masses of titanium?
Jonny boy how expensive would it be to get a trans rebuilt with titanium or too brittle?
@Jonny boy Get a bigger "battle-axe" head and it would be truly impressive.
@@robertpicton1 I'm going to agree with Connor here.
One of my favorite things about titanium is the bright white sparks it's awesome
For some reason when I watch your videos, it reminds me if Iron man 1 when tony was in the cave.
Hey Timothy, great job ,guy!!!😄 You do really good work. I wish I was turned on or seen forging at a young age. I never saw it it saw around me!! But, now at 46 last yr I was turn on by it. I'm trying to do it. By trying to make knives. And small things. I don't have a fire burning forge. So, if you want to donate one if your old ones, I'll take it? Thank you, for your channel and vidoes very inspiring to me..😀
youtube watch break down, 5% gaming, 5% Russian cooking vids, 90% metal grinding compilations
Worked on F-22 Engine Bay access panels (Titanium). Had the pleasure of working with engineering in R&D as a mechanic on the lower panel contouring. It was painfully tedious to re-contour titanium without any sparking took hours and hours to reshape 3"x5" area!
That axe is stunning, amazing craftsmanship.
I would have liked to have seen side by side footage of the steel axe vs titanium axe. How much faster were you both with the titanium one? Great vid!
Ya that would have been a good way to slice it! Nice idea.
@Elena Thanks! :D Haha it's nothing fancy. It's just OPI black onyx, which you can most likely get anywhere.
It'd be very interesting to know which Titanium alloy you used for this project. Alpha, Beta, AlphaBeta? Ti-10V-2Fe-3Al? Ti-6Al-4V? Excellent work and great use of the materials!!
Wtf 😱😱
What amazing hard work and wonderful craftsmanship and so patient!
Too nice to use as a tool. Looks awesome…..two thumbs up👍👍
Tim, you do know that there is no substitute for good quality steel when it comes to edged weapons, or home utensils.... it is just the best. And your friend has stronger arms.
If you thought that was hard, try to make an axe head from tungsten. Nearly impossible.
What about a tungsten alloy
Or mercury
It's literally impossible unless you could heat your forge to 5kF
Fantastic axe and awesome music!
A real masterpiece. That's a tool for life :) Well done!
From what planet? Earth. Titanium is one of the most common elements on our beautiful planet, but the processing is brutal.
well, technically all heavy elements came from the core of massive stars
The amount of hours put in, that is a thousand dollar hatchet, at least
Titanium is a very fascinating metal. EXTREMELY hard when cool, but like butter at forging temperature. That pale, yellow oxidation is neat as well.
that is a awesome test , very accurate !
Is this a titanium alloy? The USSR built a submarine out of titanium in the 80's, still holds the record for speed and dive dept, check project 661 Anchar.
Should've used ash or hickory for the handle and made a purple heart wedge or blood wood wedge.
Dustin Chambers ash is too hard for a handle
It's not build for purpose obviously so what he chose is much better then plain hickory that every axe already has
Awesome axe! Terrific work! Is a master piece!
WooHoo ! Awesome work and awesome end product sir! Also love the axe head design... Yeah, we all have those days... just keep pushing onward LOL Thanx for sharing
the music is so much better in this than other black smith vids
You should send it to WranglerStar he will give you the real decision on a titanium axe
He has really gone downhill imo. Still a good channel, but his focus shifted so much and for me it isn't a good shift.
@@shimba90 Watch out, he'll ban you if he reads this =]
@@dorusie5 oh shit, didn't think about that part...
@@dorusie5 He blocked me a long time ago, but it doesn't seem to have any impact. He just won't receive messages when I post to his videos, I guess.
Everytime i watch wranglerstar video i get the impression that he doesnt know what hes doing, but just tries really hard to make everybody else believe he does
It looks like that space shuttle foam when it's hot. Its neat how the boarders stay darker.
And that's the most expensive axe out there... Nice job, mate. It's a beautiful and excellent tool.
I wonder if a dragon axe would be better than the titanium axe
I was waiting for one of you to lose your grip and then we would have really known who the winner was
STUNNING WORK OF ART, BEAUTIFUL AXE. MICK FROM UK.
That's a real pretty piece! Good stuff.
I love that purple wood!! Very beautiful. Just one thing bro, what you made is a HATCHET not an AXE!!!
It's an axe .
(1:12) feel like I would have grabbed that with my hand ✋
Me too.....I could almost see him go to grab it :)
Only once though.
Lmao. I thought the same thing.
Same >_
@@anonymous11011 actually twice because you have another hand
I love hearing the power hammer roar to life.
That was work of Art Wish I have one
Nobody : KZhead recommendations : imma make him famous
You should have made a floppy handle for more kinetic energy
I like where this is going...
worxharder titanium flail is where I see this going
@maoristereo kzhead.info/sun/dM5mc5dxp5dnYKs/bejne.html
You got some skills buddy. That purple heart wood is sweet. Looks great!
Thanks again that was awesome to see keep up the good work and we love you and love your work
First i think: No way he could do this. Me sees: White sparks.. THIS GOTTA BE REAL!!
If it ain't hickory, it's a decoration.
In Europe se use oak. We don't have hickory here
There are woods that work well, or even better than hickory, just not as readily available as hickory
That was a fun video. Well made. Makes me want to make a titanium axe as well.
Gorgeous axe !
15:51 imagine if a head flew off the axe
Those safety glasses are stronger than they look 😂
#fatality ....finish him !
I just want to eat the huge orange glowing unprepared AXE, looks like a very nice cheeto
Awesome. That axe looks sick.
Hardening the titanium would make this a perfect hiking hatchet. I would definitely use it.