Forging the Ultimate Campfire Cooking Setup 

Not entirely sure why the ending music is so loud... .but I'm curious what you THINK I'm saying at the end 🤣🤣

The first rule of the blacksmith's shop: everything is hot until proven otherwise.

From a Blacksmith perspective your work is good. Just starting is the best teacher! I may have some tips for you: You should leave the Steel inside of the forge until its glowing yellow/white, it makes the work much more easier. Don't strike the Steel when it is not yet red glowing, espacially when you Round the Endings. You will crack the structure of the Steel. For extensions of the steel you may use the horn of the Anvil. Use the Edge of the Anvil to form the Tips of your Steel at the edge of your anvil, the angle of the hammer in relation to the edge of the anvil creates the tip and you only need a few strokes to shape it. The temperature of the gas is regulated by the oxygen supply. If you reduce it correct, the steel will not burn and you can heat 4-6 steels at the same time.

Merch idea: if it hasn't been suggested, patches both of your emblem and the archetypes you work on. I think those would be amazing!

As a construction safety manager, I can confirm most of my day is spent telling full-grown toddlers that very thing - don't be dumb!

I'd honestly recommend instead of beeswax using cooking oil and basically seasoning the various pieces. The oil will mostly waterproof it and also make it good to cook on directly.

Great job. 2 suggestions. 1) Put a spike on the other end, this will help you get them in the ground. 2) Make a bag to carry all of them, I suggest leather and canvas inside.

I bought my husband a small forge, but apparently i am now going to use it before him. I love this project SOOO much! We are trying to do a lot of camping, and this setup will fix some issues.

Let's face it, you wanted to practice the sharpened hook for your next pirate character.

Long time watcher, first time commenter. Super heat all of the pieces of your cooking station and then quench them in Olive oil. Repeat process 8 or 9 times until you see a nice black coating on the outside. It waterproofs your cooking station and makes it food safe to cook directly on. If any part starts to rust then you can clean it off with a wire brush super heat it again and douse in more Olive oil. Love your work and thanks for getting me into crafting!

another example of why i love the way you all design stuff. Multiple configurations, uses, etc with the simplest to build design. Overengineered simplicity at its finest

Merch idea: skill tree aprons for crafting. With lots of pockets and little fantasy designs.

I implore you to make a set or 2 of tongs. There is a lot you learn by making them, and it's something that should be one of the first things any smith should make. Eventually you will start making more because you think if you just had a pair of things with a particular shape it would make this one thing you need to do easier, so you just make a set of tongs in that particular shape.

Cl3ver, you glorious bastard! You haven't done a metalwork video in forever. How on earth did you know that I *just* got my brand new forge set up, acquired an anvil and a stump, and my next free weekend is going to be my first foray into blacksmithing! With free rebar I have laying around no less!

As a full time blacksmith here, I will tell you great job! Safety rule #1 : EVERYTHING in the shop is hot! Treat it as such. The most dangerous color steel isn't yellow orange or red. Its GRAY steel that is the most dangerous color. One thing i learned a long time ago about rebar is that its a hodge podge of different grades of steel. So that being said, after forging into what you want, if it is to be struck for say, driving into the ground, be aware that it shouldn't be quenched from red hot into water or even oil at that point. it will become brittle. just let it air cool. personally I use a mix 50/50 bees wax and linseed oil for coating. using this mix its better to heat the metal to around 300-400 degrees and brush it on. being as the metal is hot it will absorb better and will make it a nice water proof blacken. But anyway good job. I get asked to make these all the time for customers. Rob

They would be easier to carry along with all your other camp builds if you had a Wagon of the Wanderer hiking trailer to match your Bag of the Wanderer that also broke down and reconfigured into a camp cot...

i'm so glad this happened. Ive wanted to see Cl3ver do this ever since the backpack tent.

What you should do is heat up the re-bar to a grey heat and then brush on the bee's wax so you get a patina .

Rebar is not hardenable . Carbon content to low. But it is perfect fir what you are doing

Outro feeling like Helldivers 2, keep forgetting to turn my music down and this is what every drop sounds like when teammates are talking :D :D also, rebar fire tools coming next? ;)

If you have not checked out Dave Canterbury on here, highly recommend. He is like a bushcraft guru essentially. But he has a nice small cook setup like this he makes, and a video on how he makes it. Love this one though, really makes me want to get back into some blacksmithing projects. Side note, that end music is a little on the high side, kind of can't hear you at all. Just incase it was missed in editing

The irony that when Clever wears a flannel over his merch shirt, it says Level 0 lol

What you said is very true, "Learn more by doing than watching." When I was getting started on the leather work journey, I spent so many hours watching stuff to prepare mentally for it and make sure I knew the theory behind it but nothing was better than actually doing it though. That's truly where the education is. Good stuff, brother!

Let you hammer do the work. Otherwise it'll tire you out waay to fast. Awesome kit! Thanks!

This is as cool as that big green tent you made and will pair aestheticaly as well as the pieces would go with the small adventure tent backpack

So many comments since you are discussing my art…! 1. Study metallurgy. The UK Bladeshow on RU-vid is AMAZING. Knowing the how and why will put you years ahead of just heating and beating. 2. EVERYTHING around the forge is hot. No one gets burned on red hot metal. It’s the black metal that is 200 degrees and NOT glowing that gets you. And me. I still burn myself. 3. Draw out metal from the middle and with out to the taper. That pushes the middle out; if you start hitting the end, it will make a hollow on your taper that is really evident on your close ups. It looks like foreskin (I teach blacksmithing to veterans, do that is how I explain it). I used to do it to. Not busting balls, just sharing lessons learned. 4. Keep going! I love your channel and am totally pumped to see forging here! My channel has some old videos from my early smithing days that are sorta tutorial-like.

Now I can't wait for the forge welding episode.

I vote your next smithing tool you get should be a hot cut tool that you set into the hardy hole. Hope it helps :D

I started making noise hammering metal at 15, 41 years ago. You've learned a valuable lesson regarding hammering - let the tool do the work. Also, having your anvil face, the part you hit on, at the correct height will really help. Holding your hammer as in striking, the face should lie flat on the anvil when your arm is at full length hanging down. The handle should be horizontal. Bury your stump if you can't cut it. Striking hot metal at these sizes with the edge/corner is ill advised. It will upset a far greater dent that will require more work to dress. Use the face of your hammer to draw the metal out with directional strikes. All metal is HOT. Live by that. A glowing red piece loses that color quickly, but remains hot enough to put you in ER. Always check before picking up. Use the back of your hand and hover it over the metal to confirm. If you stupidly burn the back, you can still keep holding work. When I was really spending entire days at the forge, my hands became so desensitized and calloused that a few times I grabbed hot metal and didn't know it. Couple times I smelled myself burning. The result is a white colored temporary scar. Don't do that. It hurts. Building your chain like that, with the s and the closed hook is correct. The hook remains attached, and that is what you hang your bail on. The s attaches to varying supports and you can also shorten the chain on the s to raise it from the fire to reduce heat. Adjustable heat. You have followed the principles of cooking fire set ups very well. Good job. It's a long path, but rewarding.

Merch idea. One the left side of the chest do your tree with skill at the top and tree below in pretty calligraphy then the archetypes shields big on the back. Maybe allow them to custom what level is depicted

A big tip I can give you to save your arms and reduce pain or injury is to use your whole arm when swinging. It will generate more force with less effort and will save your wrist and forearm in the long run. I would also see about making your anvil stand more sturdy, the shaking when you hit it from the side reduces how much force is actually hitting the metal. Last tip is that the dents you see in the metal is because the hammer isn't hitting the metal flat. Only way to change that is practice hitting the anvil and feeling the hammer hit it flat. Awesome project, and I would love to see some kind of leather bag or long pouch to carry this in.

5:48 Leveling up sneak too I see

I love watching this channel just get bigger and better. Can’t believe I was here in the hundreds. Go Skill Tree Go!

Good looking project. You should look up a video on hammer ergonomics. The way you hold and swing your hammer is part of why you got so tired. Having your thumb on the hammer handle like that puts strain on muscles and tendons that can lead to repetitive stress injuries.

Black Bear Forge is a channel I like teaching blacksmithing.

anvils for maximum efficiency Should be at least 10x the weight of the hammer and secured down. Basically the bigger the mass and the harder the surface the better the energy rebound and therefore less work for your arm 😉, edit. Start with the point and work back when forging tapers, (Alec isn't the best example), you get a better view of the heat in a dark environment, ideally you should work the metal at a bright orange or just before it starts burning for maximum efficiency of the heat. cheers J

Metal is like skin in a way. It has pours in it, and when heated those pours will open. If you heat your metal a bit, just enough to open those pours, then melt the beeswax onto it while hot, that bees was will soak into the metal

Closing music was loud for me. project was awesome. going to share with my friends.

Merch idea: skill tree tool kits for folks who are leveling up skills. :) "What can I say except you're welcome" Edit: Yes that is a prichle hole (I am actually uncetain about the spelling of "prichle") Edit number 2: 21:09 I think you will find that the spit contraption here will require some sort of fork that will prevent the spit from turning inside the meat while the meat remains stationary. Or I guess you could wrap your meat in some sort of bailing wire that also connects to the spit?

I just started learning how to blacksmith as well, so I love this project! I've been watching a lot of videos by Black Bear Forge on RU-vid to learn some of the basics. I have also done the dumb of grabbing the wrong end of the metal with my hand, so I feel your pain there.

I love that this is the very first leveling up for the archetype, and due to the overshirt and lapel mic, the T-shirt simply reads, "LEVEL 0". Accident or seriously subtle wit? Don't care. It's perfect. Also, thank goodness for Maddy. People like her are invaluable. Also, that's the way I got my anvil, too. Bless the old chap who gave it to me.

You can get a tiny anvil at most hardware stores for super cheap

Save this video for a bad day so I could cheer myself up. Thanks for making the best content y'all!

The best way to apply beeswax for outdoor use (that I know of) is when the metal is around 400 Fahrenheit to 500 Fahrenheit. You also could treat them like a cast iron/carbon steel pan and season them to prevent rust.

A rounded face as opposed to a flat face hammer helps with drawing out steel, it prevents dents and pushes the metal around better.And damn, those are some good results for it being some of your first work.😮

You said early in the video that you plan on "getting" proper blacksmithing hammers. I recommend you forge them. It's great practice.

All you need now is the addition of a bushcraft hand auger and this set up would be mint ..

I would recomend applying beeswax to black hot metal so that it immediately smokes.

An @AlecSteele collaboration would be amazing. Maybe something to look forward to?

Blacksmith tips: 1. Don't wear gloves, if you grab something hot with gloves on they could melt it catch fire. And it takes longer to rip the glove off than it does to drop the hot things burning your hand 2. The small decorative scrolls are best being made before your larger bends. 3. A better finish is paste wax applied to low red heat. 4. The clay analogy is great, clay is a great practice tool for hammer control.

Blacksmith tip: Let the weight of the hammer do most of the work for you and ride the bounce. Just control the direction, rather than fight the momentum. Similar to riding the recoil of a gun when shooting. Don't fight it, let it do what it's gonna do and you won't tire out as quickly. Doesn't take much to move hot metal. Not experienced enough to answer your question about pushing it in the direction, but it SEEMS to work for me as well.

Definitely use ear protection. If you don't want tinnitus for the rest of your life. Its always good to wear a glove on the hand holding the metal - even just a leather glove, it gives you more grip without blisters and a bit more protection from heat if you grab too close to the live area.

Something my mentor taught me as your warmup project is making nails you can get into the rhythm practice tapering and peening/upsetting the metal as well as cutting it off

you can also dig a hole in the ground with a small tunnel for ventilation for the fire - and then the small setup only needs to be barely off the ground for larger pots too

I'm not sure if this would work or not, but what if you treated it like cast iron to keep it from rusting? Coat it with a thin layer of oil or fat and then put it over a fire and let it carbonize? That might work better than the beeswax. Again, I'm not a professional, so I don't really know.

heres a amatuer tip for anyone who wants an half decent anvil type thing without spending a penny cause legit ones are CRAZY expensive. RAILROAD track, find a chunk about 12 inchs or less thats laying off to the side. typically easy to find on less used track. its got a flat side to bolt down to a wood table. and a flat top with curved edges.

The end splitting is from the metal cooling, if you hit it when it cools down it will split. Take some time and sand the face of your anvil it will help with the finish of your work.

You say about getting proper blacksmithing hammers, but seriously consider a couple of episodes on forging hammer heads, making handles and hanging them. That would be epic ...once your arms stop aching!

Time to level up your camp cooking skill

Just learning how to taper is the best start point. The chain would be a good first project.

Just a tiny little technique suggestion from a former hobby smith. Wrap your thumb around the hammer instead of laying it on top of it. Less of the impact will be transferred through your bones and your joints will thank you.

I always loved the medieval setups like these that are made of wood with a bed of sand in the cooking box. :3 End screen deafened me. DX

You make it look easy so I guess you are doing it right.

As a future project you could make your own tongs

At a live demonstration at a renaissance festival, the master smith said they give new people clay. It acts nearly identical to clay. Not your imagination. You can weatherproof them by heating them and dipping in oil. Then it soaks into the metal. I think you can even use food safe oils that are high temp like sesame oil kind of like seasoning a pan.

Someone show Alec he'd be so proud 😭❤️

These things are great. I love them for bushcraft trips.

I'm trying to get started in blade smithing. My biggest hiccup? *Actually, starting.*

I'm hoping to see the work up to full metal armor!

Instead of beeswax, consider seasoning the pieces with oil like you would with cast iron cookware. Basically, if you spray it with avacado oil every so often, it should be fine.

Cool! Like Lego for grown-ups. So versatile and flexible.

yaay! My knife was featured first at 25:01!

Now you need to make a cooking kit to hold this set up and some pots and pans. Next episode maybe?

"Can you take this anvil off our hands?" "Oh boy can i?" "Can you?" "Oh boy can i?"

Instead of bee's wax, you can use used motor oil. Heat the iron/steel up to a dull red heat and then either do a quick quench or a rag soaked in oil to wipe it down. Assuming that the light isn't too bright making to look colder than it is, the oil will carbonize in the micro pits of the metal. This is blackening. Wipe off the excess oil an the finish will keep for years to decades. Just don't over heat the metal afterward or you have to reapply. You want to make sure you work in the shade so you can better read the heat of the metal based on the color of the glow. In too bright a light, the metal will have to be hotter to compete with the sun light. This will cause you to make a torch instead of blackening. If you've not done it before, keep a bed of sand and toss the flaming bits on the sand so it doesn't spread or a fire extinguisher handy. My first job was as a blacksmith in an open air museum. This is how we made reproductions. To sell, we used rustoleum as people didn't like the slight oily feel. A light degreaser will make it less oily but still durable.

I prefer using beeswax on hot metal so it sears into the surface. It something called bueing and actually changes the top layer of the metal to make it more rust resistant. And it won`t burn of as easily as a coating would.

Oh maybe your saying "Where's my drinking cup?" "Oh who cares I'll make me another,shall I use wood or metal ? I love you so long !"

Fantastic project and video! I was wondering how you were going to manage a cooking grate. You did not disappoint!

for weatherproofing: look into how cast iron is seasoned: I read that blacksmiths used to use a similar method for any ironwork that would be outside

To help minimize the bottle and sponge on looking for leaks, just get a cheap dollar spray bottle and put a little bit of soap in water in it and spray it pressurize it same situation.

Hey just a word of advice from someone who had a welding class one time. No expert but I have expert advice. Never put any kind of sealant on the joints of the Smith piping. That means joint compound or pipe d*pe, Teflon tape. None of it the sealant can actually cause fires in the line and create an explosion that way. I don't know if this translates to propane but it's a really bad idea on oxyacetalene torches.

In the beginning of the video I was just staring at the railroad anvil you made in the background. lol

I absolutely love smithing, cant wait to give this a shot when I get a new forge going ❤ (also cool that you can use them for exercise 😂 truly multi purpose)

Loving where this is going. Great planning Madie.

Hoodies please, love the designs and need all of them in hoodie form 😂

Merch idea: stickers of the archetypes!

Perfect project to start. Totally doing this

That came out really good, thanks

13:25 To prevent this in the future, what about potholders? They make pot handle versions as well so it can at least indicate what’s hot and what isnt

This is such an exciting new skill!

very cool; only suggestion is to stay away from anything galvanised when working hot metal. The zinc coating on galvanised iron or steel will mess your lungs up.

@SkillTree if you burn in a wood handle it works great as a spindle for a spit to roast meats

This is your most ambitious project yet & it was amazing. Loved every minute of it! But holy heck, the outro music's volume was ear-blasting. Someone goofed. Yeah, I know you know, but ouch. Also, since the the rebar is cold-forged, I'd suggest "seasoning" it with high-temp cooking oil: basically baking it with cooling oil on it in layers like you do cast iron pans. Better than beeswax, & will keep it from rusting & you can cook on it directly, too, like a grill.

OK Cl3v3r, a challenge for you. Go take a look at Mark Novak's video on polishing the faces of hammers (and making insanely sharp chisels and scrapers). Couldn't that improve your smithery?

I learned the hard way if you need to make a lot of little pieces ie chain links a jig is your best friend

I probably wouldn't have used Bee's wax in this method, but basically think of it like seasoning a Cast iron. Heat them up, give em some food wuality oil and repeat.

Going to buy merch asap just been without money.

You can grind out hammer marks. The horn of the anvil is also good for making curves. And that needs to be a shirt. Safety Rule #1 Don’t be dumb!

Video idea for u. Make ur own tongs most black Smith make they're own tools maybe a level 10 project 🤔 😊

@SkillTree You should never have your thumb pressed against the back of the hammer. Doing this can strain your hand and cause long term medical issues down the line. Hammer weight is not as important as one would think, and having too might weight can give you blacksmiths elbow. Would recommend looking up hammering techniques to make sure not to strain yourself long term, also allows for longer working sessions. If going to work with metals ungloved a few things to keep in mind, some you learned the hard way already. Visually look at the metal, to tell if you can see the heat radiating off the top. Better to test with the back of your hand than grabbing as you can burn nerves and lose feeling, our hands are the most important manipulation tools we have. Before touching you can feel the heat from metal just hovering above the metal. Just because metal isn’t glowing doesn’t mean it’s not hot. You want to know what metal you’re using do you don’t mess up your lungs, and need to be on oxygen. Also it wasn’t the hammer blow that caused it to crack, it was the over heating deleting that part of the metal. If you see little fireworks you’ve way over heated the metal and potentially ruined the project (for more complex work)