Making a Gouge with a Hamon 

I love seeing these videos after seeing the newer ones. It's like watching a flower bloom.

beauty!

Very cool! I really enjoy your style! Even the music at the end fits lol. Here are a couple pointers for getting a better hamon. 1). Don't use 01 tool steel, as it is a deep hardening steel which means it pretty much hardens the full thickness of the steel, especially at these thin cross sections. Use a simple, low alloy, high carbon steel which will be shallow hardening. The two main alloys that will affect whether it is a deep hardening steel or a shallow hardening steel (which is what you want if going for a hamon) are manganese and chromium, so try to keep those as low as possible in the steel you choose. I'm not sure what the steel designations are where you live, but get something that is equivalent to either 1075, 1095, W1, or W2 in the USA, as they can all produce a quality hamon. The only thing about shallow hardening steels is that they need a faster quench to fully harden, so water is recommend in many cases. However, in these thinner cross sections that thin into a wedge shape, such as knives and any edged tool, its not too difficult to rapidly cool them, especially since it's only important for the cutting edge to cool fast enough in the quench, which is the thinnest part. So instead of water, which can be harsh and greatly increase the likelihood of cracks, a good alternative is canola oil preheated to 120 degrees Fahrenheit before the quench, which is about the best/fastest it gets when it comes store bought cooking oils. A thermometer that's used for deep frying or a candy thermometer works great for reading the oil temp, and you can preheat in on an oven range or even by heating and quenching a piece of scrap steel in it. Also, try to use a larger volume of oil for your quench, as it helps to pull and disperse the heat for faster quenching, even for small knives and tools. An old ammo can from a military surplus store or an empty and cleaned paint can (1 gallon) work great and hold the right amount of oil for quenching smaller tools. 2). When coating the blade with clay, less is more! Try to keep the thickness of the clay below 1/8". Your clay thickness in this video looked good. Another thing that helps speed up the quench is applying a very thin clay slurry over the entire blade, including the edge, before applying the main clay pattern for the hamon. This helps to break up the vapor jacket that forms around the hot steel in the oil which keeps the oils from actually making contact with the steel and thus cooling it. This, as well as agitating the blade in the oil, either up and down or front to back (side to side can cause warping), help to increase the quench speed. Just water down some furnace cement to create the thin clay slurry. A refractory cement that comes in powder form IMO works best for this, since you can customize the its consistency. A popular refractory cement/mortar we use in the United States is called "satanite". You can find refractory cement like this either online and/or at places that sell supplies to make pottery and the kilns for fireing the clay pottery. 3). For etching and polishing the hamon on the blade, make sure all of the smallest scratches are sanded out, as the etch will cause them to become more visible. Also, if using ferric chloride, use a very weak solution as opposed to a stronger one. Slower etch cycles and more of them looks better than a stronger etching solution with less cycles. Make sure the blade is very clean before. Using denatured alcohol works great to clean all the heavier dirt and oils and then hot water and dish soap afterwards works to clean any oils left over, even from your fingers. Now, making sure not to touch the blade with bare fingers, go straight from the water into the acid, before the water dries as this seems to produce the cleanest and most even etch. I personally like to used distilled white vinegar that has been "cut" with a few drops of dish soap (for lowering the surface tension so it doesn't bead up on the blade) and apply it to the blade with a cotton pad commonly used to remove makeup. I feel I'm able to bring out the most activity and the very subtle activity (such as the "ashi" lines) in the hamon this way. I usually etch the blade by rubbing the entire blade with the cotton pad (which has been soaked in the warm vinegar) for about a minute while especially focusing on the area(s) with the most activity in the hamon, then I neutralize it with windex window cleaner because it contains ammonia, which is what neutralizes the acid. After that I rub the off oxides with a metal polish such a "Flitz" or "Mother's Mag" as they're known here in the states, using another clean makeup pad. Then I clean it *thoroughly* again with the denatured alcohol (acetone works here too) and then hot water with soap, and then I repeat the etch. I will do this for at least 5 cycles or until I get the desired look. Lemon juice (also warmed up with a few drop of dish soap) also works great instead of vinagar, or even using both by using the lemon juice for the last few etch cycles after using the vinegar. It all depends on the look you want and how far you want to go down the hamon rabbit hole 😉 The very diluted ferric chloride (with a ratio of around 5:1, being five parts water to one part acid) produces the fastest results and many people seem to like it, so try both of them to see which you like the best. Just make sure to always neutralize the blade after each etch, otherwise there could be small acidic traces remaining on it that will continue to slowly etch the steel which can cause it to rust. Anyway, I hope you find this helpful. Sorry for the incredibly long post and possibly getting more detailed than you wanted, I'm not that great at summing things up, but everything here is worth knowing if you want to continue improving the looks of the hamon you create. Thanks again for sharing, I look forward to seeing what functional art (some more functional than others lol 😉) you create next. Take care :)

Man who cuts steel with hand tools- “I can’t wait 5 minutes”

You have a wonderful sense of humor that is very important when things go awry. You keep me laughing. And I learn too.

Love your humor almost as much as I appreciate your skill.....A very satisfying video and you only failed once......that's a good record! Thank you!

My cat, Moishe, wondered what Muppet was so upset about.

Винаги се радвам на вашите видеоклипове Uri. Greatings From Bulgaria.

Every time I see the notification for one of your videos I go like: 1. Yay, a new one is out! 2. Hmmmm, 20 minutes seems a bit long for a video only about making a simple gouge... 20 minutes later... 3. Oh... Oh wow... 4. Replay.

Definitely ASMR for me tonight. Fell asleep in the tub and my doggo woke me up lol

Simply beautiful and elegant!

I just recently found your channel but I'm loving it! I've always seen myself as a fellow "maker" and I've finally got my own garage at my new place so I can finally have my own shop! Can't wait to get started on some projects! Your channel has been a great inspiration!

Uri there is something about you just quite likeable. And I love you have this kind of craftsman spirit, ever eager to refine yourself and your abilities.

The beautiful clarinet music when he started carving A+

I 've lost counting the arts and crafts You know!!!!!!Master in every one I've seen ........Respect!!!!!!!!

the amazing dedication to a single tool is so inspiring to me. every detail is beautiful

I love this guy. He's not an expert in everything he does but he is willing to learn and perfect his talent! Good videos my guy!

Love your personality and the honesty and fun you have! It comes through and makes the viewer feel happy too!!

You are the best human being in this world

I love when the walnut wood started crying in pain as you sawed it and you yelled a curse at it.

SO great! I love that you keep your "beginners mind"!

I dont feel the need to comment on every vid that I watch ,but I have seen many of ur projects ,and all have been enjoyable, u seem like a interesting character. Wish the world had more people like urself in it. Keep doing what u do ,thx 4 the effort u put in2 ur work

It must be so satisfying to create a tool completely from scratch like this. You are amazing, Uri! 👍🏻Bravo!

Really lovely piece. Well done.

Very beautiful working.thanks

You're a terrific artist

I think that you did a wonderful job!! I am a woodworker, but I have never done any carving or engraving. Your videos are building a desire in me to try my hand at engraving. I really like and appreciate how you show every step and explain what you are doing as you go along. Thank you for the wonderful videos and I look forward to many more from such a talented person.

I swear I wish you was my uncle or cousin or something. Ur so awesome.

Muppet is a great name for a cat, to be honest

You are my favorite platonic friend!

Great tool!

A good little tip for when doing turnings is to take the shavings and hold them up to the turning when you are done tooling it. This returns the oils in the shavings back to the piece. It really enriches the colour of the woods, especially with dark woods like walnut, santos rosewood or ebony. It's quite remarkable actually. Love your work, I'm glad you are going to bring your skills more into the woodworking community. You give me brilliant idea's for metal inlay work in artistic pieces.

Excellent video sir!

*Uses a lathe for once to turn a block of wood* *Planes sides of turned wood to make it an octagon* ... In all seriousness though, that's a lovely bit of work and a fantastic tool to be proud of.

I’ve been watching your videos for a few days now thanks to James Wright. I love your work and also think your mistakes are better than I can even get close to doing. Also, my wife loves your accent.

very beautiful . i love functional art . a gouge any wood worker would be proud of .

Nice gouge and vise handle.

You have inspired me to try! great job!

Nice work Uri

As a knife maker I applaud your effort! However, O1 Tool steel is not very good for developing a hamon, at best you will get a transition line but basically none of the activity that you were hoping for. This is because O1 is a deep hardening tool steel, for your next experiment try 1095 or W2. Those will yield your best results. You will need to quench either of those with water, or brine (salt water) for best results. Remember you are creating different crystal structures within the steel, for best results polish more and etch less. If you cannot wait go with Ferric chloride as you did in the video. Excellent work!

Great great great video. Very informative and entertaining! Thanks Uri!! Love the engraving in everything you make. The vise handle was a new twist - didn’t see that coming!! Lol. Great look.

Again you created something to be proud of! Actually 3 things. The chisel, this video and the crank for your vise :-)

That's so cool that you try new things, even when you're not sure it will work! I love every thing you make and how much love you put into it! 😊

Loving your content so far, hope you never stop.

Awesome!! Every video I see of yours impresses me more and more! I wish we could have met forty years ago! I know that I could have shown and taught you a few things and I am sure that you could have taught me quite a bit. Peace be with you and may you continue to find Joy in ALL you do. Never give up and never stop learning!

This must be the first of a whole series of carving gauges

Just gose to show you how timeless some skills really are. Keep on trucking my very skilled friend.

Beautiful!!!

Another great job. You are very talented. All your work comes out looking very good!

Man, this channel is gonna be huge soon. Great stuff!

Uri, since I mentioned doing the real woodworking tools you have 30K + subscribers. Good advice I guess. U r doing awesome. I love every vid. Thanks for them and thanks for your personality.

Beautiful. To offset that flexing you mentioned, perhaps on the next one you could carry the concavity of the cutting edge farther along the blade, maybe even into the tang.

I absolutely love your style and humour, great video looking forward to the next one.

BEAUTIFUL

You make it all look so simple beautiful work again

Very well done sir. That is a beautiful gouge.

Brilliant work.. Thanks for sharing💂‍♂️💂‍♂️

it's pretty awsome...i appreciate all your Job... the engravings and all tools of yours...just continue doing things like that.

The *renaissance* man is back!!!

Walnut and brass mmmm delicious

Wow beautifly done. Especialy the vise crank handle.

super video! i dont have so many tools so your video is awesome. i will try

I appreciate your Art, Uri!

I really enjoy watching your videos. You do amazing hand work. Old world craftsmanship.

very very very good job

Mesmerising. Beautiful job 🇦🇺

the handle is amazing.

Good work. Love your craftsmanship

Mesmerizing to witness your creative talent at work. It´s minds like yours that stumble upon wonderful new innovations & inventions.

Gorgeous work, just gorgeous.

I think a vice would be a nice project! Something impressive to go with the swany handle you made!

Bravo my friend. Great work as always.

beautiful

What an Artist!! there is nothing you won`t tackle and long may it last! Fascinating what you make, I love it your attention to detail is great and the gouge looks most useful for carving, maybe you will show your carving with it. Regards from John in England.

Still bingeing.

Just one comment never quench in water! Always quench in oil, water will cause cracks and will be brittle and break easily. However you did a beautiful job.

8:26 Cat doesn't agree with your choices ;P

I love your videos!

you are a very talented and artistic man, love your videos, can't wait till the next one. !!

i love and support your irrepressible desire to beautify everything...even a simple vice handle. :)

Very nice tool, my friend. Greetings from the USA!

Fine job you did on that Gouge have a safe trip 😉✌

Nice music choice.

When you didn't put any engraving on the first piece of brass I was like.. there's gonna be a second piece of brass

Great video . Love your projects!

Always great to see another video, love your work!

Hi Uri, You should make some wooden spoons. Chip carving decoration is a lot of fun.

Absolutely beautiful my friend!

Another great vid URI!!! Love the music. Keep the great projects coming cheers

Love the handle esp the brass initials

Fantastic work once again Uri 😎😎

It is B E A utiful Uri. Excellent work, thank you for sharing. You truly do make very beautiful and interesting pieces. You are an artist creator. Awesome gouge beautiful and useful. P.S. I think the hamon was a nice touch. Also can never get enough of the brass, I myself favor copper.

Beautiful. מקסים. תודה

You make great projects. Keep up the amazing work. I've always felt if you are able to make the tools if your trade you are at the highest level of your craft.

Man you do some beautiful work! Wish I had your talents.

Sweet!

Good job Uri ! Congratulations from France.

Your videos are amazing! And every video gets better and better!

Your videos and your work are juste incredible, the filming, the beautifull musics..the talent you have working with different materials...amazing thanks for the good moment !

Oh yeah, making tools with breathing magic.