Why do I need a Tungsten Carbide Tip on my Hammer? 

Check out the way @OUTDOORS55 made his here: ru-vid.com/video/%D0%B2%D0%B8%D0%B4%D0%B5%D0%BE-ra9nJuDaycE.html

Speaking from 10+ years as a machinist and working with a lot of carbide tools and also machining tungsten itself: wear your safety glasses when using this hammer. Carbide is prone to shattering with tremendous energy under a sufficient impact. It’s a powdered, sintered metal and tends to eject minuscule particles in all directions.

Thank you for the shoutout my friend! This straightening hammer is such a valuable tool. I couldn't believe I've gone all this time and haven't heard of it before. Works SO well and will save so many knives. Anyway, hope you, and yours are well!

I work in a machine shop, and we have "straighteners." People who use these specialized straightening hammers to flatten TiN coated blades to a half of a thousandth of an inch across the whole surface. Invaluable on work pieces that can not be re-cut or ground after they've been finished. There is a big learning curve to straightening, and it's cool to see it done in a hobbyist fashion! Nice work as always

I had a tungsten carbide ring, just becareful as the material is very hard but also brittle compared to steel and like my ring can explode under certain conditions. It saved my hand from being crushed by a trailer... two weeks later it bounced off a wood desk and exploded. It's an amazing material but not flawless.

I once made a blade, where I wanted to do a pitted finish using my ball-peen hammer. Once I finished one side, the blade had bent to a curve of almost 15-20 ish degrees. When I did the other side, straight as an arrow. It's interesting to see a tool that is designed for this so specifically, and how to use it! Great job!

Would never have thought of this in a million years. And I really appreciate your clarification that it should be used on the concave side, as I was really wondering about how stretching the already stretched side would straighten the blade!

A way I discovered to straighten a warped blade is before tempering to clamp the blade tightly between two pieces of thicker and straight billets and then temper as usual. This method has worked for me very well.

I was confused as to why you would use tungsten carbide at the beginning of the video, but I've got to say, this is a clever way to straighten a hardened blade, and it's one I haven't seen before. Just keep in mind that tungsten carbide has much lower impact resistance compared to heat treatable steels, which is what most hammers are made of. Thanks for showing such an interesting tool, I hope it helps out as much as it should. (:

Never thought to try this. I'm definitely curious to see where this goes.

I am using this method since my apprenticeship as a tool and dye maker back in the late 1970s. In the mold shop we used this to straighten thin componets used in the mold cavities. During thst time I made a couple of similar ball hammers using bearing balls (5 mm and 8 mm balls) I still have them and started to use them when I started making knives about 12 years ago. I do not agree that ist must be tungsten carbide, hammers using bearing bearing balls will just work fine. But I agree that ball peen hammers you buy in hardware stores, like the one you used to make yours are too soft to do this job, those hammers will deform. About two years ago I made a straightening hammer with a flat carbide piece that is formed like the hammer of an impact testing machine. The hammer is light but created a pretty aggresive notch that straightens fast (I think Japanese use hammers like this). I also saw the same video and made hammer with a 10 mm carbide ball. Now a have the full arsenal in my shop. One last comment, I never had any luck straighteing blades using the other methods shown. As said above I use hammers exclusively and never had a broken blade.

Honestly blew my mind how you hammered the wooden handle back in.

Dude your personality is amazing. You’re clearly a cheerful and happy human doing what makes you feel good in life, bravo. Your joy radiates through my screen. 🙌❤

I don't know if this is still the case, but propeller shafts for ships used to be peened in by hand to straighten them.

Im glad you were able to repurpose this beautiful old hammer

I made one of these after seeing OUTDOOR55's video. Works exactly as described and makes straightening really easy and quick. Definitely beats waiting around for hours and crossing your fingers hoping that a shim temper will work. I had three warped blades that had been sitting around for years unfinished, which had already spent hours and hours clamped in the oven. I got them all straightened in a few minutes with the hammer. The stress of the quench will now be a thing of the past for me.

Another awesome project and great explanation! Thanks again!

Nipple tip. Nice work.

Do you not have a Tig Welder in your Arsenal of tools? There’s really good bronze Tig welding rods you can use for securing something like this project, Silicon Bronze is a good one but personally I like Aluminum Bronze Tig Rods best for securing dissimilar materials like that

I use this method about 8 years, its by far the best way to straight a warped blade, takes less than 5 minutes and rarely you screw up. Using a tungsten ball is defenily the best way to build this tool, but if anyone wanna try this method you can easily do a simple and cheap tool using some spring steel, make something like a welding hammer with a 5mm point, quench the point and dont temper, it will work for almost any steels we use on knife making. i use this cheap solution for 8 years, here in Brazil this method became popular from the tips of Luciano Dorneles JS.

First little machine shop I worked in, we made these rings, about 13” in diameter. Some of these would move out of round when we cut them off. We would set those aside and once a month this old machinist would come in and set to work on them with a ball peen hammer. Peening them back into tolerance. Amazing.

Thank you for explaining it too!

So much joy and childish purity in your eyes! 🤩

I too ordered a pack of the carbide balls as soon as I finished watching Outdoors55’s video

the materials science behind this is so obvious in retrospect, but i'd never have thought of this

I love any solution that only requires a single hand tool. Great technique.

Thanks Black Beard

Huh, I've seen a lot of silly hammers on RU-vid, but this actually seems very useful! Thanks for the tip!

Well if you need it then build it this is the way. Six stars sir

thank you for talking about this

Excellent video, and very interesting explanation. Thanks!

I had never heard this trick applied to knives. It is an old and well known method straightening saw blades that have developed a slight bend. With a saw a regular ball peen hammer works.

Wow! This was new and interesting news for me. Thank you very much, I really appreaciate it! Never be too old to learn something new as they say..👍

Hi @Black beard projects!Nice work man !Thank you for showing!Greeting Bulat the Blacksmith from germany 😊🤙

You look and sound so happy while talking

Beautiful! Thank you for this awesom video😁

Wow I had no idea you could straighten a hardened blade. Thought it would snap i half!

I'm curious why you didn't finish drilling the hole with a standard pointed drill bit to avoid having an air pocket in your flat bottom hole? It's amazing what a carbide tip can do.

Good job mister well done

Love the tool and the explanation

Awesome how & why to video, thank you!

Very interesting! I'll have to try this thank you.

Good watch ty. I'm going to have to make one of these now...

Really cool to learn about this

fanatic video.......cheers from the US, Paul

I came onto this channel expecting Dwarfposting content. Not quite, but that beard is as magnificent as I expected.

Thank you!

Thanks for explaining. I always DV videos with fingers and hands trying to communicate with the viewer. Up-Vote.

You can also use ground down tungsten carbide cutting inserts to create something similar to a cross-peen hammer.

Great job, it’s quite inventive!

Cool info and technique!

Excellent video

Neat. I always wondered what exactly Giant Blacksmith was doing in Dark Souls.

Watch out for fragments.

I REALLY wanted to see you press fit that ball. At least before brazing it to seal the deal. Cool stuff, though!

I YT algorithm finally offered you up. Maybe it is because I watch OUTDOORS55. Anyway, thanks for sharing your skills and personality.

The real answer is because it’s my favorite metal. Hell, I even have a Sandrin Dellatorre because I love tungsten.

Awesome I had seen the other video. Nice tool!

An unrelated benefit to this carbide ball installation on a ball peen hammer would be that you get a true hammer tone finish if you peen the entire surface of the metal you're working on. Note that a true hammer toning takes a lot of time and skill to do well.

Good video man, so good

Awesome idea bro you are fantastic 👏 😊

Mmmm, clever, satisfying knowledge.

I own a spyderco s110v manix 2. Blade measured at 64HRC! Hella hard.

Nice work dude 😍😍

Super good video

Electrolysis rust removal for the win!

Made one like it a while ago...but used a brass hammer ....easier to drill....works fine .....

Nice job! Best Channel on RU-vid!

Cuntston Tongueglide for the dyslexic among us 🤣

Thank you for the great explanation! I am definately going to try this out! Love from Austria 🇦🇹

That's a cool looking torch. Any details on it would be appreciated. Thanks

Plus you can also use it for decorative dimples in the middle correct

I don't think you do, but you did it anyhow.

I was curious if the hammer weight was still sufficient after removal of the large piece, but it seems to work for the purpose. It’s not like you heed the mass when the impact is focussed by the small ball. Impressive.

Using this hammer on knife blades before bevel process can induce stress in the material but definitely helps

It won’t last long Carbide tungsten is a brittle material! That means that impulse load aren’t good for it and hammers work with impulse Won’t last long

1:49 that audio, velvet to my ears

At first I was like “damn congrats you made an oversized glass breaker” and then the explanation came and I was like ohhhh

Wont the blade go right back to being curvy when your grind away the stretching marks? Your removing the material you've used to create additional internal stress, once it's gone what will still be making blade straight?

when i make make i make the hole slightly undersized and pressed in the ball. no brazing required.

i admire you for using that wire brush machine, i put that thing on an angle grinder and almost lost the skin on my hand trying to polish a knife with it. Ever since then im scared shitless of any brush using wires.

I think you should stamp a 2023 over that 1943 mark on the side. Maybe with a "revamped" stamp beside it. And when 2043 comes by, stamp 2043.

Do you think this tool would work on carbon steel skillets that got to hot on one point and because of this its not flat anymore?

QUESTION: if steel loses its temper from heat, why are things that are welded or heated not re-tempered? thank you

Very interesting and quite genious

Do you use the hammer before or after tempering the blade ?

Hahaha cool, exact same story 🙂 i saw Alex do it and did it his way, when i saw you heat the ball i thought it would get soft. Looked it up and it needs 1200 C to soften, so you were not near that! I also saw some guy selling them for 125 dollars??? Ball, hammer and some time....... crazy expensive! And sell it to people who are working with metal??? Mystery to me! Anyway....... thanks man and have a great weekend! 🙂

Soooo many Forged in Fire contestants are kicking themselves so hard right now

where do you get those gloves? i used to get some similar when working at john deere hitachi, best gloves ive ever had

The gloves near the wire wheel made my cheeks clench 😬. Stay safe!

Drill a hole in the other side and thread it to hold a soft face. Two birds with one hammer

When that tungsten carbon tip shatters someone's going to lose an eye

I like it but why not put it on a air chisel?

It's like a hand powered micro forge

Metal workers are fucking wizards.

There's a really good reason we don't have carbide faced hammers dude, no doubt you'll soon find out.

Be careful, if you meet Thor, maybe with this thing you can scratch his hammer!😀

Very curious how long that will last before the ball starts to inset

Hey man, thanks for the video. i have been trying to make two of these but having trouble drilling the pocket for the bearing, i will try an end mill as it might have a better chance of cutting the hardened hammer. can you send me a link for the 10mm bearing? all i could find was 3/8". thanks, Sperrin knives

I wonder if it builds up stresses or tension in the finished blade?