*Edit* 10/02: The video was pulled down for a day while I double-checked with my Lawyer, I was given advice that the below is correct, absent fraudulent intent it is completely legal to mutilate coins. For anyone interested in further reading on the topic: www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/331 en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elongated_coin www.parkpennies.com/pressed-penny/are-penny-press-machines-legal.htm Mutilating a coin without fraudulent intent is legal. We are not passing our mutilation off as currency. Just like the penny presses all around the country at popular attractions where you pay 25c to get the machine to squish a penny for you!
@@dubsaloon Interesting... I was under the impression that it is illegal too... Only the reserve is allowed to take money out of circulation... Maybe because the value is so low... But theoretically and insane, heheh, you can take $1000 000 out of circulation if you have enough coins... LOL... but that will take some dedication...
For everyone asking, they aren't "factory" made. They are still forged like he used to do, with the same tools and steel like he used to, just by another smith. Ethan Harty from Canada made them. He makes great hammers and sells his own. But I agree with a lot of people here, even a top quality hammer not made by Alec is not an Alec Steele hammer. I'm buying a hammer from a smith to support the work of that smith, not for show and tell.
@@tyrelirwin apples to oranges my friend. If I NEED jeans, I'll buy cheap mass produced, if I WANT a hand forged hammer, I WANT to support the smith, I WANT his craftsmanship, and I WANT the story behind it. People want his hammers, they don't need a square circle made by another smith cause it's easier.
Possession of counterfeit United States obligations with fraudulent intent is a violation of Title 18, Section 472 of the United States Code and is punishable by a fine of up to $15,000, or 15 years imprisonment, or both.
So for everyone talking crap about him "outsourcing" his hammers he is having another smith hand forge them with the same dedication and attention to detail. His name ethan hardy. Check out his page he has videos of him making them.
I think we're all well aware of who made these. But its like, why got to a middle man when you can go to the source. Plus, if a blacksmith is selling or giving away that sort of thing, one would expect it to be made BY him. its a cop out.
gedion4000 more often than not, you actually do. More than 95% of all art sales are prints. Precise copies of a work made by a different source than the artist so more people have access to it. If he is pleased with the quality of the hammers and they meet his standards there is absolutely nothing wrong with it.
Actually it is only illegal when you are trying to make it look like a higher denomination than what it is, making jewelry out of money is not illegal. I make rings out of U.S. silver coins every day, and they are still legal currency.
@@anycaliber9086 It's only illegal if it's done with fraudulent intent, i.e. altering money to appear at a higher value issue than it is (this includes making a penny look like a dime or a nickel like a quarter, etc). What Alec and Co are doing is completely legal as defined by the US Govt and Treasury.
People need to be honest. Did you not see this coming. There is no way Alec could forge all the hammers for all the orders he would get. That would be all he was doing, so of course he farmed it out. But farmed it out to someone who studied from him and still made his mark on the hammer. So it's not like they were trying to hide it. This way you get to support two blacksmiths. Alec and Ethan.
I like how people are complaining that he didn't make the hammers, but like half of his business is about trying to make blacksmithing tools easily and readily available to people who want to get into it. So no, he doesn't have time to hand craft hammers for everyone, but he can provide a quality product to anyone who is looking to get into it.
Canadian here, as someone who has to use screws on a daily basis I would much rather use Robertson over Phillips. It is far too easy to strip a Phillips head screw.
You think apple is making there products in house? No it's based off their design and built on large scale by outsourced factories and then they slap an apple on it.
Jack M Consumers buy different products for different reasons. I don’t care who made my iPhone because I know apple is responsible for whether or not it functions. There’s nothing proprietary about Alec’s hammer design. We didn’t want them for the branding, or the design. We wanted to support him buy spending our hard earned money on the fruits of his hard-created artistry. No one will pay as much for a photocopy or robot rendition of the Mona Lisa
the amount of volume they would have to produce would prevent them from creating youtube videos - this doesn't mean that they are worse quality hammers, and the design is still Alec's - Ethan Harty makes them (google him)
Liam Jack I seen you comment this on someone else’s comment. Alec has been suggesting that they were made by himself not another blacksmith and then tax his viewers! Not impressed by Alec’s tactics, he could have brought this other blacksmith on and said this is the individual that will be making the hammers we are selling and give the guy credit!!!!!!!!!!!
Ethan Harry is a good friend of Alec's I believe and studied under him, if you're gonna outsource better to do it to someone who makes good tools and deserves the work. Also looks like Ethan's JR touchmark also adorns the hammers so credit where credit is due.
I have seen Patrick's videos and they are actually how I found you. It was pretty sweet to see both people doing a video together. For those of you who may not think just rings are as cool to watch as all the stuff Alec does....when the dude said "I make rings out of just about anything, and try to have fun doing it" the man is modest, he is very crafted and has alot of super nice rings. His episodes are indeed entertaining aswell.
@@zacharymacquiddy5531 That actually isn't completely true. There are exceptions to the laws about defacing US currency. Art is one of those exceptions.
I mean if they're to the same quality for less money I'd still be interested (I like the style of hammer, don't care that he made it), but I do wonder who made them.
Now imagine if 1000+ people ordered a hammer made by Alec and will, now do you think they really have the time and money to make all those hammers for people without getting overworked or messing them up? You’re not thinking about the lives they have outside of TH-cam and on TH-cam as creators
Wrong any defacing of a coin or a bill is technically illegal. However probably not going to cause any kind of uproar as this was meant mostly as a deterrent to stop forgery. Title 18, Chapter 17 of the U.S. Code
It is very much illegal... Destroying money alters the amount of tender that exists. It changes (without documentation) the value of the U.S. dollar. The government can't just make money to have more of it. It changes its value, same if it's destroyed!
For anyone interested in further reading on the topic: www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/331 en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elongated_coin www.parkpennies.com/pressed-penny/are-penny-press-machines-legal.htm Mutilating a coin without fraudulent intent is legal. We are not passing our mutilation off as currency. Just like the penny presses all around the country at popular attractions where you pay 25c to get the machine to squish a penny for you!
In answer to the question posed as the title of this video (without having watched it yet), yes, you most certainly can! I use copper pennies (pre 1982) and nickels to make Mokume Gane billets for bracelets, knife bolsters, etc... Just a trick to try; if you pickle the coins a little in vinegar before you go to welding them together you'll get rid of the oxidation layer and they seem to weld easier. Rather than TIG weld the coins, I made a little fixture of two stout 1/2" thick billets of steel about 4" long that are bolted together on each end to make a compression jig. I put the stack in the compression jig, crank it down in my post vise, tighten down the bolts while the stack is under compression in the vise, and then heat the whole lot to welding temperature. Once it's fully heat-soaked, I put the jig back in the vise and squeeze it together again. That seems to do a decent job of initially setting the weld. After that, the billet comes out of the jig, and on the subsequent welding heats I don't hammer the billet very hard. I generally deo about 3-4 welding heats and tapping before I start working the billet. I find that light taps with a hammer that has a slightly rounded face seems to compress the coin centers together quite nicely when setting the weld.
Everyone focused on the quarters, while ignoring the fact he no longer makes his own hammers?? No one remembers him making batches of hand made hammers??
the amount of volume they would have to produce would prevent them from creating youtube videos - this doesn't mean that they are worse quality hammers, and the design is still Alec's - Ethan Harty makes them (google him)
@@liamjack5944 I didn't say they weren't good quality, I just noticed his stamp is on hammers not made by him. This means the hammers, no matter the quality, are basically merchandise. Personally, I wouldn't put my makers mark on another person's work.
Alec, just like making TShirts and editing your videos, working with someone else to produce the hammers makes a ton of sense. You can't do it all by yourself, there's not enough hours in the day, so you've got to work with others to produce some things. I fully respect that, and I hope others do to. Best of luck with the sales, and I'm also following your producer now as well!
That's great! Brilliant being able to see the progress in the Steele business. I really appreciate being able to see these steps happen. Gotta say about the packaging supplies: the fun and beauty is in the details.
Dont use paper tape for shipping heavy items like hammers unless you pack them really well, if the hammer shifts during handling it will break through the tape
I’m confused, these are Alec Steele branded hammers, but aren’t actually made by Alec? Who’s the actual manufacturer then? I realize there would hardly be time to hand forge that amount of hammers, but still. It’s a reproduction of an Alec Steele hand forged hammer, which (I might be mistaken) was actually a design borrowed from his teacher.
Liam Jack - Cheers! Ethan makes some beautiful hammers. He has the identical hammers as Alec’s for sale on his website, only with his makers mark, and a natural non blackened handle.
@@Dan_Kornfeld very similar design, yes, but not identical - the face is more rectangular on alec's hammers - it's a small thing which I personally like the look of
Now imagine if 1000+ people ordered a hammer made by Alec and will, now do you think they really have the time and money to make all those hammers for people without getting overworked or messing them up? You’re not thinking about the lives they have outside of TH-cam and on TH-cam as creators
@@DamonKiller10000 You don't need to reply this same copy/paste to every comment mentioning the hammers you know. Allow people to be disappointed. They buy or they don't.
2:12 Patrick trying to keep a straight face while Alec and Will lose it has been the best thing I've seen this year. On another topic, completely my opinion with the knowledge (or lack there of) that I have, I think Ethan should've been mentioned that he made the hammers. But I don't know what agreements y'all have made off camera. I don't know if he's fine with it or not, when I watched his video he seemed really pumped that he was given this task by you (Alec). Anyways the hammers are beautiful and I respect the craftsmanship that y'all have. keep doing what you love to do!
13:00 and if you grind it into a powder and add some water, you can use it as a 9-in-1 shampoo, conditioner, shaving cream, hand soap, dish soap, laundry soap, toothpaste, cocktail mixer, and motor oil. :D
Alec. See Clickspring's newest video. It has some incredible engraving and machining. Seeing the "magic trick" made me think of this because Clickspring made the card press for TH-cam creator and magician, Chris Ramsay. Great video!
I watched that, Clickspring is at a level unmatched by 99% of craftsmen, offhand the only one i can think of is that award winning watchmaker from Japan MasahiroKIKUNO, And that is like comparing apples to oranges...
Did Alec make and send hammers to himself??? I'm confused...a shipment of Alec Steele hammers arrived at Alec Steele's shop🤔 to be sold as " hammers made by Alec".....I think the fans need an explanation!!!!!
It's merchandise - like his t-shirts, hats and mugs, he doesnt produce those himself either, and while i assume an actually "handforged by Alec personally" Hammer will set you back quite a lot of quarters, those he got shipped will be cheaper. It's just another tool - trade mark. I guess the romantic "bloke in a shed making videos" time is over and we're entering Alec Steele CEO in a Suit era ;)
At least 100 of them were mady by Ethan Harty....though why Alec didn't mention him I don't know...That should be simple professional courtesy sombody made merch for you, you send kudos their way...
Former shipping manager with 15 years experience. The paper tape does come unglued given enough environmental changes, hot, cold, wet, dry etc. And the "tape on a roll" as you put it, is so often not secured correctly. The large flap on top of the tape gun is meant to push the tape down and secure it. But I've never found one that works properly. Easiest way I've found to fix that is to run a flat somewhat pliable edge and you'll see as you do that the tape sticks much better. I've shipped things that are $100,000 using that "tape on a roll" and never had a problem. As im sure you'd appreciate, its not the tools you use, its how you use them, even if its just tape.
@J.R. Spingly I know, My joke alludes to the fact that the federal reserve prints money as they wish, devaluing the dollar to benefit the few. The federal reserve is a private institution which is why they are a joke.
J.R. Spingly you should probably do some research we’ve been off the gold standard for a long time. Also the treasury prints the money not the federal reserve but it’s only worth what we believe it to be
2:07 Will attempting to do a funny magic trick 2:10 Will realizes that his trick may not be funny 2:15 Will smiling, knowing very well that he didn't do a funny trick 2:19 Will very well knowing he's the only one laughing nervously T H E R E ' S N O E S C A P E F R O M E M B A R A S S E M E N T W I L L
This video feels for me like you've just read my thoughts. Really, I always wanted to email PAD about you, to ask for a video with you two together, making a complex thing, like I always wanted to do, from blacksmithing and creating new materials to a final product, like rings or pendants. If you could check my history, seeing the last videos I watched, it's all about mixing metals with different colours and different patterns (like the mokume gane from your chanel ), and then I was continuing with one video from PAD, having that mix metal bar made as a ring. ASTONISHING! You know, following your will, and living the dream, inspire others. Verry satisfied seeing you together and I'm glad to see that things worked out without me intervening. I wish one day I could meet you in person. I really want to get into this as a job and as a hobby as well. Who knows maybe a lifestyle too, making plans to travel around the world and collecting agates, crystals, quarts and God know what other beautiful rocks you might find, in all kind of places, in all kind of circumstances Anyway... Hope you guys are well in these hard times and stay so, making more videos haha.
I’m going to add my two quarters here about the whole hammer thing. Being that they are replicas of your actual handmade hammers, you should have differentiated them from your true hammers . Most people want a piece of your work, not just another mass produced hammer. These devalue those that you made by your hand. Think second or third generation baseball cards crowding the market. People want the originals and will pay for them, but not if they can’t tell knockoffs from the original
the amount of volume they would have to produce would prevent them from creating youtube videos - this doesn't mean that they are worse quality hammers, and the design is still Alec's - Ethan Harty makes them (google him) and he also has his maker's mark on the hammer (thereby differentiating it from the original hammers
I understand the shear volume and I don’t blame Alec or any one for wanting to get his product out there. People absolutely love his hammers and I don’t doubt they are just as good as the originals. The thing is, if we would buy say a sword from him with his trademark, we expect that he had some hand in actually producing the sword. This is where the disconnect comes from. I don’t mean to crap on Alec since I’m a huge fan, but this singlehandedly creates a separation between his fans and himself.
@@crackeds6806 50 hammer heads. Like back in Baker Street. But this times are gone. It is a brand sign now, not a makers mark anymore. Nothing wrong with that, his bussines grows, but he should state it as such. "Hammers by my desing" and not "my hammers"
The irony is killing me. The blacksmith that made his name making and selling hammers, bought a crap ton of hammers from another blacksmith to sell himself.
Well, that all depends on how he wants to allocate his time. He certainly could make hundreds of hammers and we could have another 20 part series of him making those hammers. Or he could out source them and we could have a 20 part series on something else. Already watched him make 70 hammers so I think I am ok with him out sourcing the work.
great to Ethan back on the scene, very down to earth an a real talent. Nice to see Ethan openly tell the story of the project and in a away 'wack wack and less yack' lives on.
the amount of volume they would have to produce would prevent them from creating youtube videos - this doesn't mean that they are worse quality hammers, and the design is still Alec's - Ethan Harty makes them (google him)
@@mrwigley9883 Alec already did a past series on forging a batch of hammers - it would be repeat content of something we already know he can do well - in other words, it wouldn't be very exciting or entertaining (Yes I know some people would enjoy it but making a sword and learning new skills is much more entertaining than making the same hammer over and over again without learning anything)
See some companies start out small, where you do everything yourself, and then you hire people to do those things once you get enough money to do so. Just because another person forged the hammer heads, does not mean they are not Alec's. He is paying someone to make them, and they are his design.
@@liamjack5944 Copy that bullcrap another time maybe someone will start to believe in it. If I buy a picasso painting I want it by Picasso not his student.
My first thought was, "I gotta have one of those hammers." I was disappointed back when you made all those hammers a while back, and I missed out on getting one. But then I thought, "Alec didn't even make these." I scrolled through the comments and discovered Ethan Harty made them. So I went to his web sight, and his are $250 Canadian dollars, which is about $189 American dollars. I wonder what the mark up on the "Alec Steele" hammers is going to be.
So a while back when Alec was visiting paragon and talking about LEAN manufacturing, I was thinking to myself “I wonder how Alec is gonna apply this to the shop” well we know now.
Tommyxp420 best part is, at this point in time(September 1, 2020) the United States government has stopped producing most coins because the pandemic somehow caused a shortage of them.
Yea, now he can outsource the swords that sell for thousands of dollars too and we can all have one. He is trying to get into fashion. I think he is practicing outsourcing.
Dude, you actually made me excited about packaging materials lol. I'm super happy for you man
Thank you my friend 🙏🙏🙏
You guys should do a collab
@@gavconn650 they uh... they did? on Bobby's channel?
@@loydtheliar5659 wewd
Wewd
I hear you’ve already got snow, lots of us want to see you make a Damascus snow shovel.
I have actually been suggesting this for years now... they no listen. Ever since the mail box fiasco
I didn't want to see it, until I saw this...
Helll yea
It’d be good practice for making armor later!
That’d be sick
*Edit* 10/02: The video was pulled down for a day while I double-checked with my Lawyer, I was given advice that the below is correct, absent fraudulent intent it is completely legal to mutilate coins.
For anyone interested in further reading on the topic:
www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/331
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elongated_coin
www.parkpennies.com/pressed-penny/are-penny-press-machines-legal.htm
Mutilating a coin without fraudulent intent is legal. We are not passing our mutilation off as currency. Just like the penny presses all around the country at popular attractions where you pay 25c to get the machine to squish a penny for you!
This topic always brings out the high school lawyers in people.
Nice, that answers my question then.
Yea seen the same thing after I said only pennies are legal to deface LOL
THE MORE YOU KNOW
You tell the Alec !
Arent destroying money like actual crime? I heard you can get in allot of trouble for that.
"British counterfeiting operation sets up shop in USA to forge American coins."
Surely its british "FORGING" operation?
Eh? Eh?
I'll see myself out
Not to mention destroying US currency is illeagal
spencer in the US
@@spencer5438 Currency refers to paper money Coins are not considered Currency.
@@dubsaloon Interesting... I was under the impression that it is illegal too... Only the reserve is allowed to take money out of circulation... Maybe because the value is so low... But theoretically and insane, heheh, you can take $1000 000 out of circulation if you have enough coins... LOL... but that will take some dedication...
Other TH-camrs: “my new sweatshirt just dropped. Check it out!”
Alec: “I Got You HAMMERS!”
But dude does he have talent.
Skill*
Anything: *happens*
Alec: "PHENOMENAL"
Phenomenal=Shut up it's my turn to talk.
PHENOMENAL: “Alec”
Alex is the Bob Ross of blacksmithing? Or maybe the Steve Erwin?
Fantastic!
This is so EXCITING
What i love most is Will cant contain his laughter at his quarters behind the ear joke and alec barely holds it together as well
For everyone asking, they aren't "factory" made. They are still forged like he used to do, with the same tools and steel like he used to, just by another smith. Ethan Harty from Canada made them. He makes great hammers and sells his own. But I agree with a lot of people here, even a top quality hammer not made by Alec is not an Alec Steele hammer. I'm buying a hammer from a smith to support the work of that smith, not for show and tell.
Ethan also took classes from Alec 3yrs ago on forging tools.
So you also don't wear Levi's jeans, or...
Should have been disclosed. Potentially misleading.
@@tyrelirwin apples to oranges my friend. If I NEED jeans, I'll buy cheap mass produced, if I WANT a hand forged hammer, I WANT to support the smith, I WANT his craftsmanship, and I WANT the story behind it. People want his hammers, they don't need a square circle made by another smith cause it's easier.
For what it's worth, if you look at 7:28 Ethan put his name on the hammers too. I don't think they'll try to pass them off or anything.
Alec: "we're gonna be tig welding these quarters together for a ring stock"
US government: "U wot mate?"
It's not illegal to destroy coins as long as it is completely destroyed and you can't tell what it was
Possession of counterfeit United States obligations with fraudulent intent is a violation of Title 18, Section 472 of the United States Code and is punishable by a fine of up to $15,000, or 15 years imprisonment, or both.
It’s only illegal if you damage currency to regain the metal and then sell it. I don’t know the legality of selling art made from legal tender though.
it is legal to destroy tender for artistic or expressionistic purposes. just look at penny crushers.
SHORTBUSS1994 WITH FRAUDULENT INTENT. You can’t stamp quarter faces on nickels for example. You can legally destroy money all day if you want.
So for everyone talking crap about him "outsourcing" his hammers he is having another smith hand forge them with the same dedication and attention to detail. His name ethan hardy. Check out his page he has videos of him making them.
I think we're all well aware of who made these. But its like, why got to a middle man when you can go to the source. Plus, if a blacksmith is selling or giving away that sort of thing, one would expect it to be made BY him. its a cop out.
Yea why does it have Alec's trademark...he didn't make them.
The kid is filling an order for alec his design they have both makers marks alecs and ethan
@@heavyaf_deuce3791 yeah but you dont go to an artist to buy their product, only to have another artist make it for them.
gedion4000 more often than not, you actually do. More than 95% of all art sales are prints. Precise copies of a work made by a different source than the artist so more people have access to it. If he is pleased with the quality of the hammers and they meet his standards there is absolutely nothing wrong with it.
Everybody: Destroying quarters is illegal
Everybody else: Alec didn't make those hammers
Me: Great collab with Patrick Adair
It's Not just illegal Alex Bonfield it's a felony to destroy or deface federal property and money is federal property in the U.S.
@@anycaliber9086 Felony charges incoming, anybody want some cheap tools?
Actually it is only illegal when you are trying to make it look like a higher denomination than what it is, making jewelry out of money is not illegal. I make rings out of U.S. silver coins every day, and they are still legal currency.
@@anycaliber9086 It's only illegal if it's done with fraudulent intent, i.e. altering money to appear at a higher value issue than it is (this includes making a penny look like a dime or a nickel like a quarter, etc). What Alec and Co are doing is completely legal as defined by the US Govt and Treasury.
Yeah Patrick Adair actually has a pretty awesome channel. His carbon fiber rings are sick!
Will: You want to hit it with the big metal end.
Patrick: Not the wood?
Will: No.
The sincerity with which Will said no had me absolutely dying lol
People need to be honest. Did you not see this coming. There is no way Alec could forge all the hammers for all the orders he would get. That would be all he was doing, so of course he farmed it out. But farmed it out to someone who studied from him and still made his mark on the hammer. So it's not like they were trying to hide it. This way you get to support two blacksmiths. Alec and Ethan.
Three you forgot will
I like how people are complaining that he didn't make the hammers, but like half of his business is about trying to make blacksmithing tools easily and readily available to people who want to get into it. So no, he doesn't have time to hand craft hammers for everyone, but he can provide a quality product to anyone who is looking to get into it.
I love it when Will laughs to himself when he makes a joke or does a bit, it’s the best
You should get Adam Savage in the shop. Could be such a nice video!
Nikolai Andreassen this must happen soon. We need a adam savage alec steel collaboration now
The forged result would have to be called "Savage Steele". Imagine the pricetag on that.
@@RavenChopper That's awesome!
@@LuinTathren Thanks man, I get a good one in sometimes. :)
first thought after reading the title - 'well, def not legally' lol...
took me a while to understand what you said
It would be legal if they didn't monetize it whoops
I was thinking the same thing isn't it illegal to destroy currency
Nah, it’s allowed for artistic purposes
*disclaimer - its just a joke, not to be taken as official u.s. mint policy
Canadian here, as someone who has to use screws on a daily basis I would much rather use Robertson over Phillips. It is far too easy to strip a Phillips head screw.
That's why Torx is becoming far more popular and used almost everywhere now.
@@albe23 torx is the way to go.
I only own torx nowadays, though its easier to get hold of torx than Robertson in the uk
Is this a subtle hint to a new show called “Will it forge weld?” Each week Alec and Will take random metals and see if they forge weld haha
Yes! GMM crossover all the way
Alec the sound of that idea (sorry, I couldn't resist)
I can hear it now...
"WELCOME TO ANOTHER EPISODE OF WELDING WITH WILL!!!"
(I LIKE ALLITERATION!)
144p-th 👍
I love how will couldn’t stop laughing at his quarter behind ear joke that the camera dude had to move him out of frame 😂
You know, most tig welders are looking for the "stack of dimes" look in their welds, not a stack of quarters
deathsicon stackin’ quarters
Awesome, all i wanted in life is an Alec Steele hammer not made by Alec Steele !
Soak the quarters in acetone and hit each one with a wire wheel and then weld them up and forge
Best collab I've seen. Ive been following Patrick for over a year and Alec over the past few months. Both of your channels are awesome!
“We might have to forge a ring” “Could make sense (cents)” he just made a great pun without even realizing it. 7:15
Why’s your makers mark on hammer heads you didn’t actually forge?
Sounds like a forgery
Unless you made them and sent them away to get handled
I agree it is wrong
You think apple is making there products in house? No it's based off their design and built on large scale by outsourced factories and then they slap an apple on it.
Jack M Consumers buy different products for different reasons. I don’t care who made my iPhone because I know apple is responsible for whether or not it functions. There’s nothing proprietary about Alec’s hammer design. We didn’t want them for the branding, or the design. We wanted to support him buy spending our hard earned money on the fruits of his hard-created artistry.
No one will pay as much for a photocopy or robot rendition of the Mona Lisa
No chance I’d buy that.
I dunno he's been doing shirts forever with his mark on them and no one expected that he was sewing them together at night after making videos.
"we might have to forge a ring,
it makes sense(cents)."
good one
Jayce Cravens you bastard. Beat me to it lol
DOH! LOL
WAIT? I thought y’all were making all the hammers that are going on sale??????
the amount of volume they would have to produce would prevent them from creating youtube videos - this doesn't mean that they are worse quality hammers, and the design is still Alec's - Ethan Harty makes them (google him)
Huh Ethan Harty is from my neck of the woods. He does make nice hammers. So does Shaun from front step forge.
Liam Jack I seen you comment this on someone else’s comment. Alec has been suggesting that they were made by himself not another blacksmith and then tax his viewers! Not impressed by Alec’s tactics, he could have brought this other blacksmith on and said this is the individual that will be making the hammers we are selling and give the guy credit!!!!!!!!!!!
@@jhsplaya His touchmark is on the hammer - and its "I saw" not "I seen"
Ethan Harry is a good friend of Alec's I believe and studied under him, if you're gonna outsource better to do it to someone who makes good tools and deserves the work. Also looks like Ethan's JR touchmark also adorns the hammers so credit where credit is due.
I have seen Patrick's videos and they are actually how I found you. It was pretty sweet to see both people doing a video together. For those of you who may not think just rings are as cool to watch as all the stuff Alec does....when the dude said "I make rings out of just about anything, and try to have fun doing it" the man is modest, he is very crafted and has alot of super nice rings. His episodes are indeed entertaining aswell.
The mvp if this video is the camera man
All the people complaining that they "destroyed" a couple quarters, just stop. Just stop.
its copper and nickle...I just don't understand why you'd bother
@@zacharymacquiddy5531 That actually isn't completely true. There are exceptions to the laws about defacing US currency. Art is one of those exceptions.
YES you’re doing a lot of collabs with great you tubers! PAD is my favorite ring maker! Hope to see you guys make more with other great youtubers!
Why go to the bank when you have the back of Alec's ears.
I just love when you throw stuff bouncing around. Visible string makes it even better. Keep up guys!
Alec: "...forge quarters..."
*U.S. Secret Service ALREADY knows your location*
Lol
Will, you have such a superb sense of comedic timing! Please, never stop being your funny and unpredictable self =)
So, who makes the hammers? Isn't it the point that we want to buy hammers from you and largely made by you?
I mean if they're to the same quality for less money I'd still be interested (I like the style of hammer, don't care that he made it), but I do wonder who made them.
i remember when Alex used to make Anvils and Hammers.....i'll pass on the outsourced hammers.
Now imagine if 1000+ people ordered a hammer made by Alec and will, now do you think they really have the time and money to make all those hammers for people without getting overworked or messing them up? You’re not thinking about the lives they have outside of TH-cam and on TH-cam as creators
YourOnlySenpai That's when you either charge more and/ or have limited runs.
Btw, it looks like Ethan Harty (someone that Alec taught?) is making the hammers up in canada, also by hand. Looks like his name's on them as well
It's not illegal, people. If he was forging a quarter to look like a dollar coin, THAT would be illegal.
Wrong any defacing of a coin or a bill is technically illegal. However probably not going to cause any kind of uproar as this was meant mostly as a deterrent to stop forgery.
Title 18, Chapter 17 of the U.S. Code
In Italy it's illegal, and in other country too i think, because you are not the owner of the coins, the State Is.
I'm pretty sure it illegal to destroy,alter or make money without permission from the U.S. Government.
It is very much illegal... Destroying money alters the amount of tender that exists. It changes (without documentation) the value of the U.S. dollar. The government can't just make money to have more of it. It changes its value, same if it's destroyed!
For anyone interested in further reading on the topic:
www.law.cornell.edu/uscode/text/18/331
en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Elongated_coin
www.parkpennies.com/pressed-penny/are-penny-press-machines-legal.htm
Mutilating a coin without fraudulent intent is legal. We are not passing our mutilation off as currency. Just like the penny presses all around the country at popular attractions where you pay 25c to get the machine to squish a penny for you!
In answer to the question posed as the title of this video (without having watched it yet), yes, you most certainly can! I use copper pennies (pre 1982) and nickels to make Mokume Gane billets for bracelets, knife bolsters, etc... Just a trick to try; if you pickle the coins a little in vinegar before you go to welding them together you'll get rid of the oxidation layer and they seem to weld easier.
Rather than TIG weld the coins, I made a little fixture of two stout 1/2" thick billets of steel about 4" long that are bolted together on each end to make a compression jig. I put the stack in the compression jig, crank it down in my post vise, tighten down the bolts while the stack is under compression in the vise, and then heat the whole lot to welding temperature. Once it's fully heat-soaked, I put the jig back in the vise and squeeze it together again. That seems to do a decent job of initially setting the weld. After that, the billet comes out of the jig, and on the subsequent welding heats I don't hammer the billet very hard. I generally deo about 3-4 welding heats and tapping before I start working the billet. I find that light taps with a hammer that has a slightly rounded face seems to compress the coin centers together quite nicely when setting the weld.
Best-crossover-ever. I'm a huge fan of Patrick's work.
"You've got to hit it with the big metal end" at 6:40
I laughed so hard
Alec: lets take money, make a ring to sell for more money.
*genius*
stonks
Recycling
Look that’s capitalism. You spend money to get money. Easily spoken.
That's how it's worked for most of human history.
**STONKS**
Trade. meh.
Black Rifle Coffee Company. Hell Yes please!
Selling out with a smile. Truly the American way. Love your channel anyway you bring it.
That ring looks PHENOMENAL!
So you outsource the hammers now??
Everyone focused on the quarters, while ignoring the fact he no longer makes his own hammers?? No one remembers him making batches of hand made hammers??
Yeah I didn't get a chance at the last batch and was hoping to buy one but now they just have his mark on them, just not the same.
Remember watching him and Sam at the Baker street workshop knocking a big batch out....they where the good old days
@@paulwilson1015 yes, when there was more whack whack and less yack yack.
the amount of volume they would have to produce would prevent them from creating youtube videos - this doesn't mean that they are worse quality hammers, and the design is still Alec's - Ethan Harty makes them (google him)
@@liamjack5944 I didn't say they weren't good quality, I just noticed his stamp is on hammers not made by him. This means the hammers, no matter the quality, are basically merchandise.
Personally, I wouldn't put my makers mark on another person's work.
Patrick: We might just have to forge a ring.
Alec: Could make sense.
Me: Twenty-Five cents. 😎
Alec, just like making TShirts and editing your videos, working with someone else to produce the hammers makes a ton of sense. You can't do it all by yourself, there's not enough hours in the day, so you've got to work with others to produce some things.
I fully respect that, and I hope others do to. Best of luck with the sales, and I'm also following your producer now as well!
That's great! Brilliant being able to see the progress in the Steele business. I really appreciate being able to see these steps happen. Gotta say about the packaging supplies: the fun and beauty is in the details.
So theyre Steele style hammers but not Steele made?
Started blacksmithing about 6 months ago finally made my 100 leafs !!!
Dont use paper tape for shipping heavy items like hammers unless you pack them really well, if the hammer shifts during handling it will break through the tape
If he had yelled "Noice" at 5:58 instead of "Woo" it would have made my day, if you know what I mean.
love how happy will looks after his magic trick
7:13 unintentional pun
"we might have to forge a ring"
"that makes cents"
Etch the quarters before forging. Get's rid of oxidisation layers, oils and pretty much everything. Should work well loke that!
Then they might risk removing the nickel outer layer which is what gives the mokume its pattern
every time i see Alec talking about "a good cup of coffee"and then proceeds to make slightly murky water i'm sad.
BlazingMandril it’s not tea, he has no idles what he’s doing.
That's literally what coffee is, relax about it. Only love for you though. 😗
The mission of finding a good cup of joe in the uk is a miserable one.
It's the tea drinking British guy trapped inside him
someone should teach him the ettiquete
Thumbs up for will throwing it into the lathe. 👍👍
As a Canadian, I totally support the Robertson "square" screws! They don't slip off like those crappy Phillips head 😜😜
I’m confused, these are Alec Steele branded hammers, but aren’t actually made by Alec? Who’s the actual manufacturer then? I realize there would hardly be time to hand forge that amount of hammers, but still. It’s a reproduction of an Alec Steele hand forged hammer, which (I might be mistaken) was actually a design borrowed from his teacher.
Ethan Harty makes them
Made by Ethan Harty, a talented Blacksmith that was taught tool making by Alec a few years ago
Liam Jack - Cheers! Ethan makes some beautiful hammers. He has the identical hammers as Alec’s for sale on his website, only with his makers mark, and a natural non blackened handle.
@@Dan_Kornfeld very similar design, yes, but not identical - the face is more rectangular on alec's hammers - it's a small thing which I personally like the look of
Where did the hammers come from? Did you make them?
kody simpson I did!
@@EthanHarty right on, I was curious
I would like a Alec Steel hammer but it it’s not made by Alec Steel is it just Merch
Now imagine if 1000+ people ordered a hammer made by Alec and will, now do you think they really have the time and money to make all those hammers for people without getting overworked or messing them up? You’re not thinking about the lives they have outside of TH-cam and on TH-cam as creators
@@DamonKiller10000 You don't need to reply this same copy/paste to every comment mentioning the hammers you know. Allow people to be disappointed. They buy or they don't.
LamiiBunny Agreed
YourOnlySenpai I see your copy/paste is strong today.
shaun gibson Agreed
Knowing where it all started, it's amazing to see how far you've gotten. Truly amazing!
2:12 Patrick trying to keep a straight face while Alec and Will lose it has been the best thing I've seen this year. On another topic, completely my opinion with the knowledge (or lack there of) that I have, I think Ethan should've been mentioned that he made the hammers. But I don't know what agreements y'all have made off camera. I don't know if he's fine with it or not, when I watched his video he seemed really pumped that he was given this task by you (Alec). Anyways the hammers are beautiful and I respect the craftsmanship that y'all have. keep doing what you love to do!
People wanting to know about the hammers look up Ethan harty
Way to go Ethan! Beautiful hammers! I am a proud owner of a Ethan Harty 3.5 classic. He makes incredible tools!
So did you guys make those hammers or commission elsewhere?
Ethan Harty makes them
@@liamjack5944 No he doesn't lmao watch the video.
@@SylasTheGreat It literally has Ethan's mark on the hammer...
@@SylasTheGreat yes he does. Go to his channel and watch his video doing it.
Will is precious and should never change.
13:00
and if you grind it into a powder and add some water, you can use it as a 9-in-1 shampoo, conditioner, shaving cream, hand soap, dish soap, laundry soap, toothpaste, cocktail mixer, and motor oil.
:D
Alec. See Clickspring's newest video. It has some incredible engraving and machining. Seeing the "magic trick" made me think of this because Clickspring made the card press for TH-cam creator and magician, Chris Ramsay. Great video!
I watched that, Clickspring is at a level unmatched by 99% of craftsmen, offhand the only one i can think of is that award winning watchmaker from Japan MasahiroKIKUNO, And that is like comparing apples to oranges...
Did Alec make and send hammers to himself??? I'm confused...a shipment of Alec Steele hammers arrived at Alec Steele's shop🤔 to be sold as " hammers made by Alec".....I think the fans need an explanation!!!!!
Agreed! I'm not interested in hammers that were farmed out.
It's merchandise - like his t-shirts, hats and mugs, he doesnt produce those himself either, and while i assume an actually "handforged by Alec personally" Hammer will set you back quite a lot of quarters, those he got shipped will be cheaper. It's just another tool - trade mark. I guess the romantic "bloke in a shed making videos" time is over and we're entering Alec Steele CEO in a Suit era ;)
At least 100 of them were mady by Ethan Harty....though why Alec didn't mention him I don't know...That should be simple professional courtesy sombody made merch for you, you send kudos their way...
@@SuperJaXXas Farmed hammers is like pissing on fans. I guess a lot of people like being pissed on though.
The fact that Will couldn't hold back the laughter at his own coin trick 😂😂
Wow the oven is your forge in this episode. Kudos to Paragon!
Former shipping manager with 15 years experience. The paper tape does come unglued given enough environmental changes, hot, cold, wet, dry etc. And the "tape on a roll" as you put it, is so often not secured correctly. The large flap on top of the tape gun is meant to push the tape down and secure it. But I've never found one that works properly. Easiest way I've found to fix that is to run a flat somewhat pliable edge and you'll see as you do that the tape sticks much better. I've shipped things that are $100,000 using that "tape on a roll" and never had a problem.
As im sure you'd appreciate, its not the tools you use, its how you use them, even if its just tape.
I think you meant to say, "the superior Canadian robertson head screw!" haha
Growing up i saw them all over the place🇨🇦, just a few years ago i found out they're not common in the states and are used as security bits lol
I prefer them, as they dont strip out, that and star bits... I know they have names but I call them square and star...
They're everywhere in the states. I use them or torx because they dont make the bit jump. I can pick them up at any hardware store.
The Federal reserve: Am I a joke to you?
Every single American: Yes. Shut up.
@J.R. Spingly I know, My joke alludes to the fact that the federal reserve prints money as they wish, devaluing the dollar to benefit the few. The federal reserve is a private institution which is why they are a joke.
J.R. Spingly you should probably do some research we’ve been off the gold standard for a long time. Also the treasury prints the money not the federal reserve but it’s only worth what we believe it to be
@J.R. Spingly yes, printing more money devalues the dollar which causes inflation.
@@tinglemccringleberry8899 you are correct. I was wrong to say they print the money, they do however request and distribute it.
Wrong
2:07 Will attempting to do a funny magic trick
2:10 Will realizes that his trick may not be funny
2:15 Will smiling, knowing very well that he didn't do a funny trick
2:19 Will very well knowing he's the only one laughing nervously
T H E R E ' S N O E S C A P E F R O M E M B A R A S S E M E N T W I L L
I thought it was funny
This video feels for me like you've just read my thoughts. Really, I always wanted to email PAD about you, to ask for a video with you two together, making a complex thing, like I always wanted to do, from blacksmithing and creating new materials to a final product, like rings or pendants. If you could check my history, seeing the last videos I watched, it's all about mixing metals with different colours and different patterns (like the mokume gane from your chanel ), and then I was continuing with one video from PAD, having that mix metal bar made as a ring. ASTONISHING! You know, following your will, and living the dream, inspire others. Verry satisfied seeing you together and I'm glad to see that things worked out without me intervening. I wish one day I could meet you in person. I really want to get into this as a job and as a hobby as well. Who knows maybe a lifestyle too, making plans to travel around the world and collecting agates, crystals, quarts and God know what other beautiful rocks you might find, in all kind of places, in all kind of circumstances Anyway... Hope you guys are well in these hard times and stay so, making more videos haha.
Will and his sweet tricks are the best.
I’m going to add my two quarters here about the whole hammer thing. Being that they are replicas of your actual handmade hammers, you should have differentiated them from your true hammers . Most people want a piece of your work, not just another mass produced hammer. These devalue those that you made by your hand. Think second or third generation baseball cards crowding the market. People want the originals and will pay for them, but not if they can’t tell knockoffs from the original
the amount of volume they would have to produce would prevent them from creating youtube videos - this doesn't mean that they are worse quality hammers, and the design is still Alec's - Ethan Harty makes them (google him) and he also has his maker's mark on the hammer (thereby differentiating it from the original hammers
I understand the shear volume and I don’t blame Alec or any one for wanting to get his product out there. People absolutely love his hammers and I don’t doubt they are just as good as the originals. The thing is, if we would buy say a sword from him with his trademark, we expect that he had some hand in actually producing the sword. This is where the disconnect comes from. I don’t mean to crap on Alec since I’m a huge fan, but this singlehandedly creates a separation between his fans and himself.
@@Jrskeetpro Buy a sword then.
@@liamjack5944 you have spent an amazing amount of time defending this. I am curious why?
PB CRISP I need something to do while I procrastinate from homework lol
So the hammers are outsourced to a third party to your design?
What it appears to be but they still are using his maker mark which is kinda weird to me
They are made by ethan harty - who also has his touchmark on the hammer
Dude would it be more interesting to make a samurai sword or 50 identical hammer heads
@@crackeds6806 50 hammer heads. Like back in Baker Street. But this times are gone. It is a brand sign now, not a makers mark anymore. Nothing wrong with that, his bussines grows, but he should state it as such. "Hammers by my desing" and not "my hammers"
@@Seelenschmiede he can say "my hammers" as long as credit is given to ethan - which it is by ethan's touchmark on the hammer
you don't make your own hammers to sell?
The cinematography on this channel is amazing
wait...
you arent making the hammers??
Will’s face when he drops that quarter. Priceless!
The irony is killing me. The blacksmith that made his name making and selling hammers, bought a crap ton of hammers from another blacksmith to sell himself.
Josh Duff he just doesn’t have time to make hundreds of hammers anymore
I thought he made the hammers and then sent them away to have them hung on the handles. If I'm wrong then yes that's super ironic and pretty dumb.
@@johnnyregs2378 I believe you are correct.
@@DamonKiller10000 no he made complete hammers. He did a video of him and his homie the ferrier (idk his name i forget) making like 80 hammers
Well, that all depends on how he wants to allocate his time. He certainly could make hundreds of hammers and we could have another 20 part series of him making those hammers. Or he could out source them and we could have a 20 part series on something else. Already watched him make 70 hammers so I think I am ok with him out sourcing the work.
great to Ethan back on the scene, very down to earth an a real talent. Nice to see Ethan openly tell the story of the project and in a away 'wack wack and less yack' lives on.
I love how will just thought his quarter magic from his childhood was the best darn thing since sliced bread.
Breaking the law, Breaking the law!!!
So you didn't forge your own hammers? :o
the amount of volume they would have to produce would prevent them from creating youtube videos - this doesn't mean that they are worse quality hammers, and the design is still Alec's - Ethan Harty makes them (google him)
@@liamjack5944 Ethan Harty makes Alecs hammers and makes his own youtube videos but Alec can't make his own hammers?
@@mrwigley9883 Alec already did a past series on forging a batch of hammers - it would be repeat content of something we already know he can do well - in other words, it wouldn't be very exciting or entertaining (Yes I know some people would enjoy it but making a sword and learning new skills is much more entertaining than making the same hammer over and over again without learning anything)
See some companies start out small, where you do everything yourself, and then you hire people to do those things once you get enough money to do so. Just because another person forged the hammer heads, does not mean they are not Alec's. He is paying someone to make them, and they are his design.
@@liamjack5944 Copy that bullcrap another time maybe someone will start to believe in it. If I buy a picasso painting I want it by Picasso not his student.
Can you really call it a "maker's mark" any longer? It's just more like a brand logo now, right?
Preach!
That’s what I’ve been trying to get across
dude makes $20k swords you think he has time to make fuckin hammers.
Yea I'm not a fan
Truck Flips yes if he wants to not like he wont be able to sell anything he makes
Why is no one talking about the wedding ring on Alec's hand? Congrats Brother, marriage is incredible!
That was a great 15:40 hammer sales commercial. Bravo 👏
My first thought was, "I gotta have one of those hammers." I was disappointed back when you made all those hammers a while back, and I missed out on getting one. But then I thought, "Alec didn't even make these." I scrolled through the comments and discovered Ethan Harty made them. So I went to his web sight, and his are $250 Canadian dollars, which is about $189 American dollars. I wonder what the mark up on the "Alec Steele" hammers is going to be.
On Instagram Ethan stated they would be around $200, Depending on what size hammer you order
So a while back when Alec was visiting paragon and talking about LEAN manufacturing, I was thinking to myself “I wonder how Alec is gonna apply this to the shop” well we know now.
"US economy crashes due to someone vandalizing multiple stacks of quarters."
Theres an actual federal reserve shortage of coins right now lmao
Tommyxp420 best part is, at this point in time(September 1, 2020) the United States government has stopped producing most coins because the pandemic somehow caused a shortage of them.
@@tatehammontree2636 I have 5 of those big water jugs full of coins. I'm part of the shortage lol
@@tatehammontree2636 prolly a couple thousand dollars
@@trevorpence1062 damn lol I'm working on a gallon jug right now but it's only about a fifth full
Lol good throw Will xD It chucked itself in the lathe and everything!
2:45 just an FYI, most carpenters love the snow Mexican square heads or the star heads.
Somehow hammers made somewhere else, by someone else with your branding on it seems like a cop out.
You think he has time to personally forge hundreds, or maybe even thousands of hammers? Yeah, unrealistic expectations I think.
Yea, now he can outsource the swords that sell for thousands of dollars too and we can all have one. He is trying to get into fashion. I think he is practicing outsourcing.
Livi 120 - unless you buy locally or make your own stuff, you’re buying outsourced items. Sorry to break it to you.