What nice man, and Will you passed “way too cool” sometime ago, just a joy to watch someone who can explain coherently how these difficult patterns are made. You guys are the best, need to make this at least a quarterly video discussing historical steel works. Thanks!
You're so right! I just shared a story on this thread about me spending two weeks with a master blacksmith in Santa Fe New Mexico named Frank Turley and at the time I was there he had been doing it for 50 years and he was one of those old timer smiths and watching him work was unbelievably amazing. He would demonstrate something and make it look so simple and easy right up until it was time for me try it and even though I was a really experienced bladesmith and blacksmith myself I was no where near the level he was at. And on top of being a master blacksmith he was also very well known for his let's say not so clean language and cleverly witted humor. One of his favorite stories to tell the class was how when he first moved to Santa Fe from California and he was a white man and he fell in love with a native American woman and before they could get married he had to go to her dad and ask for his blessings and permission to marry his daughter and when he met her dad the first time he had already made his mind before he even met him that he was going to allow her to marry him but he wanted to mess with him first and Mr. Turley said by the time he got her dad's blessing he was so afraid and nervous but they got married and she was a very sweet woman. I feel really lucky to have been able to learn and hangout with one of the masters of old times.
Man its so cool to see mr gilmore talk about his studies. That man probably has a crazy amount of knowledge and he's willing to help anyone interested. He's a true craftsman 💪
I just was at a master class yesterday from Pierre Reverdy at the Nontron knife fair here in France. He was talking about his own damascus of course but also how he ended there. He gave a great tribute to the blacksmiths who crafted the damascus barrels and gave us some cool historic and technical specs.. really interesting ! And the next day, i find this video… lovely timing…. Cheers from France
getting a ribbon to weld to itself while being wrapped around a mandrel? what kind of sorcery is this? seems next to impossible! What incredible skills those old smiths had! thanks for sharing this video Will - absolutely fascinating stuff here!
all American made damascus barreled shotguns were made with imported damascus barrel blanks, as no one in America had mastered that skill. damascus barreled shotguns produced in England and Europe were finished in the brown. many American shotgun manufacturers finished their damascus barrels in what is called black and white, which is stunning to see in good condition. I have an 1890 year of production Colt Model 1883 side by side hammerless 12 gauge which has beautiful fingerprint damascus barrels that I had refinished in black and white by a fellow named Dale Edmonds, who was known as the best at refinishing in black and white. looks incredible. I used to shoot sporting clays with it using RST low pressure loads made to approximate the pressures of black powder shells.
SO cool! I can't believe someone can watch a video like this and not hit the "like" button. I'd love to see you make a damascus barrel, and collaborate with someone to finish the sleeving and rifling process. A beautiful kentucky or hawken rifle would be great.
I recently shipped a very old damascus barrel shotgun to a family member after his father passed...it was a 6 gauge. SIX! The barrel alone was 36 inches and weighed a metric ton!
I would imagine that would make a rather distinctive boom when fired. Any idea how much shot goes into one shell? Probably enough to take down a half dozen ducks at once.
Absolutely incredible. I'm always amazed at the ingenuity of people in the past. Every time I think about steam locomotives, I just can't wrap my mind around the fact that they were created with such rudimentary instruments. Then I see this, and it's just insane. ETA: Glenn seems like a super cool man. Thanks for preserving this knowledge, brother.
I've always loved the look of Damascus barrels and marveled at the skill making them required. I've heard that one of the standard tests for young apprentices in Liege was to give them a hunk of steel and a file from which they were supposed to shape a perfect cube of about 2 cm x 2 cm.
That double barrel pattern almost reminds me of a pack a punched blunder gat from black ops 2. Great video, it’s super cool to learn about how stuff like that was made back then!
In the UK, we have a sweet ( candy ) called Rock. It's usually bought at a seaside town. It's about 12" long and maybe about 1" in diameter and solid. Just under the outside edge and running around the circumference, and down the entire length will be the name of the seaside town. It starts off as a very large diameter circle made up of lots of little bars to give the pattern, and maybe about 3 or 4 feet long. It is then rolled and rolled to compress and lengthen the original starting billet until it is maybe the 1" diameter by about 20', then it is cut into the 1' lengths for sale in the souvenir shops. I think it might be similar to the way the Belgians were making their mosaic pattern tape for the gun barrels. Here is a video on TH-cam of the process. th-cam.com/video/V4tYYgS1SgQ/w-d-xo.htmlsi=UFBheKAVQB0KzTs7
Hi, I'm from Belgium and I didn't know about these damascus gun barrels! But I'm not surprised that they were made in Liège, famous for it's century old gun producer FN Herstal (known for the SCAR)
This is absolutely incredible! What agreat experience you get to have. Thank you both for sharing knowledge so it can be passed down. Really, really good stuff, Will.
I always enjoy these videos where he speaks to various masters of their craft. This one was no exception! All the beautiful art and craftsmanship and skill that goes into this always amazes me. And I love to see folks eager to learn about things and pick up new skills. This one was super Cool, Mister.
This is something I would be willing to do with you Mr Steltor. As a blacksmith in Iowa i do a ton of coal work. And would be willing to come to you for a few day's
You have to make a black powder shotgun with Damascus Everything! Please Please Please!! Every bit of work you do is incredible and what I appreciate most is your humility and Drive to always improve your skills and share your passions.
In the British gun trade barrels for shotguns are commonly filed to shape. It's a very accurate way to make a very thin barrel concentric. If the wall is thicker like on normal shotguns I would say a lathe would be good enough, and of course grinding works fine too.
I've got an old LC Smith and the pattern is nowhere near. So nice but it was very cool to see how it's done and how much work went into these barrels. Thank you! 🙏
My local patternwelding blacksmith/artist has a beautiful damascus musket barrel estimated to be from the 17th century. He found it as a rusty stave on a flea market. So crazy
Really great stuff! You should check out some of the double barrel shotgun sites like the Parker Gun Collectors Association where we've been posting about these processes & patterns for years now. Dr. Drew Hause has compiled a major study of how these barrels were made along with identifying the various patterns. There's also video out there that was filmed in the shop you've shown here of these Belgian masters forging the barrels.
Time spent with an expert is never wasted. You can just tell that man has forgotten more already than most have learned. Great job Will! Go meet some other great people, and introduce us all.
very good subject !! there is an old film (from 1925 -1931 silent and black and white) from which some of the photos presented seem to be taken. this film of about 20 minutes can be found on youtube (search for the title in FR : "La fabrication des canons Damas à Nessonvaux (1925-1931) - Enquête du Musée de la Vie wallonne"). watching this film allows you to understand the explanations given a little better, and as it is silent there are no translation problems
19:11 I would watch you give it a go. You could start with 1"x 1/4" and 1/4" square to get a feel for the spiral forge welding. 19:30 likely a punt gun, shooting birds to fill the grocery stores.
Wow very interesting stuff. You’d think someone would have carried on these barrels gun manufactures wise. I can picture a Baker forge Cu Mia barrel now. Now I have to go look over my guns. Thanks for this video
The big barrel was possibly for a punt gun. They stuck out of the bow of a small boat and were used to kill a flock of bird with one shot. There are some examples at Shelburn Museum in Vermont.
Mr Cool air conditioners are actually pretty good quality stuff. If I had an off grid or solar setup it's probably one of the first things I'd be getting because of the efficiency. Being on grid and using regular electricity it's not really worth it for me, but for sure if I was off grid or needed to lower electric bills they're great.
19:15 the look of a younger maker suggestion an audacious idea/project and the elder maker smiling and giving encouragement, knowing full well the crazy and unexpected amount of work to accomplish suggested project, it fully rooting for them to attempt and succeed! Will, please never stop making these types of videos where you interact with other craftsmen ( & craftswomen? Or is craftsmen gender neutral?)
cant quite put my finger on why... but I find myself wanting to see a long series of Will making a full Damascus bolt action .22lr (we don't need our boy having a Kentucky Ballistics incident) Series Sponsor: SDI :D
Excellent content as always! I have an old double barrel that says Damascus on the side. I found it rusted up in a garage. I refinished it but it doesn't show any pattern. Would ferric chloride or something bring out the pattern?
Yes ferric corrode would do the trick, put some on a paper towel and rub it on (don’t get any on your hands), but keep in mind that it could be made in Damascus and not be made of damascus
@@garretlarsen5343ehh you can get it on your hands….. and even if it’s not Damascus…. You gotta admit an etched barrel would look even better than a cerakote or blued…… maybe even a coffee etch 👌
Looking at reprints of 1900s Sears catalogs I always wondered how they made those barrels. They kinda showed a simplification in the illustration. Time to shoot that beast! What are the specs of the gun?
That Prince Albert is the future king of England; Edward VII; around 1907. @will, I sent you a mail with information from the Belgian makers and barrel Damascus patterns.
I did not think i was going to sit through a 20 min video. This was great.
The old smith's skill with such a manual process is really interesting to see
Insane
Some of the patterns on those are just stunning
What nice man, and Will you passed “way too cool” sometime ago, just a joy to watch someone who can explain coherently how these difficult patterns are made. You guys are the best, need to make this at least a quarterly video discussing historical steel works. Thanks!
85...A Long Time Ago. You just made me feel old-er. LOL. A great history lesson too!
I was only 5, but I sometimes forget how long ago 5 was, the reminder is shocking lol
@@microbuilder I was driving to and from high school thinking how sophisticated I was. LOL
Very impressive, thanks for sharing! Blacksmiths back in the day truly were forces of nature...
You're so right! I just shared a story on this thread about me spending two weeks with a master blacksmith in Santa Fe New Mexico named Frank Turley and at the time I was there he had been doing it for 50 years and he was one of those old timer smiths and watching him work was unbelievably amazing. He would demonstrate something and make it look so simple and easy right up until it was time for me try it and even though I was a really experienced bladesmith and blacksmith myself I was no where near the level he was at. And on top of being a master blacksmith he was also very well known for his let's say not so clean language and cleverly witted humor. One of his favorite stories to tell the class was how when he first moved to Santa Fe from California and he was a white man and he fell in love with a native American woman and before they could get married he had to go to her dad and ask for his blessings and permission to marry his daughter and when he met her dad the first time he had already made his mind before he even met him that he was going to allow her to marry him but he wanted to mess with him first and Mr. Turley said by the time he got her dad's blessing he was so afraid and nervous but they got married and she was a very sweet woman. I feel really lucky to have been able to learn and hangout with one of the masters of old times.
Thanks for the history lesson. Love learning about the old ways.
Man its so cool to see mr gilmore talk about his studies. That man probably has a crazy amount of knowledge and he's willing to help anyone interested. He's a true craftsman 💪
I just was at a master class yesterday from Pierre Reverdy at the Nontron knife fair here in France. He was talking about his own damascus of course but also how he ended there. He gave a great tribute to the blacksmiths who crafted the damascus barrels and gave us some cool historic and technical specs.. really interesting ! And the next day, i find this video… lovely timing….
Cheers from France
I am so happy right now.
getting a ribbon to weld to itself while being wrapped around a mandrel? what kind of sorcery is this? seems next to impossible! What incredible skills those old smiths had! thanks for sharing this video Will - absolutely fascinating stuff here!
My man Will sponsored by air conditioning
hes just that cool 😎
all American made damascus barreled shotguns were made with imported damascus barrel blanks, as no one in America had mastered that skill. damascus barreled shotguns produced in England and Europe were finished in the brown. many American shotgun manufacturers finished their damascus barrels in what is called black and white, which is stunning to see in good condition. I have an 1890 year of production Colt Model 1883 side by side hammerless 12 gauge which has beautiful fingerprint damascus barrels that I had refinished in black and white by a fellow named Dale Edmonds, who was known as the best at refinishing in black and white. looks incredible. I used to shoot sporting clays with it using RST low pressure loads made to approximate the pressures of black powder shells.
SO cool! I can't believe someone can watch a video like this and not hit the "like" button. I'd love to see you make a damascus barrel, and collaborate with someone to finish the sleeving and rifling process. A beautiful kentucky or hawken rifle would be great.
So sick! Great vid Will! Gettin’ my brain buzzing with all this old timey bad assery. Time to go on a deep dive…..
Amazing, never heard about it despite living in Liège ! Fascinating ❤
Just amazing what they could do back then. Thanks for covering this Will, and thank you to Glenn for having Will in and sharing your knowledge.
Greetings to you Will and Glenn from Aachen! Shows you how small the world is thanks to the Internet 🙂
It is a small world! I am also from Aachen.
The intro of Glens work was awesome. Amazing craftsmanship
Dude this was fuckin awesome, seriously, a second channel dedicated to the history of all things blacksmithing would be killer!
I recently shipped a very old damascus barrel shotgun to a family member after his father passed...it was a 6 gauge. SIX! The barrel alone was 36 inches and weighed a metric ton!
shipping that sounds like the most expensive part of the whole thing
I would imagine that would make a rather distinctive boom when fired. Any idea how much shot goes into one shell? Probably enough to take down a half dozen ducks at once.
@@TheBigburcieif I'm not mistaken a 6 gage firearm would hold 6 ball of lead the diameter of the barrel that would weigh a pound
Absolutely incredible. I'm always amazed at the ingenuity of people in the past. Every time I think about steam locomotives, I just can't wrap my mind around the fact that they were created with such rudimentary instruments. Then I see this, and it's just insane.
ETA: Glenn seems like a super cool man. Thanks for preserving this knowledge, brother.
Greetings from Aachen to you guys! 😊
I've always loved the look of Damascus barrels and marveled at the skill making them required. I've heard that one of the standard tests for young apprentices in Liege was to give them a hunk of steel and a file from which they were supposed to shape a perfect cube of about 2 cm x 2 cm.
Wow. Twisting it up the bar and hammering.
We all know Will is going to try this some time. Might be a good one to try when Alec comes to visit.
I love how he pushed you into the hole you dug for him.
That double barrel pattern almost reminds me of a pack a punched blunder gat from black ops 2. Great video, it’s super cool to learn about how stuff like that was made back then!
Thanks for this! You've inspired me to take a closer look at my old Damascus barrelled shotguns.
First time I'm hearing of this particular group of smiths. The work quality is incredible for today, let alone 150 years ago!
Master smith Steve Culver makes Damascus barrels with ribbons on a mandrel!
In the UK, we have a sweet ( candy ) called Rock. It's usually bought at a seaside town. It's about 12" long and maybe about 1" in diameter and solid. Just under the outside edge and running around the circumference, and down the entire length will be the name of the seaside town. It starts off as a very large diameter circle made up of lots of little bars to give the pattern, and maybe about 3 or 4 feet long. It is then rolled and rolled to compress and lengthen the original starting billet until it is maybe the 1" diameter by about 20', then it is cut into the 1' lengths for sale in the souvenir shops. I think it might be similar to the way the Belgians were making their mosaic pattern tape for the gun barrels. Here is a video on TH-cam of the process. th-cam.com/video/V4tYYgS1SgQ/w-d-xo.htmlsi=UFBheKAVQB0KzTs7
This link to the traditional candy production had also jumped into my mind though it took me a day after having watched the video make the connection.
One of the best sponsorships I have seen
Hi, I'm from Belgium and I didn't know about these damascus gun barrels! But I'm not surprised that they were made in Liège, famous for it's century old gun producer FN Herstal (known for the SCAR)
you can see them in the "grand curtius" museum in Liege, there is a permanent arms exibit, really worth a visit!!
The Royal Armoury in Leeds UK is a great place to go see some stunning arms and armour. Lots of damascus in the collection too. great video 2x👍
Will making jokes and the nice old gentleman totally missing them is literally my spirit animal
this is fascinating, thanks for posting!!
This is absolutely incredible! What agreat experience you get to have. Thank you both for sharing knowledge so it can be passed down. Really, really good stuff, Will.
He's is a talent like no other!!
mind freaking blown. so cool
I always enjoy these videos where he speaks to various masters of their craft. This one was no exception! All the beautiful art and craftsmanship and skill that goes into this always amazes me.
And I love to see folks eager to learn about things and pick up new skills.
This one was super Cool, Mister.
So glad you weren’t sponsored by Better Help again!
Reminds me of murano glass, where they stack the glass into patterns, heat & stretch into canes, cut and stack again, etc
what a cool find. glad you bought it
This is something I would be willing to do with you Mr Steltor. As a blacksmith in Iowa i do a ton of coal work. And would be willing to come to you for a few day's
That would be amazing to see.
We'll since i'm from belgium and a blacksmith it seems I'll have to visit Liege sometime soon. Thank you Will for bringing this to my attention.
Super interesting stuff! Thanks Will!
Fantastic video, Will. Great discussion of a really interesting subject.
Excellent vid.
You have to make a black powder shotgun with Damascus Everything! Please Please Please!! Every bit of work you do is incredible and what I appreciate most is your humility and Drive to always improve your skills and share your passions.
that fellas forearms in those old pictures were insane
Super interesting. Bloody awesome mate .keep up the good work
Love these types of videos.
In the British gun trade barrels for shotguns are commonly filed to shape. It's a very accurate way to make a very thin barrel concentric. If the wall is thicker like on normal shotguns I would say a lathe would be good enough, and of course grinding works fine too.
Bring on the dots Will, that wire method is amazing
Your facial expressions scream "bored to death" when you're talking to that man!😂😂
At least at first.
So cool!!!
I've got an old LC Smith and the pattern is nowhere near. So nice but it was very cool to see how it's done and how much work went into these barrels. Thank you! 🙏
The work is beautiful! But the process supports why shooting old Damascus guns is questionable or downright dangerous. Excellent video. Thanks.
Awesome episode Will!
You always have the coolest content! Thanks for all your work.
My local patternwelding blacksmith/artist has a beautiful damascus musket barrel estimated to be from the 17th century. He found it as a rusty stave on a flea market. So crazy
I really enjoyed the content Will!
Really great stuff! You should check out some of the double barrel shotgun sites like the Parker Gun Collectors Association where we've been posting about these processes & patterns for years now. Dr. Drew Hause has compiled a major study of how these barrels were made along with identifying the various patterns. There's also video out there that was filmed in the shop you've shown here of these Belgian masters forging the barrels.
Time spent with an expert is never wasted. You can just tell that man has forgotten more already than most have learned. Great job Will! Go meet some other great people, and introduce us all.
This is awesome!!
Would expect something to see like this on Ian's channel @Forgotten Weapons.
I hope you try this !!!
Yes, he needs to try!
very good subject !!
there is an old film (from 1925 -1931 silent and black and white) from which some of the photos presented seem to be taken.
this film of about 20 minutes can be found on youtube
(search for the title in FR : "La fabrication des canons Damas à Nessonvaux (1925-1931) - Enquête du Musée de la Vie wallonne").
watching this film allows you to understand the explanations given a little better, and as it is silent there are no translation problems
19:11 I would watch you give it a go. You could start with 1"x 1/4" and 1/4" square to get a feel for the spiral forge welding. 19:30 likely a punt gun, shooting birds to fill the grocery stores.
Wow very interesting stuff. You’d think someone would have carried on these barrels gun manufactures wise. I can picture a Baker forge Cu Mia barrel now. Now I have to go look over my guns. Thanks for this video
Thanks Will, this is a very interesting video.
This is the coolest viedo you have ever made, and that's saying something
The big barrel was possibly for a punt gun. They stuck out of the bow of a small boat and were used to kill a flock of bird with one shot. There are some examples at Shelburn Museum in Vermont.
A Prince Albert from "somewhere over there."
Never change, guys.
Mr Cool air conditioners are actually pretty good quality stuff. If I had an off grid or solar setup it's probably one of the first things I'd be getting because of the efficiency. Being on grid and using regular electricity it's not really worth it for me, but for sure if I was off grid or needed to lower electric bills they're great.
19:30 Maybe a Punt gun for hunting water fowl out of a skiff?
19:15 the look of a younger maker suggestion an audacious idea/project and the elder maker smiling and giving encouragement, knowing full well the crazy and unexpected amount of work to accomplish suggested project, it fully rooting for them to attempt and succeed!
Will, please never stop making these types of videos where you interact with other craftsmen ( & craftswomen? Or is craftsmen gender neutral?)
Interesting stuff 🤔. Amazing what people can make/build to bad it's a lost art.
Their damascus making process is very reminiscent of the process used to make millefiori glassware.
Those dudes were making damascus like that hard candy with the little panda face in it, and stuff.
Please use this technique to make a billet with pictures and writing. Havnt seen anything like it anywhere else
cant quite put my finger on why... but I find myself wanting to see a long series of Will making a full Damascus bolt action .22lr (we don't need our boy having a Kentucky Ballistics incident) Series Sponsor: SDI :D
I’ve forged a few barrels now using various methods, and a couple Damascus barrels. It’s easier than it seems, just very time consuming.
Very cool. When you started doing pattern Damascus, were you able to find a reference or text book on how to make different patterns?
In one of the pics they where rolling out a large sheet of damascus. Please elaborate on how this was used and made.
good stuff,
Excellent content as always! I have an old double barrel that says Damascus on the side. I found it rusted up in a garage. I refinished it but it doesn't show any pattern. Would ferric chloride or something bring out the pattern?
Yes ferric corrode would do the trick, put some on a paper towel and rub it on (don’t get any on your hands), but keep in mind that it could be made in Damascus and not be made of damascus
@@garretlarsen5343ehh you can get it on your hands….. and even if it’s not Damascus…. You gotta admit an etched barrel would look even better than a cerakote or blued…… maybe even a coffee etch 👌
Be careful if the bore is lined. The ferric chloride may damage the important part of the gun
@@LittleGreyWolfForge my hands were itchy for a few days after I got it on my hands the first time, just a caution people should take
@@LittleGreyWolfForge an etched barrel does look way good
Please, do it!
Looking at reprints of 1900s Sears catalogs I always wondered how they made those barrels. They kinda showed a simplification in the illustration. Time to shoot that beast! What are the specs of the gun?
Will, I would love to help build a black powder rifle with Damascus. Then we could call it a True Stelter Deckard.
That Prince Albert is the future king of England; Edward VII; around 1907.
@will, I sent you a mail with information from the Belgian makers and barrel Damascus patterns.
👍👍👍
Will! Stop playing with the trigger! Driving me nuts.
How much was that gun ?
I have an 18** somthing can't rember the exact year Lefevre damascus double barrel 12 ga
I have that French video!
(... that the thumbnail and screenshots are from)
Many Winchester 1887 (?) 10 gauge shotguns had Damascus barrels, mine isn't.
Very much enjoy but damn dude, leave that trigger alone!
Those guys look tough as nails.
They chew nails for breakfast
So when will you be making a Damascus 1911 barrel?