Awesome Steel

Show ’em you know how to handle your meat with this impressive cleaver from Dalstrong. The Gladiator Series Meat Chopper has a razor-sharp 8-inch full-tang blade made from high-carbon 7CR17MOV steel and G10 handle scales. It weighs a hefty 2.3 pounds and includes a handsome acacia wood display stand. It’s also available in a 5-inch model.

A Möbius strip is a twisted object that loops back onto itself, so it has only a single side. Brandon from Inheritance Machining shows us how he made a similarly perplexing object out of a single block of steel. Like the strip, his Möbius cube has one continuous side, but it was far more complicated to engineer and craft than its source of inspiration.

Iron and steel are the most recyclable materials on Earth. So it’s no wonder we often see items made by melting and reforging metal. In this video from Maker B, the machinist shows us how he took an assortment of steel bolts and removed their threads to create the parts for a working combination lock – no melting required. He made the dial from a brass rod.

It’s all ball bearings nowadays. Given the ubiquity of these smooth-spinning widgets, it’s interesting to see how they’re made. Process X takes us inside the JTEKT Corporation, Japan’s highest-volume ball bearing factory. Watching millions of steel spheres rolling their way through the automated production line is reason enough to hit play. Turn captions on.

Maker Neil Paskin returned to his workshop to build another great piece of functional craft. He fabricated this vintage-style industrial chair using hand-cut and bent steel for its legs and support structure and gently curved wood for its back and seat. We love how he made his own plywood from reclaimed floorboards.

Enjoy smooth and satisfying coffee outdoors with Stanley’s rugged metal pour-over coffee maker set. It features a durable and reusable stainless steel filter and an insulated stainless steel coffee mug. Just put your grounds in the basket, and add boiling water for a perfect cup every time. Available in green, white, black, copper, and cream finishes.

Japan’s Satake Cutlery creates these modern kitchen knives that stand out thanks to their quality construction and matte black finish. The blades are crafted from stainless steel and come in four sizes: large, medium, petty, and paring. Sold individually.

Elevated Craft follows up on its Hybrid Cocktail Glass with a taller version for beer and other drinks. This 16 oz. pint glass features a chillable glass insert and a vacuum insulated steel base to keep drinks cold without freezing your hand, and has a built-in bottle opener in its base. Available in stainless, copper, or black finishes.

This collection of modular steel toolboxes from SK Hand Tools lets you outfit your workshop or garage exactly how you want it. They come in a variety of door and drawer configurations that stack and lock securely into place or can be used individually. If you want them to roll on wheels, be sure to grab a Utility Cart or two.

MMA fighter and businessman Conor McGregor asked That Works to create a sword to celebrate his Forged Irish Stout. Matt Stagmer and Steve House from Moonshine Metalworks created this two-handed Irish Claymore, inspired by the sword on the beer can but with many added details. The etched slashes on the blade are the McGregor name in ancient Celtic.

This inexpensive and basic steel tool from Leatherman doesn’t try to overdo things. It combines three useful functions: a carabiner clip for your keychain, a 1/4″ hex driver, and a bottle opener. The perfect little addition to your belt loop or backpack.

The Mandalorian’s Darksaber is the most sword-like weapon in the Star Wars universe. So, it only makes sense that a blacksmith would build a real-world replica. Black Beard Projects forged his Darksaber’s blade from high-carbon and stainless steel, recreated its handle using 3D printing and sand casting, and machined its guard from steel.

Turbulent’s versatile bike tool combines 23 useful functions, including numerous metric hex wrenches, Torx, Phillips, and flat screwdrivers, a spoke wrench, spline, brake pad spreader, open wrenches, and more. Like most good multitools, it has a bottle opener to crack open a cold one to celebrate a repair well done.

AltDynamic is back with two larger sizes of its Superegg desk plaything. The machined metal eggs feature a superelliptical shape, and now come in 2.4″ (Mighty) and 2.88″ (Mega) variants. Each can be ordered in stainless steel, copper, or titanium, with mirror, satin, or machined finishes. Mini and Classic sizes are also available during this Kickstarter campaign.

Our ability to reclaim and reuse metal means it’s possible to make knives and tools out of all kinds of stuff. Knives Project shows us how they burnt the explosive coating off a bunch of sparklers, then twisted and forged the remaining metal rods to create a uniquely patterned blade.

We’ve seen some pretty clever use of space in tiny houses, but never anything like this. Inventor Handy Geng challenged himself to build a fully functional steel safe house with just 30 sq. ft. (2.8 sq. meters) of space. It has a living room, computer desk, bed, kitchen, and even a bathroom, all way too close for comfort.

More than a decade ago, a grainy black-and-white video turned up of a bullet hitting steel at 1 million FPS. The Slow-Mo Guys were inspired to replicate the experiment using a modern Phantom TMX 7510 camera. While Gav and Dan’s footage is “only” 800,000 FPS, they did capture full-color shots at 400,000 FPS. The explosions looks like tiny fireworks.

This metal spider looks like some kind of creepy-crawly robo-arachnid. It’s made from dozens of tiny stainless steel parts and can be assembled or disassembled without glue. The finished model measures about 4.92″ x 4.92″ x 1.38″. They also make a more complicated steel scorpion kit.

Ottocrkraft Design Habitat makes these fantastic low-poly 3D sculptures of animals. The marvelous metal menagerie includes gorillas, bears, dogs, frogs, spiders, and more. Each is hand-assembled from precision cut and folded sheet metal that’s screwed together. Prices range from about $600 to $2000, depending on size and complexity.

This versatile screwdriver set can handle a wide variety of screwheads, including Phillips, slotted, hex, Torx, square, Pozidrive, Tripoint, and Pentalobe. It comes with 4mm and 1/4″ magnetic bit holders, and its smooth-spinning aluminum handle has a second bit holder on its side for increased torque.

Inspired by the stainless steel pool ball made by MyMechanics, Cool Again Restoration set out to make their own. They used different techniques to set their pool ball apart and incorporated copper and epoxy resin. They started by machining cylindrical sections, gradually refining into a spherical shape. We’d love to see a whole rack filled with these.

On his quest to make damascus out of every kind of metal object he can find, Shurap is back with another satisfying blacksmithing project. After arranging hundreds of individual calligraphy pen nibs into steel tubing, he forged, hammered, and twisted the molten metal to form a beautifully-patterned dagger.

Woodworker Bourbon Moth asked his pal Rainfall Projects if he could help him build a custom staircase for his new workshop. He came up with a tubular steel structure with wooden steps that can fold flat against the wall when not in use. That giant plywood jig he created was genius. It could use a handrail, though.