Awesome Steel

Steel wool is really useful for scrubbing and cleaning. But it’s also incredibly flammable. The guys from The King of Random decided to play with fire, and see how it might react if a lit piece of the shredded metal was dropped into a cup of styrofoam filled with liquid oxygen.

One of the practical uses of a hydraulic press is to flatten out metal, so there’s no question about who will win in this battle. But watching long tubes of steel deforming under pressure is still wonderfully satisfying. They should start selling the results as sculptures.

Quartertwenty created this slick piece of upcycled modern furniture which is made using cork from inside of aluminum baseball bats. The cork provides style and cushioning, while aluminum rods and steel provide stability.

Mesmerizing footage from inside QSC Forge, as a large ring of molten steel is gradually spun, flattened, and widened to form a smooth and perfectly round circle. Combined with a perfectly soothing soundtrack, the clip doubles as your daily 9-minute meditation.

Looking for a project to put basic welding skills to use? Check out this DIY idea from Ollari’s – a lamp with a shade made by welding a bunch of steel nuts around a curved form, and a base made out of the same. It’s a cool enough design that we’ll forgive his spelling of “baking soda.”

Not every knife has to have a single continuous edge, does it? Watch as blademaker Miller Knives cuts out and sculpts a truly unusual knife with a crazy staggered edge. It looks like something out of a video game or a comic book, and also like it would be really deadly.

Massachusetts blacksmith shop Hammer on Steel hand-forges each of these bottle openers from iron and steel. They make a perfect groomsmen’s gift, and can be custom monogrammed with the recipient’s initials at no extra cost.

Vintage Industrial’s dramatic conference table looks like it should tip over, but thanks to its cantilevered design, it’s solid and stable. Each one is hand-built from cold-rolled and heavy plate steel, and has a 96″ x 40″ tabletop.

CMM Laser shows off a nifty construction method which uses lasers to cut flexible corners into square steel tube, allowing them to be bent into custom shapes and angles all from a single piece, and without a bending machine.

At first we thought shurap was fixing a bowl of cereal for Bender the robot, but what he’s actually doing in this video is creating a hardened damascus steel knife by melting together spring washers and powdered iron and smashing them together, over and over.

A dramatic way to warm up any backyard space, the Blaze gives you a portable outdoor fireplace complete with a chimney to direct smoke and ash, and a storage area underneath for spare logs. Made from sturdy 3/16″ steel, and weighs about 200 lb when fully assembled.

A phenomenally designed folding knife from Mantis Knives. This hefty 9″ long tool features a 4″ tanto-style blade made from S30V steel, and handles made from titanium with G-10 scales for grip. Weighs a whopping 1/2 pound, so this thing means business.

A fantastically satisfying bit of factory footage, in which a steel rod is heated and bent into the shape of a giant spring. The fire at the end is because of oil and dirt particles burning off. More hot coil-bending action here.

An old segment from How It’s Made which shows how a steel rod is gradually made thinner and thinner, then run through a metal shaving machine, and woven together to transform it into the scrubby cleaning material we’re familiar with.

Owen & Fred’s stainless steel shot glasses each hold 2oz of your favorite spirit, and are die stamped with an appropriate cheer of “Bottoms Up” in the bottom that you can read as you prepare to gulp down your drink.

Ensizen Design’s absolutely stunning handmade friction-folding knife has a VG10 damascus steel blade, sandwiched between Titanium 6AL4V scales which almost look like concrete, along with a micarta backspacer. Includes a handmade Horween Dublin sleeve.

Thailand sculptor Mari9art’s incredible build is made from recycled car parts and scrap steel. It measures 2.2m tall (~7.2 ft), and includes free door-to-port shipping, though getting it to your house might be a challenge from there. His lifesize T-Rex is even more mindblowing.

While we’re carrying cash less and less these days, when we do have a wad of money in our pockets, it should look this awesome. This metal clip from Hikari Japan is made from damascus steel, and holds up to 15 bills. In matte or shiny finishes.

Displate offers imagery from over 1000 artists, printed onto a slim steel canvas. A magnetic wall mounting system makes them easy to hang, they look great, and there’s something for just about every style. (Thanks Eric!)

Crafted from ash plywood and steel, we like the clean lines of the WOOD.b bicycle, a collaboration from Strasbourg-based BSG and Thibaut Malet. Available in September 2013.

If you’re near San Antonio, check out Joe O’Connell and Blessing Hancock’s Ballroom Luminoso, a series of six chandeliers made from custom structural steel, LEDs and recycled bicycle parts, installed in a cement underpass.

You don’t need a tree to enjoy these festive HOrrible HOliday HOoligans by Sebastian Reymers. 3 jerks with a saw, axe and match hanging around? Sounds just like the holidays at our house.

Witold Szostak’s Black Fan is a sheer thing of beauty, crafted from wenge wood, stainless steel and Dacron. Its wide jet turbine like shape will keep all but the biggest rooms nice and cool.