The most interesting YouTube channels (at least from my point of view) are those that create beautiful things from what could be considered junk. With over 26 million views to his name, Dmitry Shevchenko forges all kinds of knives following the extraordinary pattern of Damascus steel. His latest piece is based on the metal extracted from spent batteries... and it's awesome.
Anyone with a handful of spent batteries would probably try to get rid of them. In some cases, it's even not allowed to throw them into regular trash due to their polluting potential, but there is someone who decided to turn them into raw material to make a knife. If you look at Dmitry Shevchenko's first videos, you'll notice that they focus almost exclusively on blacksmithing equipment, and only over time did he begin sharing his creations. The patterns on his blades are truly beautiful, and they resemble those found in the so-called Damascus steel, whose history dates back to 300 BC with the production of 'Wootz steel' from India.
The current version of Damascus steel that Dmitry (known as 'shurap' on YouTube) and other blacksmiths apply technically cannot be called such because it combines different welded metals, while the original steel is unique and has a high carbon content (the Complutense University of Madrid published an excellent document on the subject). However, it would be crazy to ignore the quality of this alternative method. The first step is to extract the metal from the batteries and combine it with cutter blades into a single block with more than 130 layers. The rest is heat, hammer, compress, cut, and repeat the cycle until reaching the exact point that takes the blade to its final shape.
The final pattern emerges when the blade is treated with acid, and Dmitry chose to use an old flashlight as the handle, making it very easy to hide inside. Other videos show a similar method with washers, metal cables, a Harley Davidson motorcycle lever, and even a chain, the latter with five and a half million views.
