L.A. bladesmith Nicholas Berkofsky, who lost his home in the Eaton fire, demonstrates the power of hand-forged tools.

Owen forges a modern Damascus knife using a pattern-welding technique ... Every little bit of that pattern is part of the process you've used to make the blade. So sometimes it reflects hammer ...

Watching YouTube videos helped him progress quickly from wood carving to knife making. "I set up a makeshift charcoal forge in the backyard and used my mother's hairdryer as a forge blower," he said.