Building a Medieval Forge and Blacksmith Shop by Hand | Anglo-Saxon Blacksmithing
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- เผยแพร่เมื่อ 6 ต.ค. 2024
- The Anglo-Saxons smelted bog iron, heated metal and forged iron tools in simple furnaces and forges powered by hand bellows.
Simple goatskin bag bellows were used, in the Roman style, blowing air into a clay forge. The hot iron was wrought on a small stump anvil.
A single goatskin was used to make each bellows, cutting a simple bag shape with a funnel. At the top, the bellows have an inset gusset which facilitates air flow into the bellows as they are opened at the handles.
A Y-shaped wooden tuyere was carved and bored out, as have been found in Germanic contexts. The tuyere can be connected to the bellows with simple leather tubes and lashing.
The tuyere was extended with an unfired clay tube, made of earth and straw mixed in the same way as daub. This sacrificial tuyere keeps the wooden tuyere away from the forge, so it doesn't burn. As the clay is unfired, it was kept damp with a wet woollen cloth.
The forge, made of earth and straw, is formed into shape; two curved walls which hold the charcoal, one with a hole in the bottom to allow air flow into the forge from the bellows.
The forge was started with wood and straw, but requires charcoal to heat iron to forging temperature.
Old wrought iron bar was the metal to be heated and wrought. Anglo-Saxon iron was also wrought, in the form of smelted bog iron or recycled Roman and Romano-British iron.
The bar was pushed into the forge and the bellows worked until the metal came up to heat.
A nail was forged by drawing out the bar into a thin spike on the stump anvil. This was then cut off at the side of the anvil, heated at the head, and hammered into a nail header to form the head of the nail.
This is the very first time I have struck hot metal, and found it both fascinating and extremely fun! I have a lot to learn, being a complete beginner, but am looking forward to developing this new skill.
To the Anglo-Saxons the art of smelting and forging metal was seen as mysterious, magical; a craft of the gods and spirit world; the highest form of alchemy. It is easy to understand why when you stare into the bright coals, the forge seeming to belch hot sparks with every breath of the bellows, like a dragon reincarnate.
With thanks to:
Grzegorz Kulig, Silversmith, for making the pattern-welded knife.
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Hi all. My first time striking hot iron! All advice and suggestions welcome. You can check the subtitles and description for much more detail. Thanks for watching! If you like what I do and want to support me further, consider becoming a patron: www.patreon.com/gesithasgewissa/
I have some videos using my Anglo Saxon/viking age tools. I unfortunately don’t have bellows yet but the tools I have are not to bad. It’s to hot to forge right now but I’ll do more videos this fall. I am extremely jealous of what you’re doing. Awesome job.
@@westholdforge539 Hey, cool videos! I'm looking forward to checking those out. Thank you
@@gesithasgewissa don’t get very excited. They are not very good. I’m not computer or video savvy.
@@westholdforge539 I'm more interested in the things I can learn from them ☺ I'm sure they'll be some good knowledge in there
Hello, french blacksmith here ! I do a lot of primitive or at least medieval/old world technique stuff (making damascus using sand as a flux instead of borax, turning iron into steel with charcoal dust, stuff like that). I now work only with charcoal, as it's clean, burns decently hot (enough for welding and damascus), and is easy to get.
I would advise you don't put your iron in the hottest part of the fire, AKA right in front of the tuyère. Where the coals glow, that means there's oxygen to burn and create heat, and while you would think it's a good idea to stick your iron there, the result is you're just burning your iron, wich you saw with disgsuting crust all over it. You cannot forge anything clean with crust, pitting and oxidation everywhere, let alone forge weld anything, even if you use sand to clean it up. So, leave some room between where the air goes in, and your iron. For a forge weld, leave at least the width of your palm (so it requires a bigger fire than that), but for common forging you will get away with a bit more oxygen, but not as much as in this video. This much oxygen also removes carbon from steel, so you would find it quite difficult to make a good knife.
Perhaps you would get more stability and power in your anvil if you firmly buried the wood in the ground ? The more mass you can attach to the anvil, the better it will work.
I see you have a nice looking knife with some kind of black/ebony wood, and a pattern welded blade. I'm 100% sure you can make such a knife with primitive tools, but of course there will be a steep learning curve, and everything will take a lot of time to adapt techniques to a more primitive setting. i've already tried making my own iron with a dirt furnace, folding the iron to make a solid bar, forging a blade, adding carbon, heat treating... It's definitely possible, i made a video on that. But it's a tedious process that requires a very good understanding of forge welding, chemistry, fire and steel.
here's a link to my video of the making of iron, if you're interested : th-cam.com/video/zpi5tWHbbQM/w-d-xo.html
It's all in french, sadly in the 600's the normans haven't brought french to england yet, so you won't understand much.
Feel free to check my youtube channel, if you can set the subtitles to english you would understand what i explain.
If you need help on primitive/medieval blacksmithing, don't hesitate to send me an email (forgedulys@gmail.com). And perhaps we could do a collab some day, forging the old way is always fun ! I sometimes do it in medieval festivals, with a lil' charcoal fire, a few stones to hold them in place, a small anvil in a log, just like you did, and a homemade bellow for the air.
Thanks for all your videos, they are always so fun to watch !
Goes to show how much time and work went into making nails. Nails were valuable back then because of this and so were often reused, with the exception of nails that were used to make doors. These nails were often hammered and curled over to stop thieves easily removing them to get access to the door's lock. Since these nails could not be reused they were considered 'dead'. Hence the expression "as dead as a door nail".
That's fascinating, I didn't know the origin of the phrase. Thanks for sharing!
Omg, really?!?
Another fact, some people would burn down an old unused building just to collect the nails afterwards. Making handmade nails is something I know a lot about considering I've made thousands of them for the National Park Service here in the US.
These doornails were still usable. 'Dead' referred to 'without any movement' and "Dead as a Doornail" makes for a nice alliteration so it stuck.
You can still burn down the door; recoup the nails; straighten them and give them a heat-treatment so they become useful again.
Many people come to the wrong conclusion because they listen to writers like Langland, Shakespeare and Dickens while standing on the corpse of common sense.
Do they also believe that 'blind as a bat' means that bats are blind ..... (hint: they are not)
@@DreadX10 Well, I guess not “easily” usable.
When the hammer fell apart I thought "well, nothing has changed in thousands of years!" Wonderful video!!!!
Haha, exactly, just typical!
lol right? i felt every saxon smith screaming in heaven right there LOL
This reminds me of the old saying:
For want of a nail, the shoe was lost, For want of the shoe, the horse was lost, For want of a horse, the rider was lost, For want of a rider, the battle was lost, For want of the battle, the kingdom was lost, And all for the want of a horseshoe nail.
And now we realize how much went into those horseshoe nails. Super well done!
There's a reason why blacksmiths were so highly prized! Thank you
I remember that saying! I learned in ever so long ago in one of my books of nursery rhymes! I’m a linguist and one day I want to study nursery rhymes to do linguistic archeology! These little rhymes have been passed down for so long! I’m not even from the British Isles! I’m an American mutt from the deep south singing nursery rhymes that were first coined hundreds of years ago in another country! It boggles and fascinates my mind!
@@angelcollinain case you’re not familiar, there’s a podcast called 20 thousand hertz that just did an episode about nursery rhymes and their origins.
@@nymcopeland6037 Oooooooh! Thank you!
equine smiths still hand hammer nails in many parts of the world along with the horse shoes. the real world truth of this saying never truly died off.
So much work for a simple nail. We really take things for granted.
Indeed! Though, keep in mind I'm a complete novice and a skilled blacksmith could make this in about 10 minutes 😆
@@gesithasgewissa From nail to a sword
@@razgon14 Don't tempt me!
Thinking the exact same thing! Had the same thought when you were creating a plank of wood in a previous video…so much effort for something so simple.
The first nail will be a lot of work, but every nail from here on will be easier
I cant fully describe how happy it makes me to watch a Primitive Technology video except it’s Anglo-Saxon
Very glad to hear it!!
YES. Totally agree 👍
I'm on board with that. Very inventive people. Civilization tries to make this culture out to be evil. Who didn't have a mean streak back then? Who DIDN'T try to conquer and dominate other tribes back then? It was a violent part of human history but every single culture did the same thing.
My brother is (was) a blacksmith. He only brought me into his shop once. We forged a coathook out of a railroad tie. The thing I remember most about striking the hot iron was, how much work it was! It was simultaneously more *and* less malleable than I expected. It was like striking a rock that was made out of clay.
Great content, by the way. I have been enjoying these videos ever since finding them.
That's an excellent description; simultaneously malleable and immovable a the same time!
its called the plasticine nature of hot metal. when hot metal behaves in a plastic way. look up the term "plastic deformation of metal". its the physics behind why hot forging works. iron is unique among metals in that it stays mostly hard. as opposed to so called "soft metals" that get way MORE plasticine and dont retain an edge nearly as well.
Your filming and editing are getting ever better. You are very successful at getting more people interested in history, heritage. Thank You Sir !
Thank you David, I really appreciate that! I really love the filming and story telling aspects of making these videos.
I know old timey Anglo-Saxon didn't have no sunscreen but they didn't have as many carcinogenics as we do, so protect your skin!! We want this content to keep coming!
Thanks, you're definitely right! Usually I always put a shirt on, I just got caught up in the excitement of forging for the day haha
@@gesithasgewissaNo shirt, no problem 😉
I keep worrying about that too. You're very pale and I worry you'll turn bright red.
When your skin tans, you can take quite a bit of sun. Tell black africans that they need sunscreen 😅😂
@@andreacook7431 I'm very pale because I am usually very careful and wear a shirt 😉
This channel is so atmospheric. Even the shots of the plants look like their quivering in the distant past.
Thanks, I'm glad you think so!
These videos are such a breath of fresh air
Glad to hear it!
I am simply amazed at how much patience you have when you’re getting things set up and your attention to detail is very impressive and I’ve often wondered how people so long ago would have done this and the way you have handled it is amazing!
Wow, thank you for such kind words. I really enjoy researching the tiny details and bringing them together.
That's a good-looking nail! Reminds me of my first one. If you can, I'd recommend covering the ground or floor of your workspace with sand, as it mitigates the possibility of accidental fires and provides a ready source of material for abrading the surface of your finished work if you want it to have a smoother finish.
Thanks, and cool, nice idea. When I have a proper designated smithing area I'll go for that!
This guy does EVERYTHING!! He builds & makes Reed Baskets & Bee Hives....is a Leather Worker, a Ceramicist, a Woodworker, a Toolmaker, builds Forges & is a Blacksmith!!!!! What CAN'T he do????
Jack of all trades, Master of none 😄 thank you, you're very kind
You forgot 'content-creator' ...
And what interesting content it is!
Cryso, he's ALSO a Shipwright; he may not brag on himself, but he was part of the building of the Saxon ship for Sutton Hoo!
How many can claim that?!?
@@lpeterman and very grateful to have been a part of it!
As a lover and student of antiquity, the content of your videos feels like home. I adore seeing aspects of antiquity in a natural, everyday context for those of the times. It feels much different than a general demonstration, when you're putting together a home and providing for it through each of the new tasks you accomplish. Every new branching idea has a purpose that the average person living in the times might have shared. Gotta get rid of this grass for my garden, might as well make a beehive. Broke my tool, gotta make a new one. Missed the chance to get nails from the traveling blacksmith this season, time to set up a forge.
It's refreshing and humanizing and gives people in times long past a lot more respect and intelligence than they're often given
I love this description, it's exactly the atmosphere I'm trying to create, and show the every day intimacy of historical life with all its nuance, trials and ingenuity! Thank you for the kind words
Wonderful video and outstanding bellows. 2 minor suggestions. Round off the edges of your hammer face and hit the the wide flat face of the iron more often to mitigate fish mouthing on the edges
Great, thank you, I'll do that!
Wow. I never thought that you could use so small piece of metal as an anvil. Well, i think it is probably better if you do not want to make something more complex in metalworking. That's brilliant! It is much, much easier to transport, better for someone who will start their journey with smithing, maybe even longer, since getting full size one might be difficult and it might cost much more. Also i like that bellows that are in shape of lungs in some way. Simply fascinating.
Yes, the only archaeological finds of Early Medieval anvils are small stump or stake anvils, between 5 and 10cm square at the face. Iron was hugely expensive, and difficult to make in quantity, not to mention that many blacksmiths were itinerant, travelling between settlements. This meant that smaller was generally preferred! You can imagine the skill of a smith having to forge a sword on something like this. The fire in the forge does tend to feel like a breathing dragon!
@@gesithasgewissa thanks. I've never thought about the fact that blacksmiths would move between settlements from time to time with their gear.
Great material! When the hammer flew appart, man, I felt your sigh in my bones. 😂
If I may suggest something: red hot metal, hammers and bare feet don't go so well together! If that hammer head had landed on your toes... 😅
I was all excited to get forging...typical! Hmmm, you know you might be onto something there 😉
This fine man needs to build his own saxon village ❤
One day!!!
i volunteer to be a full time smith in it.
you better be the bellows boy though, im way too far along the career path to be doing apprentice work hehehehe
and he needs some equally talented men and women to move in and showcase more old skills....and raise some beautiful children too!
I'm sure a handsome Anglo Saxon man like him would have a wife and family in that village.
As an Anglo Saxon demonstrator, great. As a smith, a little less. There is a huge amount of practice and experience to get to a mid level of smithing. I have over 600 hours, and I consider myself an apprentice. Not to take away from your videos. The history and research is far beyond me. That's why I subscribe.
Thank you, and don't get me wrong, this is hour one for me and I'm not sharing this as an example of good blacksmithing by any means, but as the beginning of the journey for me in developing the skill. Looking forward to practicing more and hopefully showing some improvement. Glad you enjoy the historical research aspect of the videos!
WAAAAAAY back in the day....when nails were such a luxury item....When people moved they burned the house down and collected them....!!!!
Way WAAY back!!
Awesome to see! I have been forging and re-enacting separately for a few years now, and am currently working on a similar setup to combine the two hobby's... If I may be so bold to give a few tips, try positioning your anvil closer to your fire so you can avoid having to run a long distance with your hot iron. Once you have made the iron nice and hot (you are forging at a relatively cold temperature, don't be afraid to let the metal get to a lighter orange or yellow colour!), it is a shame to waste time by allowing your metal to cool down while you move to your anvil. This also tires you out quite unnecessarily. Another thing I recommend is you want to do this more often, is to get a standing set up. Put your forge on a table with some sand (and maybe an iron plate) on it, and get an anvil stump. A setup like that is not seen commonly in re-enacting, usually because ground based setups like this are more portable and convenient to transport and use for a single day. However, if you plan on doing this more often I really recommend making your working position more agronomical. Trust me, your knees and back will thank you.
Cool! And thank you for the advice, that's really helpful. I can't wait to do some more practicing and start working on all the suggestions I've had.
You’re brilliant! I’m absolutely delighted and amazed at your skills. I’m fearful for your feet without any protection from flying hot flames!
Thank you very much! Yes, I should really wear shoes next time haha
Awesome stuff. I really thought you'd struggle, but in the end, YOU NAILED IT. I want to come and live for a while
Haha, very punny! Thanks for watching
@gesithasgewissa I'd love to see you and Bartrum do something together. Like a kind of the Viking settlers and the Saxons. But no fighting lol.
@@terryteed1903 That would be cool, his earlier videos were a big inspiration for me!
Who is Bartrum if I may be so nosey to ask?
@@mademoisellekaya1438
th-cam.com/video/BKF7oDsugYc/w-d-xo.htmlsi=CGSyxxCoMd8DYknq
I love how much heat that was able to generate. It is the most low tech forge I have ever seen.
Pretty impressive for such a tiny little thing!
the only thing that really changed in the next thousand years was the bellows and the invention of water wheel powered trip hammers, insofar as european smithing is concerned. bellows became much larger and wood framed with leather sidings, and as iron deposits became more known the anvils got bigger than these "stump anvils" as theyre called. but even today, you can put a smaller stump anvil type lump into the hardy hole (square hole) of a modern anvil for particular types of working techniques. only the equipment has evolved. a saxon smith would easily be able to adjust to a modern shop. and hed laugh at how soft we are in comparison to his work. like the video maker they were doing all of it for the purposes of practical self sufficiency. my art work would make them laugh hysterically LOL
I love it when the crow called and you looked up. Truly they are watching.
Ever present, those heralds of the gods!
These recordings - simply beautiful.🤩👍
Thank you!
As a fellow woodworker/timber framer and novice blacksmith (forging 18th C. musket tools for re-enactors) I can only give you one piece of advice: Practice. (Even the simplest of repetitive tasks can have great benefits eventually.)
Practice forge work, as much you're able to, whenever you can. (Watch other 'smiths, even novices, as they've had to have learned from someone!)
Cheers from a distant "cousin" in the Oregon Country, with both DEEP Saxon and (gasp!) Norman roots, really enjoying the content.
Thank you! Yes, I can't wait to just have a play around and practice and really start understanding the basics of the craft. Cheers to you too, I suppose I have Norman roots too, being in the South-West of Britain (gasp!) I always manage to conveniently forget haha
Brilliant demonstration, just love this channel, one of the very best on TH-cam
Thank you so much!
I love your channel. I’d love to see more from inside your house, how you keep warm in the evening, cook and stuff like that.
Thanks, yes I'd really like to show that - I have plans to start putting in a wooden floor and finishing the interior walls very soon.
This really brings it home how valuable nails were and how they were saved and re-used over and over - so time consuming to make! I would be interested to see what research resources you use for your projects each time.
Absolutely! I was very lucky to have been at university during Covid, where most of the archaeology books and journals were put digitally online. I may have downloaded the entire academic library 😅 I can try and include more references in the description in future videos if you're interested
Blessed with another video! Always a joy to see what you create next
Thank you, always a joy to share it with you!
And that was how Play Doh was invented
@@paulstrickler5684 😃
You nailed it!
Hah!
I love the simplicity of this forge, thanks for sharing! Very enjoyable video
Glad you enjoyed it!
I'm a blacksmith and dude that must've been some work with the equipment, I hope you keep doing more forging stuff like this, I love the medieval times and I love your content keep it up man!
Thank you! I absolutely loved this, so there will be more to come, for sure.
Is it just me (no experience in forging) or was there a lot more flake than usual forming on the iron?
@@wildwanderer6025 Yes, because the bars are so rusty, all the layers of oxide had to come off first. They are very ancient wrought iron bars (Pre-20th century)
@@gesithasgewissa Wow, you even took the efford to use old iron, like the old iron from roman times in the video.
You do look very good without a shirt on, and a little sunshine on the skin is fine for a while
Hah! Thank you ☺
Unintended voice reveal! 😂 And despite the broken hammer handle, for your first time embarking on a whole new trade that people usually TRAIN for, I think that's amazing! You successfully made a nail on your first try!
Haha that's true! Thank you so much, it was so fun and I can't wait to practice some more
@@gesithasgewissa Are you sure some time traveler didn't just bring you here and hand you a camera?
@@fallonfireblade4404 ...by Gods...no...no I'm not sure...😳
This is sop cool! Just the other day, I saw of video from someone visiting indigenous tribes in Tanzania, some of the oldest tribes in the world that still maintain their traditional practices and way of life, and they used a very similar sort of two-handed bellows system. So cool to see such an ancient practice twice in one week!
Also, love the chuckle and sigh when the hammer broke. Keep up the good work!
Thank you. I think I saw that too, fascinating! Haha, you gotta just laugh sometimes...
Always look forward to your videos. Thank you for showing the construction and having so many shots of how the bellows worked.
Glad you found it interesting!
Interesting. You literally can use in on the go in some wood camp. First time I see this forging kit. Can be good for adventuring
Yeah it's really portable!
I have often wondered why we know so little about the early Anglo-Saxons in England. The answer was staring me in the face! Reused Roman wrought iron? The small blacksmith burn pits?
I truly hope you continue your work, good sir; your channel is what I needed.
Yes, almost every Early Medieval technology was on such a small scale to be very difficult to find archaeologically! Thank you, I certainly will.
I live in Surrey, Such a rich history in this Island. From the bronze ages till the Anglo Saxon periods , thank you for keeping the ancestors of these Islands alive!
It's my pleasure, thanks for watching!
I like that you left the blooper with your hammer in lol. Square nails are better than modern round ones
Couldn't leave it out hah!
@@gesithasgewissaHey I’m sure you’re in good company! That exasperated sigh I’m sure has been uttered many a time by blacksmiths (or any tool user) of old.
Fascinating! Hope we get to see the forge more often.
I loved this, so you definitely will!
I want to thank you for allowing me to step away from the moment and enjoy this video, no BS content just a video showing the real of history in the flesh (not animated and it Ai generated).
Thank you for watching, I'm pleased to share it!
Just reminded me of forging with my friend in some abandoned house back when I was in middle school. Well we didn't exactly forge anything, just beat some iron bar flat. It was so much joy seeing the metal glow red hot. Btw, if it's your first time forging, that's one nice nail you made. I already spent 3 or 4 evenings beating iron during my lifetime and I don't think I'd make that good.
I'm just discovering the primal joy of hitting glowing hot metal with things 😄 thank you, it is my first time forging, but I did spend the best part of the afternoon on a single nail...lots of improvement to do haha
@@gesithasgewissa From your video and my humble expirience you seem like a natural. Enjoy your forging.
Friday, just finished work. Get comfy on the sofa and see this latest upload. Cosy.
Almost the same about me. Smoking a cigar on my Hamac outside after a hard week of work 🎉
@@bouledegomme9335 have a great weekend 🙌
@@longone844 you too mate
So happy to hear it, enjoy the weekend!
One of the things a member of my reenactment group who's an old blacksmith told me once, was to keep a bucket of water next to the stump to soak the hammers in, it swells the wood and keeps the heads on better even if they're wedged properly, fantastic vid mate, love it being nice and simple, I can imagine this being really handy with a team of 2 for public events
Thanks! Yes, having an extra person to keep the forge running would be really helpful
Wow, making a nail was a skill in itself, they would have been expensive!
Very much so, most Early Medieval carpentry uses wooden joints and pegs, saving nails only for when absolutely necessary
Great stuff! Keep it going!
For a second i thought you were making a sword and got excited as hell😂😂
Sorry to disappoint 😉 it's definitely on the cards though!
Seeing all the pieces come together for this project is really satisfying.
Thank you!
Crazy craftsmanship here.
Thanks!
12:54 Nailed it1
😁
nothing like a good day crafting outide ! great video
It was such a great day! Thank you
Smashed it out of the park. For your first time hammering iron, you did a pretty good job of that nail. It's crazy how long it takes for something so small to be made.
Thank you Axalon, this was so fun, I can't wait to get back to it!
I was a smith. Don't work the Iron cold. Only work it from orange to red after it looses color reheat it and then go again. Saves ALOT of effort and stress on the metal. Pick up a book called Edge of the Anvil.
Thanks for the advice and book suggestion!
Solid physique my brother! Lean and hard for work or battle💪🏼 Looking strong!
Thank you my friend!!
I am really enjoying all your vidoes- watching you breath life into the past for us to experience is such a treat. Thank you for sharing!
You are welcome!!
Wélandes bearn ⚒ (Weland's son). Fascinating video, thank you.
I wish! Thanks for watching
The BBC shoulr really resurrect their experimental archaeologist Farm Series or something similar featuring yourself and the time period you are showing here. Thanks for sharing all your hard work with us Alec. Its a pleasure both for the building work and craftmanship as well as the nature shots and sounds. Cheers from Germany
That would be amazing! I always wanted to see one set in the Iron Age or Medieval period
Well done newbie, That is a good looking nail!
Thank you!
This just goes to show how important blacksmiths were/are. Anyone one can understand how many nails are needed in day to day life. It would be someone's job to just make nails all day but they'd be so crucial to the whole society that they were in.
Absolutely agree!
I just happened to be watching the Sutton Hoo rebuild last night and nearly choked on my dinner when I recognized you there! And then YT recommends me to this video - nails galore!
Haha, that's me! I worked as shipwright there for a year before starting this project
It's not about the result it's about the process, beautiful work fellow
Thank you!
as allways great video! as you asked for advice, i thought i'd share some thoughts i had during the video:
forging in day light you'd rather want a spot with a lot of shade, so you can sea the temperature of the metal better. also this whole set up looks quite sensitive to the elements, so some sort of roof would be super handy overall.
also you will need a bigger/longer hammer. smiths work with the weight of the hammer and control the impact more from the wrist... the closer you get to your end result, the closer to the hammerhead you can grip the handle, giving it more control and less leverage.
and you could round out the surface and the edges of the hammers face. the smaller the radius of the face, the easier it will spread and draw out the material youre working. also it wont leave edge marks anymore.
lastly the bigger(and denser) the base of your anvil is, the better. obviously it's more stable but also it absorbes less impact, making your forging more effective.
Thank you, this is really helpful! I'm looking forward to putting it into practice
love this series
Glad to hear it!
Your videos truly are a phenomenal work of art.
Thank you so much!
Great video! All that effort for 1 nail! It certainly makes you appreciate all the accomplishments from the past! Also with patience and dedication what 1 person can achieve!
Thank you. Yes you can see why iron and forged objects were so valued!
Good work! Very inspiring. Amazing what one can achieve with knowledge and I must say skill. You are very good with your hands sir. Love it.
Thank you very much!
8:37
I know that laugh. That is an "if I don't laugh right now, I will go ape shit and destroy everything in my immediate vicinity "laugh". Aka "why am I doing this stupid shit "laugh"".... I felt that in my bones bro.
😅😅😅 Indeed.
We all have to have a first time striking hot iron if your going to do any smithing. Great Video. Most of the videos of forging nails makes it look easy, I can certainly state that it’s not. You did a good job seeing how it’s your first iron working while using what would have been considered, even in 662, an “improvised set up” Thanks for the video.
Thank you David, I appreciate the support!
New subscriber loving the atmosphere and attention to history. This is delightful and I'm glad i found your channel!
Welcome! Very happy to have you along for the journey.
As per usual a relaxing watch, and it really puts in perspective the time consuming nature of getting a simple thing like nails would have been, can't just pop to B&Q in 662ad oh you handled the hammer falling apart alot better than i would have 😂. until the next video all the best from East Anglia
Thank you! And yes, everything was that much more precious, painstakingly wrought from rock, earth and tree! Hah, you gotta laugh sometimes. All the best to you too
This was next level! Learning how the bellows were made was very interesting, and I have such an appreciation for how ingenious our ancestors were. Thank you for sharing this with us. Any plans to try pottery and making a kiln from this era?
Me too, their patience, dedication and skills are almost unfathomable to me sometimes. It's always a pleasure to share my adventures (or misadventures!). I would like to do pottery, it will definitely happen at some point. The bellows could work well for a kiln too
Your videos are always amazing. I love all the detail and how true to form you stay, both historically and through a sort of Kinesthetic process
Thank you so much. Staying true to the historical detail is very important to me
Excelente trabajo, es impactante ver como el hombre antiguo trabajaba tanto para hacer pequeñas cosas que hoy compramos en gran cantidad a bajo precio
Absolutely! Thank you
Another great video. I really enjoy watching you make things. After watching this, i was thinking that i can see why wooden construction was fastened with pegs and or cordage.
Thank you. Exactly, nails were saved for the absolutely necessary
easily becoming one of my favorite creators!!
a suggestion: what about creating and fireing a ceramic tuyere pipe? so that you dont have to recreate one and keep it damp every time you want to forge something. creating one with grog should circumvent it cracking.
excited to see what you make next!
Thank you!! Yes, it's a great idea. And now I have the bellows to fire the kiln too
This is exactly the content I've been looking for. Sorry to draw comparisons, but I do like the quiet style with text description, much like primitive technology's channel. But his locations and resources are wildly different to Europe's. New subscribers and Bell rung 😊
Welcome! That's great to hear. No need to apologise, I absolutely love Primitive Technology's videos and he was one of the main inspirations for this project and the style.
Это прекрасно, обожаю примитивные и ранние технологии. Тут однозначно лайк и подписка.
Welcome, and thank you so much!
Wonderful video, very evocative! I wish you the best on your journey into blacksmithing, and hope you'll enjoy it! Thank you for sharing with us.
Thank you so much!
Very nice video! Shows you dont have to have a huge shop to blacksmith, just good skills
Thank you, I'm still working on the skills haha!
When we look at the quality of tools needed to make a simple nail, we, I think can see partly why these cultures would have a tendency to richly decorate items to emphasise their importance. It would also go along with the Anglo-Saxon and similar cultures tendency to use hidden symbols in the decoration, not just to fit in with the general arts like a love of poetry with multiple meanings, but also in giving personal importance to significant items..
Absolutely. I agree. The writhing beasts and knotwork on all the high status metalwork is absolutely phenomenal and speaks to the ever-presence of the magical and mythical in the Anglo-Saxon outlook.
@@gesithasgewissa I would go a little further the wish to personalise depict importance of items is even testified in writing the runes for 'comb' on a comb, or the the stamping of dots and circles on even the smallest items we now may see as mundane,
PS love your work!
Thankyou.
I could see you getting more confident hitting the iron as you went on. Keep practicing!
Wrought iron tends to get very brittle and splits when not glowing, so be sure to keep it hot! (Hotter than working modern steels.)
Im pretty sure there are resources in the UK where you can learn blacksmithing if you want to glean more hands-on knowledge. Mark Aspery is a fine blacksmith from over there, not sure where he's at nowadays. Rowan Taylor has done many Anglo-Saxon pieces found at Sutton Hoo. All in all, good luck! Really hope to see more soon.
I did start to feel a little more confident, I'm going to keep practicing as I really enjoyed it. Thanks for the advice!
Well done, young man! Can't wait to see what you do in the future!
Thank you! I'm looking forward to sharing it with you all
Great video you are bringing history to life.
Thank you for taking the time and sharing.
Thank you Peter!
Unbelievably meditative thank you ✌️😎🇿🇦🌹
Glad you think so!
Yes! Another video! I was thinking is it going to be a nail
Nice and simple for now! Thanks for watching
Well done! Just a few thousand more and you can build yourself a ship. I’m sure you’ll get faster 😊
Hah, yeah! I've done my fair share of shipbuilding already though
You've been pumping these out without a dip in quality, crazy impressive. Do you have editors?
Thank you! Nope, just me ☺ I do everything myself but I am working nearly full time on the project now
@@gesithasgewissa that's awesome. Keep up the great work
Well I am most definetly going to need a lot more blacksmithing videos now
No need to fear, that's definitely happening!😆
Beautiful nail!
Thank you!
Totally nailed it!
Haha!
And here I was literally just the other day wondering how Germanic tribes may have constructed ironworking forges... now I know! Time to step into the iron age myself :)
Sounds like this video came just at the right time!
Real living history fantastic, you can't overestimate the importance of the humble nail, pioneers on the American west would burn down their cabins to collect all the nails before they moved on, I wonder if they wore their boots in the 7th century when forging, I've had a lump of hot slag go down my modern work boots.
Very true! Yes I thought about wearing my shoes, but your anecdote doesn't sound encouraging! Maybe bare feet is better...or tying my trousers over the tops of my shoes.
@@gesithasgewissa Foundry boots have a flap of leather over the laces, I wouldn't be surprised if some form of protection wasn't fashioned from the earliest times of smithing.
@@hetrodoxlysonov-wh9oo Thanks, maybe I'll make something like that
Awesome video as usual. Love your content
Thank you!!
I’m very impressed with the bellows and tuyere construction! But if I may, I have some advice with the blacksmithing.
You need to take more care to strike the hammer face flat to the anvil especially with such a sharp cornered hammer; you can see that it’s tilted rather than coming down perpendicular to the edge you’re working on (actually tilted away from conforming to the face you're striking, the worst of all worlds), decreasing your efficiency and leaving extra marks in the iron. That said, it would also help to dress the hammer; that is lightly round the edges and slightly round the face. This also helps move the metal faster, at the cost of not leaving a perfectly flat finish that you’re probably not getting right now anyway. Similarly with dressing the anvil though you want it flat (you don’t want the face to be uneven if you can help it, and while a sharp overhanging edge can in theory be good you also want at least some straight radiused edges to not cut into the bottom of the work; small cracks in the edges of striking or struck faces like that can also be dangerous and lead to chips flying off), though the worst of the imperfections on such a small anvil could be cured by filing out cracks, forging them down at heat, and then filing it flat. The edge of the hammer eye being too sharp similarly may be what caused the handle to break while working too cold. Also make sure to round the peen before you use it, it doesn’t really do any good flat and sharp; you want a fairly broad radius on it, again with no sharp corners.
As for the work, it’s less than ideal to work in direct sunlight (you want a shaded but well lit area to work just to accurately tell the steel colors) but it looked like you may be working the piece too long when it gets cold by the type of oxidation and the sound it made. Unless you want to do specific things like affect the surface finish you need to go heat it up again when the metal stops moving. I’m also guessing this by the cold shuts in the piece, where the iron folds together while you work it. These are to be avoided for a variety of structural reasons, though they don’t really matter on a nail. If the edges are getting thicker and folding over the center and about to form cold shuts, it’s probably not hot enough and not being struck with enough force (speed or hammer weight increase works to an extent). But make sure to beat those upset edges back down unless you specifically want them to avoid those cold shuts, working back and forth.
Now increasing the heat probably has less to do with your fire/ forge construction than with the depth of your fire and where you place the iron; generally you probably need to fill up that little forge to the brim with charcoal, keep it raked back up on top, and have the iron be above the tuyere rather than in front of it at the bottom due to heat rising and to hit the sweet spot with oxidation. That will decrease oxidation and increase efficiency and heat because the charcoal on the edges that isn’t burning is also the insulator that keeps heat from escaping. Generally charcoal forges need to be deeper than coal forges anyway because of the lack of fossil fuel volatiles supercharging the fire, so keep that in mind. Also in future, you’ll want to set up for a quicker transition between bellows/ forge/ anvil to maintain that heat and strike while the iron is hot.
As a historical note, I believe most nail stock was initially cut into a square from a larger sheet with a chisel for ease of forging rather than forging one large piece into something so small, but it’s good exercise; you'll probably want to work down your nail even more than you did here in future (see that where it went into the nail header it conformed to the header rather than going through it and resting on the lump left for the head, and how the tip is still a bit blunt). You seem to do quite well with avoiding some other common beginner mistakes like not turning the piece enough (just remember it's in 3 dimensions, so the sides need to be dressed over time too, rotate by 90* quickly back and forth) and keeping the piece level with the anvil face (rather than raising or lowering the piece too much over time to compensate for other things)
Awesome, thanks a load for the all the advice. This is my first time ever blacksmithing so I know I have lots to learn and improve on. This is really helpful!
@@gesithasgewissa I may have gone back and edited it like 16 times for clarity, so it's in its final state now. Make no mistake, for a first time and likely without instruction you're doing really well. Your overall craftsmanship comes through. Just gotta be aware of a few beginner pitfalls. Probably best to choose that shaded spot and mount your stump anvil in a vertically buried stump as well.
If you're interested in continuing with blacksmithing, you'll want to make yourself some basic tools (both good practice and necessary in future projects) that I could recommend videos for. Most basic is probably a hot chisel. Then you can make your fire tools; you'll want some sort of cup on a stick to douse parts of the fire as necessary (though in your case, perhaps making that out of iron isn't necessary because nowadays you'd literally use a can), and some sort of fire poker/rake to make adjustments to the fire. You can probably do without an iron shovel in this case as well, but something better than your hands would be good. Then a cold chisel, round and square punch, centerpunch, and you can make your own pair of tongs and go from there. Eventually maybe even make your own files or the like.
Don't be afraid to stick your current pair of tongs in the fire and modify it by the way; if you're working with something for any length of time, you ideally want to make the pair of tongs grip it well by changing the bit on it.
@@farmerboy916 I appreciate you taking the time to write it out. Thank you. I'm definitely interested in making my own tools, and it would be good practice.
I did think about modifying those tongs, they are really just glorified pliers and are pretty crap for gripping with just the tips touching. I will do that.
@@gesithasgewissa For an example of inspiration/ what’s possible using a setup like what you’re currently using, I’d go with “Bertram craft and wilderness.” My go to for basic blacksmithing instruction on YT is “Black Bear Forge,” and he has a number of instructional videos for beginners including the making of basic tools though the ones I’m thinking of are older videos and harder to find just because they’re buried underneath new ones made for the modern budget smith. Another invaluable resource, especially for more classic blacksmith work, is “DF in the shop.” His chisel work is what you want to aspire towards (with not having power tools) and also has good instructional videos. And weirdly enough, “Clickspring” for his videos on making the tools for his recreation of the Antikythera mechanism has great information on case hardening, carburization, and file making with basic tools; his benchwork with minimal tooling is impeccable.
Now one skill you’ll need to focus on later if you want to be honest to the period, is forge welding. Nowadays it’s seen as fairly difficult unreliable and finnicky, but for historical blacksmiths it was an essental skill, and for those of the period you’re focused on was both absolutely everyday routine and taken to a fine art. Part of this is the use of modern steels (and modern standards) rather than wrought iron and steels based on it which were easier to forge weld. Most smiths now seem to treat a single forge weld as a task, whereas for instance swordsmiths of the era you’re portraying were folding iron together many times to refine it into good wrought iron, plaiting together rods and welding them into a larger piece, then welding pieces onto the edges of those to make the base for a sword. With minimal tooling.
@@gesithasgewissa For an example of inspiration/ what’s possible using a setup like what you’re currently using, I’d go with “Bertram craft and wilderness.” My go to for basic blacksmithing instruction on YT is “Black Bear Forge,” and he has a number of instructional videos for beginners including the making of basic tools though the ones I’m thinking of are older videos and harder to find just because they’re buried underneath new ones made for the modern budget smith. Also he has some videos recreating items from the Mastermyr chest, and things like how to dress your tools and forge those fire tools. Another invaluable resource, especially for more classic blacksmith work, is “DF in the shop.” His chisel work is what you want to aspire towards (with not having power tools) and also has good instructional videos, as well as stuff of how to work in a coal forge. And weirdly enough, “Clickspring” for his videos on making the tools for his recreation of the Antikythera mechanism has great information on case hardening, carburization, and file making with basic tools; his benchwork with minimal tooling is impeccable.
Now one skill you’ll need to focus on later if you want to be honest to the period, is forge welding. Nowadays it’s seen as fairly difficult unreliable and finnicky, but for historical blacksmiths it was an essental skill, and for those of the period you’re focused on was both absolutely everyday routine and taken to a fine art. Part of this is the use of modern steels (and modern standards) rather than wrought iron and steels based on it which were easier to forge weld. Most smiths now seem to treat a single forge weld as a task, whereas for instance swordsmiths of the era you’re portraying were folding iron together many times to refine it into good wrought iron, plaiting together rods and welding them into a larger piece, then welding pieces onto the edges of those to make the base for a sword. With minimal tooling.
You are giving John Plant a run for his money XD
Haha, ahhh but I'm cheating a little bit with my iron bars and bought charcoal 😉 nothing near as difficult as drawing out iron from the earth with ancient technology. That's real magic!
Awesome video! Really great craftsmanship with the bellows and tuyere!
I am so glad to see you get into metalworking since it will really elevate your videos to the next level and unlock so many new possibilities!
Since this was your first time working hot iron things will feel weird and uncomfortable and nothing will be efficient, but that will come soon enough! Remember using good hammer technique. Both the grip and the actual hammering. Practice the alignment on your strikes! So you don't hit the metal with the edge of your hammer. That leaves a lot of marks and it also means you lose energy when the hammer wobbles around! When you get more used to the hammer you can strike with the edge or with the peen of the hammer to "gouge" more since that is a technique to move metal fast, but it's important to be able to have control and hit with the flat of the face, to be able to make clean and flat faces on the things you make.
Regarding hammer technique I also recommend you use rythm in your strikes. There is a reason blacksmiths used to sing and so many cultures use rythm and dance whilst they work. It helps with control, efficiency and consistency in the work (you tire less slowly too). Don't just strike randomly without purpose and with varying strength and rythm. A professional strikes with rythm and let's his work sing!
Since you use a small period correct anvil there isn't much room for it, but smiths often tap the anvil between strikes. It helps maintain the momentum and rythm, but it also gives you time to think about where to hit the metal next. It's really important to have a surface to tap/bounce on in order to work efficiently and give you some breathing room to think and not just whack for the sake of whacking. For smaller objects you might still be able to strike the corner of the anvil, away from the thing you are making. Otherwise I recommend getting a second small anvil just a palm or two away from the other one, just to have somewhere to bounce the hammer!
Furthermore regarding the anvils I recommend getting a proper stump or a thick stake that you drive down into the earth. The laying log that you use now doesn't have that much mass and since it isn't connected to the ground, you lose a ton of energy! An anvil has to be solid and offer firm resistance to be efficient. Either being big and solid enough by its own mass, or by being stuck into something that is. For example, early medieval smiths used large boulders/rocks as anvils for rough work (there are viking sagas where smiths brag och what large boulders they could haul home to use as an anvil), but they also used smaller metal anvils fastened into stakes or stumps for finer work. So I recommend either getting a stake/stump for your anvil or complementing it with a very large and dense rock!
You hammer looks very nice, but I would recommend that you round the face of it much more! It seems counter intuitive to have a curved face on the hammer to make a flat surface on the metal, but it is important and a game-changer for a novice blacksmith! A squared hammer (like you buy them in the store) will leave lines and edge-marks in the work even if you are good with the hammer. A more rounded face will not leave those kinds of marks and you instead use increasingly more precis and soft blows to create a flat surface on your work. So I recommend you grind the face a lot more rounded so the face has no sharp edges.
Lastly regarding the heat in the metal, remember to work it warm! In the video there was strong sunlight and so it can be hard to tell the temperature, especially on video, but make sure it is glowing hot when you work it! Depending on the metal you want it glowing yellow and bright when you work it. Then you can hit hard and move it easily! Cherry red you can hit it medium hard but it doesn't move as much and anything cooler than that (when it is gray again) is only used for very light taps to make tiny corrections. If you hit iron hard when it is too cold it will crack! Sometimes you can't see that it has cracked, but then later when you are near finished you will start seeing lines and splits appear. It is heart breaking and it will happen, but if you are aware of it and make sure to work it hotter than you think it needs, you'll keep it to a minimum! A thing with similar results are cold shuts. If you work thin metal, like in the video, it will be prone to folding over on itself. That is called a cold shut and even if it looks solid and has no line/seam, it is a crack! It you forge it more the crack may end up getting worse and ruining the work. So avoid those.
I am really looking forward to more videos from your adventures in blacksmithing and you'll be a saxon mastersmith in no time at all! Get your anvil firmly planted in something and round that hammer, it will make everything so much easier!
Thank you so much for all the helpful information! I'm definitely taking it in on board in my future forging, and hopefully you'll be able to see some improvement in the next video or two. Really appreciate the time you took to give the advice!
@@gesithasgewissa No problem at all! It's awesome to see you get into blacksmithing and I am happy to offer whatever advice I can that I wish I knew when starting out! In fact, I am on the same journey as you! I am building a viking age smithy in the woods where I live, only using period tools that I have made myself! The smithy is just the beginning as I will use it to make a viking boat (I've only laid the keel so far). The whole thing is my passion project and my dream is to tour Europe with my viking boat in full medieval kit once it is done! I work in the city so I am kept from my projects far more than I wish, but your videos give me loads of inspiration and really do a lot to help when I am missing the woods!
If you want more advice regarding blacksmithing or just need someone to bounce ideas with I am happy to help!
@@astorniit7524 That sounds absolutely incredible! Best of luck and may the gods smile on your project ☺
Excellent, as always. Please put a note at the beginning to turn on subtitles. Curious about A/S barbering. ie how was hair and beards trimmed, and with what? Keep up the good work.
Thanks! From the few examples of Anglo-Saxon art depicting hairstyles we have most men appear to have shoulder length hair with well trimmed, pointed beards or were clean-shaven.Though of course there would always have been variation. I keep mine up while working as it gets it the way otherwise. Small scissors, shears and bone combs are commonly found grave goods. It appears most women wore their hair long as they do today, loose or plaited, and hair veils were common.