Google Engineer Shows How To Forge Swords and Knives 201
An anonymous reader writes "Niels Provos, an engineer at Google working on malware and phishing protection, is showing on YouTube how to forge knives and Viking swords. The process is absolutely fascinating and follows the steps of Viking blacksmiths from a thousand years ago. It starts by taking small bars of metal that get heated and hammered together until they become a solid piece. He then shows how to form it with the hammer, heat treat and polish it. All the videos are narrated explaining the purpose of each step. Sure beats sitting in front of the computer."
Beats sitting in front of a computer? (Score:5, Insightful)
You only ever hear people with nice soft office jobs make these kinds of dumbass statements. This sort of thing might be fun as a hobby, but as a life it would suck. It is hot, it is dangerous and the pay would not be great.
No one really wants to do hard work for a shitty living, stop romanticizing it. I think it is an offshoot of the Noble Savage BS.
Re:Slashvertisment, but: (Score:5, Insightful)
How to get your own article. (not necessarily on /.)
1. Make or do something cool
2. Document how you did it
3. Share
4. Gain recognition
Re:Beats sitting in front of a computer? (Score:5, Insightful)
I already brew beer, I also cure meats, bake bread and create many other things.
I would never want to do any of those for a living in modern society. The hours are long and the pay is shit.
Re:Beats sitting in front of a computer? (Score:5, Insightful)
Why? trades jobs suck. I have many trades person in my family. My dad, uncles aunts etc..
I always heard the same thing from them: You want to go to school and get a good job becasue trades jobs suck.
Paraphrase.
Different hours, low security, in order to make 'real money' you work all kinds of crazy overtime. Deal mostly with uneducated loud mouths.
I work with people in a specific trade right now, and all of them over 35 our pretty beat up and wish they had an office job .
Re:Would love to do this (Score:5, Insightful)
I have acres. I have timer to stoke the fire. I can even cut timber to build the forge and a building to house it. It would take a little ingenuity to come up with a bellows and an anvil cheap. But, you know what? THIS IS WORK!!! There's a lot of stuff that looks cool, if you can sit around and watch it being done. But, when it's your muscles, learning a new skill, man it's ROUGH!!
The physically hardest job I've ever done was pouring concrete. Following close behind was roughing out some prison buildings, in the mud, in the middle of winter with cold rain running down my back. Then, logging. By comparison, carpentry is easy, and that is real work.
What I'm saying is, I'm familiar enough with real work to recognize it when I see it. Forging iron is going to be about as hard as pouring and finishing at least a half mile of city street. If you want quality work, you'll do that half mile of city street after at least six months of hard work acquiring the skills to do it. You're not going to light a fire, and turn out a beautifully crafted sword on your first attempt!
Call me lazy, but if I decide that I want to craft my own knife or sword, I'll machine it on power equipment!!