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."
NOVA did a show on ancient blacksmithing recently. (Score:5, Informative)
Re:Would love to do this (Score:2, Informative)
Why buy a few acres? There are forges out there that teach classes and such for a reasonable fee. Prospect Hill Forge is such a forge (Boston area).
Re:Would love to do this (Score:5, Informative)
Good advice! May I add a few things...
- Ear protection. You don't have to go for uncomfortable headphones, but cheap ear plugs are definitely a good idea.
- Keep a fire extinguisher handy
- Expect to get through a number of wire brushes; brush off the slag regularly, if you want a clean result
- Experiment with quenching, (water is OK, oil is better, but see remark above fire ex. above), if you're using good-quality steel, (easy to pick up as parent suggested)
- Try carbon face hardening if you're using (cheap) mild steel
In either of the two last cases, all you need is an open-topped container...
I suggest you start here...
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Steel [wikipedia.org]
Re:Would love to do this (Score:4, Informative)
Sorry, forgot the most important - eye protection!
(I have had more shit dug out of my eyeballs than I care to remember... fortunately, if you don't destroy your eye totally, it seems to heal pretty fast. But life's a bitch while it does, believe me)
Re:Watch those hammers! (Score:5, Informative)
Unfortunately a very small number of gun deaths in the US are committed with rifles.
http://www.businessweek.com/news/2012-12-18/american-gun-deaths-to-exceed-traffic-fatalities-by-2015 [businessweek.com]
From a nested link in the link you posted, gun deaths outnumber blunt object deaths 17 to 1 in 2011. The other years in the article were similar.
http://www.fbi.gov/about-us/cjis/ucr/crime-in-the-u.s/2011/crime-in-the-u.s.-2011/tables/expanded-homicide-data-table-11 [fbi.gov]
Re:Watch those hammers! (Score:3, Informative)
Oh noes, in a minute? That totally makes an objective difference!
I'm kidding. It makes no difference. Rifles kill well under 400 people a year in the US, and assault rifles way under that. It's noise.
But carry on with your emotional arguments at will...