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 : kzfaq.info/get/bejne/sNaZaNeIrcjGgYE.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 !

Haha, exactly, just typical!

lol right? i felt every saxon smith screaming in heaven right there LOL

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

Very glad to hear it!!

YES. Totally agree 👍

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 😉

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.

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.

Thanks, I'm glad you think so!

Thank you David, I really appreciate that! I really love the filming and story telling aspects of making these videos.

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.

Glad to hear it!

Wow, thank you for such kind words. I really enjoy researching the tiny details and bringing them together.

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

I was all excited to get forging...typical! Hmmm, you know you might be onto something there 😉

Thanks, and cool, nice idea. When I have a proper designated smithing area I'll go for that!

Thank you very much! Yes, I should really wear shoes next time haha

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!

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

That would be amazing! I always wanted to see one set in the Iron Age or Medieval period

Hah! Thank you ☺

Welcome, and thank you so much, I appreciate the support

Thank you!

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

No need to fear, that's definitely happening!😆

Thank you so much!

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 kzfaq.info/get/bejne/eLF2atJ12NvLiZc.htmlsi=CGSyxxCoMd8DYknq

Welcome, and thank you so much!

Thank you, always a joy to share it with you!

And that was how Play Doh was invented

@@paulstrickler5684 😃

Glad you enjoyed it!

Absolutely! Thank you

Thanks! Yes, having an extra person to keep the forge running would be really helpful

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...😳

Thanks for the advice and book suggestion!

Thank you Axalon, this was so fun, I can't wait to get back to it!

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.

Glad you found it interesting!

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!

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.

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.

Thank you. Yes you can see why iron and forged objects were so valued!

Yes, almost every Early Medieval technology was on such a small scale to be very difficult to find archaeologically! Thank you, I certainly will.

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

Thank you!! Yes, it's a great idea. And now I have the bellows to fire the kiln too

Thank you so much. Staying true to the historical detail is very important to me

Yeah it's really portable!

It was such a great day! Thank you

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

I loved this, so you definitely will!

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.

Thank you. I think I saw that too, fascinating! Haha, you gotta just laugh sometimes...

I wish! Thanks for watching

Thank you so much!

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.

It's my pleasure, thanks for watching!

Great, thank you, I'll do that!

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.

Thanks, I love his videos!

Absolutely agree!

Thank you!

You are welcome!!

Thank you so much!

Haha, that's me! I worked as shipwright there for a year before starting this project

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

Haha!

I did start to feel a little more confident, I'm going to keep practicing as I really enjoyed it. Thanks for the advice!

Glad you think so!

Hah!

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!

Thank you!

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!

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.

Thank you!

Thank you!

Thank you Peter!

Yes, I'll definitely be doing it in the shade next time! Cool, I'll try and find the video

Thank you!!

Thank you very much!

Heheheh 😄 thank you

Welcome! Very happy to have you along for the journey.

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

Thanks!

@@gesithasgewissa you're very handsome, by the way 🥰

Thanks!

Nice and simple for now! Thanks for watching

Hah, yeah! I've done my fair share of shipbuilding already though

Sounds like this video came just at the right time!

Thank you David, I appreciate the support!

Thank you!

Thank you, I'm still working on the skills haha!

Thank you!

Thank you! Got a lot to learn but will be watching your videos for guidance

@@gesithasgewissa would you like to come over to my forge to do some Anglo Saxon stuff? I can give you some pointers for forging as well

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

I know...brave and foolish! Luckily I have good reflexes 😉

Thank you. Exactly, nails were saved for the absolutely necessary

Thanks for watching!

Indeed!

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.

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

Exactly! Not a single nail in my house 😆

Gods, I might need a few years...but let's not rule it out!

Thank you!