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Google Engineer Shows How To Forge Swords and Knives
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."
.. who cares. Cool as heck!
The three laws of thermodynamics:(1) You can't win. (2) You can't break even. (3) You can't even quit.
http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/ancient/secrets-viking-sword.html
Oh.. wait, nevermind.
I can own a +12 undead slayer. Can I forge this IRL?
This is one of those things I've wanted to try doing since I was a kid, but simply never had the space for. Time to buy a few acres out somewhere.
Does Niels subscribe to the sterotype of wearing all black?
Yes I am a troll.
Now we need a published map detailing the locations of all the blacksmiths.
Oh wait... my bad. For a second I forgot you don't bring knives to gunfights...
Use hammers. What a pussy.
The moment a ' thing' passes into history its celebrated DIY YouTube commemorates the event
So the best way to fight malware is to stab the bad guys?
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.
This is also very interesting : http://video.pbs.org/video/1150578495/
"I say we take off, nuke the site from orbit. It's the only way to be sure."
"According to the FBI annual crime statistics, the number of murders committed annually with hammers and clubs far outnumbers the number of murders committed with a rifle."
http://www.breitbart.com/Big-Government/2013/01/03/FBI-More-People-Killed-With-Hammers-and-Clubs-Each-Year-Than-With-Rifles
"I say we take off, nuke the site from orbit. It's the only way to be sure."
I mean, if you work at Google in the anti-malware devision you've probably got a good idea about the types of exploits coming down the line. Now, if someone like that is acquiring skills they'd only really need if life as we know it were blasted back to the iron age...
Because I AM sitting at a computer to watch the narrated purpose of each step... Somehow Youtube videos will never be able to "beat sitting in front of the computer" because they seem to always require "sitting in front of the computer"
Two conclusions I can draw from that video:
1. The stereotype of blacksmiths looking like body builders must be pretty accurate.
2. A good sword must have cost as much as a shitty car.
...that a documentary on ancient metal working is "stuff that matters"? Sure, it's interesting, but is the /. crowd that isolated that they've never heard of forge welding?
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citation_needed
Don't know something? Look it up. Still don't know? Then ask.
Cool, glad you found the link, I was thinking the exact same thing.
;-)
I was also thinking the guy in the NOVA special could probably sell that sword for many thousands of dollars
People in cars cause accidents....accidents in cars cause people
http://thepiratebay.se/torrent/7721851/
I think you can download PBS shows legally, but I'm not a lawyer.
If he was MAN, he would have hammered that himself with a hammer, not a hammering machine.
I was simply drinking coffee in Starbucks. Then someone told me you can actually brew the coffee at home. Start with a simple stove top percolator, he said. Then it became a cheap 10 cup presto coffee maker. Then came the French Press, then the "grinding your own just before brewing", roasting your own bean just before grinding just before brewing, espresso machines, pump based espresso not the wimpy steam pressure espresso, .....
Now I am driving 150 miles each way to slopes of the Smoky Mountains each weekend to tend a patch of coffee shrubs which I am going to harvest, dry, grind and brew. They are saying the next step is to feed the coffee fruits to some weasels and collect the beans from its other end, then to dry, grind and brew. No one told me this is where I am going to end up. So watch out.
sed -e 's/Chuck Norris/Rajnikant/g' joke > fact
I thought the same thing too. That is a really good episode.
Quote from the show:
ALAN WILLIAMS: The swords were far better than any other swords made, before or since, in Europe. And these must have been extraordinarily valuable to their contemporaries, because of their properties.
Except for the Damascus sword, which was fabricated in several places in the Muslim empire, including, famously, in Toledo, Spain, where to this date there is a blade making industry.
Not only that, but the Viking sword was merely an attempt to duplicate the quality of the Saracen sword.
If it has anything to do with "peer to peer networks" it's "illegal theft" and the **AA will take your first born son if they're given a chance.
Not only that, but the Viking sword was merely an attempt to duplicate the...
OK, first of all, there are lots of Viking swords... and nearly all of them are crap. Second of all, the NOVA episode is about the famous Ulfberht swords... and even this is not referred to reverently as "THE Viking Sword." And thirdly, and most importantly, the steel used in the Ulfberht most likely came from the same smelters as the steel that went into making Damascus blades. The point? You completely fabricated your statement because you must know a little about Damascus steel and admire the weapons made from them, so any upstart swords must be merely an attempt to duplicate... blah blah blah. You're an idiot. The swords were made from the same steel. There was no attempt to duplicate Damascus blades, but rather the Damascus blades and the Ulfberht blades were made from the same steel.
Indeed. Perhaps not made with the same steel, but definitely with the same type of steel.
Even in crucible steel, there is a difference based on ore and trace alloy elements, but in that era, the gap between crucible and non crucible steel was big.
Anyway, many people are into smithing. I'm one of them. Of course, I don't work for google. :)
Joke's on them. I only have a daughter.
that anyone who posts from a breibart site should just admit to everyone that they don't have a leg to stand on. It's much less humiliating and doesn't waste the grownup's time.
Indeed. Perhaps not made with the same steel, but definitely with the same type of steel.
Then, by luck or good management, there is Swedish steel. I wonder if that had something to do with the quality of Viking swords.
Ever try to drill through a piece of an old Swedish-built Husqvarna motocrosser to safety-wire it? Stuff is harder than the hubs of hell.
Do not mock my vision of impractical footwear
Quote from the show:
ALAN WILLIAMS: The swords were far better than any other swords made, before or since, in Europe. And these must have been extraordinarily valuable to their contemporaries, because of their properties.
Except for the Damascus sword, which was fabricated in several places in the Muslim empire, including, famously, in Toledo, Spain, where to this date there is a blade making industry.
Not only that, but the Viking sword was merely an attempt to duplicate the quality of the Saracen sword.
Not that it matters, but just to set the record straight, "damascus" steel, just like the "Arabic" numeral system, was neither invented in Damascus nor in Arabia nor in Spain. Both the numeral system and the steel was invented in India. It should be more accurately called Wootz steel. This steel making technique technique was mastered and perfected by ironsmiths in South India around 300BC. The original technique also died with the ironsmiths over time, and has was only recently replicated with success some years ago.
References:
http://www.tms.org/pubs/journals/jom/9809/verhoeven-9809.html
http://archaeology.about.com/od/wterms/g/wootz.htm
http://www.britannica.com/EBchecked/topic/647868/wootz-steel
The first article is the most informative and comprehensive of all.
To quote from the articles linked above,
"Wootz is the name given to an exceptional grade of iron ore steel first made in southern and south central India and Sri Lanka perhaps as early as 300 BC. Wootz is formed using a crucible to melt, burn away impurities and add important ingredients, and it contains a high carbon content (nearly 1.5%).
Although iron making was part of Indian culture by as early as 1100 BC (at sites such as Hallur), the earliest evidence for the processing of iron in a crucible has been identified at the site of Kodumanal in Tamil Nadu province, and possibly also at Andhra Pradesh. The term 'wootz' appears in English in the late 18th century, and is probably derived from ukku, the word for crucible steel in the Indian language Kannada, and possibly from 'ekku' in old Tamil.
Wootz steel is the primary component of Damascan steel. Syrian blacksmiths used wootz ingots to produce extraordinary steel weaponry throughout the middle ages. "
For the record, I'm not a steel expert by any stretch, but I do love Japanese cooking knives, especially AS sandwitched core ones, and was really disappointed to learn that my first flashy "Damascus" pattern knife was only chemically etched and not a true damascus pattern.
A daughter isn't enough. According to Hollywood actors are worth more than actresses.
Youtube link of said documentary : http://www.youtube.com/watch?v=nXbLyVpWsVM
This man is showing how to manufacture weapons. Surely he must be arrested, tried, and sentenced for this evil deed.
And Google said they'd 'do no evil' my ass.
But foolishly, folks, this is awesome cool that he shared the vid with all of us.
Understanding the scope of the problem is the first step on the path to true panic.
For teaching people how to make evil weapons that could hurt people. They might jump right off the table and start hacking people down. /sarcasm off
if NOVA went off the air, I would consider selling/disposing of my TV. the choices are so few, now, that I can stand to watch.
--
"It is now safe to switch off your computer."
Indeed. And a Toledo Salamanca broadsword can easily remove the head of Viking.
The whole series is cool.
loved it.
Not that it matters, but just to set the record straight, "damascus" steel, just like the "Arabic" numeral system, was neither invented in Damascus nor in Arabia nor in Spain.
You are talking about Damascus steel, I'm talking about the Damascus sword. The Damascus sword indeed used wootz high quality steel (at least originally) but it also had a secret manufacturing process which was equally important.
The video and process was neat to watch, however part of me would have been way more impressed if he didn't use modern tools to make the knife because Vikings were certainly known for their pneumatic hammers and digital ovens. :)
~~ Behold the flying cow with a rail gun! ~~
Comment removed based on user account deletion
It remains to be seen if he can beat swords from plowshares.
Not that it matters, but just to set the record straight, "damascus" steel, just like the "Arabic" numeral system, was neither invented in Damascus nor in Arabia nor in Spain.
You are talking about Damascus steel, I'm talking about the Damascus sword. The Damascus sword indeed used wootz high quality steel (at least originally) but it also had a secret manufacturing process which was equally important.
I don't know enough about sword history, but I do know that the Indian swords or "talwars" during that time period were also damascus pattern swords. I also know that they were commonly made in India at that time. However, I'm not contradicting your point per se, I'm only adding to it. Sword making in itself is a highly evolved and nuanced art form.
To my knowledge, the real tricky part was in making the steel ingots which were made exclusively in India, and were exported by Arabian traders to the rest of the world. It is worth noting that the mystery behind wootz steel has been a topic of constant research for hundreds of years and has remained a mystery until a few years ago despite constant and repeated attempts to crack the puzzle. The first microscopic analysis of steel was done on wootz steel.
the real tricky part was in making the steel ingots which were made exclusively in India,
Even if you had a wootz ingot forging a blade was still a challenge, and in fact 19th and early 20th century smiths failed in spite of numerous attempts. Only quite recently has the process become nearly fully understood.
http://www.tms.org/pubs/journals/jom/9809/verhoeven-9809.html
You completely fabricated your statement
Here's the reference:
Even if you had a wootz ingot forging a blade was still a challenge, and in fact 19th and early 20th century smiths failed in spite of numerous attempts. Only quite recently has the process become nearly fully understood.
http://www.tms.org/pubs/journals/jom/9809/verhoeven-9809.html [tms.org]
So much for fabricated statements.
blah blah blah. You're an idiot. The swords were made from the same steel. There was no attempt to duplicate Damascus blades, but rather the Damascus blades and the Ulfberht blades were made from the same steel.
It is funny that you feel the need to start your incorrect statement that "it was all about the steel" with "you are an idiot". Maybe it was your subconscious warning us that BS was about to follow.