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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
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.
The moment a ' thing' passes into history its celebrated DIY YouTube commemorates the event
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.
Now we need a published map detailing the locations of all the blacksmiths.
in China
"A person is smart. People are dumb, panicky dangerous animals and you know it." - K
Probably more effective than AV.
And eliminates future malware, at least from that source.
There are two types of people in the world: Those who crave closure
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"
Let me know when someone uses a hammer to kill 20 people in a minute.
Also, hammer are widely available. Thanks for providing a data point show weapons that are more easily available are more likely to be used in crimes.
Except guns, apparently.
The Kruger Dunning explains most post on
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.
http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Citation_needed
Don't know something? Look it up. Still don't know? Then ask.
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
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
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
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...
If he was MAN, he would have hammered that himself with a hammer, not a hammering machine.
A gun control advocate accidentally told the truth about what they think!
Now watch the back-peddle and denial.
John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
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.
A good maiming is probably better. Death itself is not a great deterrent. Lots of people say "I want to die" not many say, "I want to be handicapped". So. cut off their hands and remove their vocal cords. This diminishes their ability to create more spam, and also diminishes the possibility of them passing on the meme that made them think that what they were doing was okay.
0xB315AA8D852DCD3F3DCA578FD2E0BF88
Guns are involved in around 70% of murders in USA. Hammers and other blunt objects are about 5%.
wouldnt a welded forge be kinda useless for high temperature applicatons? i would think brick or other ceramic would be the way to go.
There is no right to feel safe thru security vaudeville at the expense of everyone's freedom, privacy and tax money.
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.
The only denial comes from gun nuts like you who think everyone else should willingly suffer for your little handgun pettish.
Maybe it's because we've heard of forge welding, and this example, with the decorative pattern welding in particular, is particularly interesting owing to the complexity of the work and the hours involved in getting it right.
Specialist Mac support for creative pros, Melbourne
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.
OK, so why are they going after "assault rifles" which kill very, very few people (think in the order of the number of people killed by lightening)? Not that we'll cave in to the gun grabbers on handguns either, but why the focus on such a tiny problem?
I'll tell you why - emotion and fear. The gun-grabber's greatest weapon.
This story is about hammers.
The parent posts are comparing hammers and guns. Comparing killings with blunt objects and rifles, jokingly implying that hammers are more dangerous than guns.
For that comparison to be valid, it should be between ball-peen hammers and rifles. The more common claw hammer should be compared with pistols.
Stop getting you knickers in a twist, Mr Anti-GunGrabber.
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."
I love how anyone with an interest in, or an enthusiasm for firearms is a "gun nut". To me, people like you are fucking pussy bitches. Grow some fucking balls and stop blaming average people for the acts of fucking lunatics. Fuck man.
Unfortunately a very small number of gun deaths in the US are committed with rifles.
And yet, rifles find themselves at the top of the list of things to use in marketing getting all handguns and most rifles banned.
If efforts to ban guns were fact based, this would not be the case.
In other news, over 75% of all firearm deaths are "criminal subculture" related.
But, I know - it sure would be convenient if the scrapegoat objects used to denigrate the 2nd Amendment and its proponents were, in fact, implements of death and destruction. Almost as convenient if this were something the fascists could nail down as definitively causative to violence, overlooking the cultural and environmental aspects outright (as they already do).
Tell me, why do you think the vast majority of firearm related deaths are occurring in specific urban neighborhoods within the larger urban areas?
~/ssh slashdot.org ssh: connect to host slashdot.org port 22: too many beers
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
I love how anyone with an interest in, or an enthusiasm for firearms is a "gun nut". To me, people like you are fucking pussy bitches. Grow some fucking balls and stop blaming average people for the acts of fucking lunatics. Fuck man.
People who can only settle arguments with guns are the fucking pussy bitches.
To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing it
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...
Assault rifles have one purpose, which is to kill as many people as quickly and effectively as possible in a military confrontation.
There is simply no excuse for them to be in the hands of civilians.
And it does make a difference if you can kill 20 people quickly and easily rather than slowly and with difficulty. Assault rifles give weaklings the chance to cheat nature and act like mini-gods for a few minutes, until they take their own pathetic lives.
To have a right to do a thing is not at all the same as to be right in doing 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.
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.
He said it was unfortunate that so few murders are committed by rifles.
Clearly he thinks more would be better.
John McAfee 'It was like that time I hired that Bangkok prostitute; to do my taxes, while I fucked my accountant'
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
So what. The statistics show that it's a non-issue.
You know what else is noise? The grief of 40+ parents without their children...
People in cars cause accidents....accidents in cars cause people
I'm going to guess you're trolling or being funny, but in case you aren't: forge-welding is welding using a forge, not welding a forge. Although... most forges do have critical parts made out of steel. The only place where steel gets hot enough to become plastic (or burn) is in the center of the coal. The edges are cool enough that things like the basin and vent don't get anywhere near melting. I've seen people make a forge out of a kitchen sink, some kiln cement, and a shop vac. The sink never melts, despite the cement not being too thick.