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."

Comments

Re:Would love to do this

[Psychofreak]

Don't need acres. Many hobby smiths are using a space of little more than 100 square feet for a shop. Of course no power hammer, just forge, anvil, and some small power tools.

While I don't make knives (not because I can't) my "workshop" is my driveway. Everything gets put away in the garage when I am done. A person can start out using a coal or lump charcoal fired forge made by digging a shallow hole in dirt, and using a hair dryer with an iron pipe on the end for air. Find a large steel slug, or piece of axle, or railroad track, say 30-100 pounds for an anvil (and it will be better than a cast iron anvil by far). Get a couple hammers such as a 2 pound ball pein and a 3 pound cross pein to start with. You can use long stock without tongs, and make your own tongs (Remember the BLACKSMITH makes the TOOLS, not the other way around)

Car or truck coil spring is nice stock to make knives and tools out of for a beginner.

There are forums dedicated to blacksmithing and knifemaking.

Phil

Re:Beats sitting in front of a computer?

[geekoid]

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 .

Guys, be careful.

[140Mandak262Jamuna]

It starts simple like this, and it could eventually consume all your time.

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.