Building a Medieval Forge and Blacksmith Shop by Hand | Anglo-Saxon Blacksmithing
Published 2024-07-05
Simple goatskin bag bellows were used, in the Roman style, blowing air into a clay forge. The hot iron was wrought on a small stump anvil.
A single goatskin was used to make each bellows, cutting a simple bag shape with a funnel. At the top, the bellows have an inset gusset which facilitates air flow into the bellows as they are opened at the handles.
A Y-shaped wooden tuyere was carved and bored out, as have been found in Germanic contexts. The tuyere can be connected to the bellows with simple leather tubes and lashing.
The tuyere was extended with an unfired clay tube, made of earth and straw mixed in the same way as daub. This sacrificial tuyere keeps the wooden tuyere away from the forge, so it doesn't burn. As the clay is unfired, it was kept damp with a wet woollen cloth.
The forge, made of earth and straw, is formed into shape; two curved walls which hold the charcoal, one with a hole in the bottom to allow air flow into the forge from the bellows.
The forge was started with wood and straw, but requires charcoal to heat iron to forging temperature.
Old wrought iron bar was the metal to be heated and wrought. Anglo-Saxon iron was also wrought, in the form of smelted bog iron or recycled Roman and Romano-British iron.
The bar was pushed into the forge and the bellows worked until the metal came up to heat.
A nail was forged by drawing out the bar into a thin spike on the stump anvil. This was then cut off at the side of the anvil, heated at the head, and hammered into a nail header to form the head of the nail.
This is the very first time I have struck hot metal, and found it both fascinating and extremely fun! I have a lot to learn, being a complete beginner, but am looking forward to developing this new skill.
To the Anglo-Saxons the art of smelting and forging metal was seen as mysterious, magical; a craft of the gods and spirit world; the highest form of alchemy. It is easy to understand why when you stare into the bright coals, the forge seeming to belch hot sparks with every breath of the bellows, like a dragon reincarnate.
With thanks to:
Grzegorz Kulig, Silversmith, for making the pattern-welded knife.
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All Comments (21)
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Hi all. My first time striking hot iron! All advice and suggestions welcome. You can check the subtitles and description for much more detail. Thanks for watching! If you like what I do and want to support me further, consider becoming a patron: www.patreon.com/gesithasgewissa/
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When the hammer fell apart I thought "well, nothing has changed in thousands of years!" Wonderful video!!!!
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So much work for a simple nail. We really take things for granted.
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I love it when the crow called and you looked up. Truly they are watching.
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This reminds me of the old saying: For want of a nail, the shoe was lost, For want of the shoe, the horse was lost, For want of a horse, the rider was lost, For want of a rider, the battle was lost, For want of the battle, the kingdom was lost, And all for the want of a horseshoe nail. And now we realize how much went into those horseshoe nails. Super well done!
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This channel is so atmospheric. Even the shots of the plants look like their quivering in the distant past.
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I cant fully describe how happy it makes me to watch a Primitive Technology video except it’s Anglo-Saxon
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I want to thank you for allowing me to step away from the moment and enjoy this video, no BS content just a video showing the real of history in the flesh (not animated and it Ai generated).
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My brother is (was) a blacksmith. He only brought me into his shop once. We forged a coathook out of a railroad tie. The thing I remember most about striking the hot iron was, how much work it was! It was simultaneously more and less malleable than I expected. It was like striking a rock that was made out of clay. Great content, by the way. I have been enjoying these videos ever since finding them.
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Your filming and editing are getting ever better. You are very successful at getting more people interested in history, heritage. Thank You Sir !
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Goes to show how much time and work went into making nails. Nails were valuable back then because of this and so were often reused, with the exception of nails that were used to make doors. These nails were often hammered and curled over to stop thieves easily removing them to get access to the door's lock. Since these nails could not be reused they were considered 'dead'. Hence the expression "as dead as a door nail".
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These videos are such a breath of fresh air
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I am simply amazed at how much patience you have when you’re getting things set up and your attention to detail is very impressive and I’ve often wondered how people so long ago would have done this and the way you have handled it is amazing!
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Great material! When the hammer flew appart, man, I felt your sigh in my bones. 😂 If I may suggest something: red hot metal, hammers and bare feet don't go so well together! If that hammer head had landed on your toes... 😅
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The BBC shoulr really resurrect their experimental archaeologist Farm Series or something similar featuring yourself and the time period you are showing here. Thanks for sharing all your hard work with us Alec. Its a pleasure both for the building work and craftmanship as well as the nature shots and sounds. Cheers from Germany
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One of the things a member of my reenactment group who's an old blacksmith told me once, was to keep a bucket of water next to the stump to soak the hammers in, it swells the wood and keeps the heads on better even if they're wedged properly, fantastic vid mate, love it being nice and simple, I can imagine this being really handy with a team of 2 for public events
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That's a good-looking nail! Reminds me of my first one. If you can, I'd recommend covering the ground or floor of your workspace with sand, as it mitigates the possibility of accidental fires and provides a ready source of material for abrading the surface of your finished work if you want it to have a smoother finish.
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This guy does EVERYTHING!! He builds & makes Reed Baskets & Bee Hives....is a Leather Worker, a Ceramicist, a Woodworker, a Toolmaker, builds Forges & is a Blacksmith!!!!! What CAN'T he do????
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as allways great video! as you asked for advice, i thought i'd share some thoughts i had during the video: forging in day light you'd rather want a spot with a lot of shade, so you can sea the temperature of the metal better. also this whole set up looks quite sensitive to the elements, so some sort of roof would be super handy overall. also you will need a bigger/longer hammer. smiths work with the weight of the hammer and control the impact more from the wrist... the closer you get to your end result, the closer to the hammerhead you can grip the handle, giving it more control and less leverage. and you could round out the surface and the edges of the hammers face. the smaller the radius of the face, the easier it will spread and draw out the material youre working. also it wont leave edge marks anymore. lastly the bigger(and denser) the base of your anvil is, the better. obviously it's more stable but also it absorbes less impact, making your forging more effective.
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You’re brilliant! I’m absolutely delighted and amazed at your skills. I’m fearful for your feet without any protection from flying hot flames!
