Can you imagine having to supply an army with 10,000 of those things centuries ago. I guess that just meant job security for the blacksmith. Impressive work.
Mr Cole thankyou very much for posting this video as you have been an inspiration to my love of medieaval weaponry ever since I saw you do this demo at the Tewksbury festival about 12 years ago. I filmed you making one of these bodkins and I have been making them ever since, I also own a few more heads purchased from your show stands please try and post more videos it is always humbling to watch such a master of his (may I say) our craft.
This is simply the best instructional video I've seen so far. Excellent work, especially with the keeping the camera on the work itself, taking time to display the intermediate steps, and the finishing work. Thank you.
Really well done Video. Probably the best Arrowhead-forging video on UA-cam. But with lots of professional equipment too. I’d like to see more instructional Videos from you.
When I saw the name of the smith in this video I knew it would be awesome! I watched you forge a 6 sided barrel for the royal armory museum so they could test the effectiveness of the hook gun,or hand gun on plate armor. I was not disappointed! Thanks for sharing your art.
A tudor bodkin looks like a diamond broadhead with the cone that accepts the arrow shaft in the center all the way out to half way or almost all the way to the tip. Basically it doesn't look like a bodkin as it has wings. My guess would be a spring swage is used. I guess when I find my way back to a forge I'll give the spring swage idea a try. Google the pics.. they're awesome looking points and I imagine there are some archers out in the world who would appreciate another source for 'em.
Well, you can actually skip a step in that now. The Royal Armories have run tests on some of their bodkins and so far, none have been hardened. All tested were also more iron than any form of steel. On the other hand many of the war broadheads they tested were hardened. They're now speculating that the short amount of time and poor wounding effects of a straight point made the bodkin more of a Walmart cheap arrow vs. premium hardened broadheads.
@Boutiquez A hardened broadhead has a smaller surface area: volume ratio than a bodkin because as its hardened, only a thin blade makes up the whole point. The broadheadf would be barbed and more rounded than one for hunting and it was estimated the majority of arrows on the mary rose were hardened broadheads
@brainplay It's good to see that someone else actually reads this stuff. I wouldn't describe that arrowhead as a broadhead though. It's more of a lozenge with a prominent central ridge.
@SouthernCross33 Well on his website, the last listed price for a number 10 long bodkin is 5.50£, which is incredible considering the craftsmanship that goes into these.
That looks a lot (exactly?) like the tudor botkin arrow heads I've seen except maybe the last couple millimeters cut off, with the point being less narrow and morereinforced. I could be way off here, more of a swords guy then a bow and arrow guy
@mattklein100 I find it hard to believe that, as a matter of course, bodkins weren't hardened whereas broadheads were. That makes no sense at all. A hardened broadhead would be most unlikely, because of its shape, to penetrate mail or plate, although, I'm sure you'd still harden them. Maybe the bodkins that were tested hadn't been made properly. It wouldn't be the first time that defective weapons have been issued. Great video by the way. Thank you.
I actually learned how to make bodkin points from this video and the few others on youtube. I've gotten very good infact. I use a 50lbs. flat bow so I needed a lighter arrow point than what I imagine is used with an english long bow. I make the bodkin points out of 1/4 inch square stock or refuse re-bar. My points weigh only 6 grams which is great for an arrow pushed from a 50lbs. bow. I'm wanting to make tudor bodkins, but for the life of me I cannot think of how to form them. Any help..
Hey, great video. I was wondering is you tempered the head or did you just keep it brittle? Also, what steel were you using and what characteristics are you looking for in the head when it hits plate armor(slightly softer, spring temper, or very hard)? Thanks! P.S. love your website.
i am making a new metal that i plan on using to make the strongest swords known to man... swords that can easily far-surpass even ancient Damascus... my point i simply heard that bluing effect's the strength of gun barrel's my Q, is will it affect the strength of an impurity-free sword ?, also i personally wish for my blue to be as deep and bright as i can get it, how would i ensure that the metal holds a very solid reflective bright-blue color ? and preferably without harming the strength of my work. is there a way to make this kind of coloring work without compromising the strength of the blade or is the coloring part just a rainbow i'm chasing ?.
Your overall technique is very nice, also the final product is very clean and finely forged. Not to be a smartass, but I noticed you're heating up way too much of material you don't work on. This compromises stability. Especially when you're using steel with high C, wich you obviously do, or otherwise heating would make no sense. You burn up alot of the C if you heat it up unnecessarily. Still way better technique and skill than what you mostly encounter on youtube! Greetings from germany!
The fire too is very large for what is actually needed. When these were being made in large numbers, it would have made more sense with say 2 smiths working each with perhaps 4 or more irons in the fire.
We can't make iron. Every piece of metal (steel) must be steel, bacuse iron can't have carbon! When you make steel for iron dirt it mixes with carbon and you have steel! Simple? Of corse, we are telling that soft steel it's iron but it isn't!
That looks homemade. If it was a proper attachment like a hardy then it would have been fitting into the anvil itself instead of a vice. There are other videos of people using similar homemade items to shape the fishtail of the arrow. Some more refined and other just a pointy metal rod in a vice. This block shows signs of being worked over one side and then sharpened.
This is side horn (a small version of anvil horn). Different cone size and different radius are using in blacksmithing. Try to look for it at the web, i. e. here: kowalperun.com/index.php?cPath=36_79
Can you imagine having to supply an army with 10,000 of those things centuries ago. I guess that just meant job security for the blacksmith. Impressive work.
A true artisan. Thank you Mr Cole.
Mr Cole thankyou very much for posting this video as you have been an inspiration to my love of medieaval weaponry ever since I saw you do this demo at the Tewksbury festival about 12 years ago. I filmed you making one of these bodkins and I have been making them ever since, I also own a few more heads purchased from your show stands please try and post more videos it is always humbling to watch such a master of his (may I say) our craft.
This is simply the best instructional video I've seen so far. Excellent work, especially with the keeping the camera on the work itself, taking time to display the intermediate steps, and the finishing work. Thank you.
Fantastic Mr. Cole! You help me so much!
God Bless you!
Really well done Video. Probably the best Arrowhead-forging video on UA-cam. But with lots of professional equipment too. I’d like to see more instructional Videos from you.
most enjoyable film-probably not enjoyed by the remains of french nobility mind-superb!
That has to be the coolest thing Ive ever seen. Simply badass
Best bodkin DIY tutorial i ever have seen
Gorgeous technique, Maestro!!
When I saw the name of the smith in this video I knew it would be awesome! I watched you forge a 6 sided barrel for the royal armory museum so they could test the effectiveness of the hook gun,or hand gun on plate armor. I was not disappointed! Thanks for sharing your art.
Finally! I found somebody who doesn't use a gas tank :)
A tudor bodkin looks like a diamond broadhead with the cone that accepts the arrow shaft in the center all the way out to half way or almost all the way to the tip.
Basically it doesn't look like a bodkin as it has wings. My guess would be a spring swage is used. I guess when I find my way back to a forge I'll give the spring swage idea a try. Google the pics.. they're awesome looking points and I imagine there are some archers out in the world who would appreciate another source for 'em.
An arrowhead takes so much effort to make... WOW!
Damn fine wizardry:) A pleasure to watch:)
One of the greatest video about bodkin forging on youtube!
Thanks from France
I wondered the same for a minute, but remembered they did have hand/foot powered sharpening wheels. Google "medieval sharpening wheel" for some ideas.
That's the coolest thing EVER!!
That was bloody brilliant, cheers :)
Well, you can actually skip a step in that now. The Royal Armories have run tests on some of their bodkins and so far, none have been hardened. All tested were also more iron than any form of steel. On the other hand many of the war broadheads they tested were hardened. They're now speculating that the short amount of time and poor wounding effects of a straight point made the bodkin more of a Walmart cheap arrow vs. premium hardened broadheads.
great job! i'll try it at mi amateur workshop.
that's the skill - perfect show!
Here is a updated version in HD of this process ua-cam.com/video/L28mhV8jOlo/v-deo.html
Amazing work indeed, a true deadly piece of art, bravo.
@Boutiquez A hardened broadhead has a smaller surface area: volume ratio than a bodkin because as its hardened, only a thin blade makes up the whole point. The broadheadf would be barbed and more rounded than one for hunting and it was estimated the majority of arrows on the mary rose were hardened broadheads
@brainplay It's good to see that someone else actually reads this stuff. I wouldn't describe that arrowhead as a broadhead though. It's more of a lozenge with a prominent central ridge.
fantastic as always
Magnifique travail ! Qui sait encore faire ça ? Bravo !!
@SouthernCross33 Same thought I had. Beautiful work and extremely useful as well, can't beat it.
@SouthernCross33 Well on his website, the last listed price for a number 10 long bodkin is 5.50£, which is incredible considering the craftsmanship that goes into these.
Very cool
Nicely done, Sir!
👍👍👍👍
That looks a lot (exactly?) like the tudor botkin arrow heads I've seen except maybe the last couple millimeters cut off, with the point being less narrow and morereinforced. I could be way off here, more of a swords guy then a bow and arrow guy
They must've had to have a hundreds workers at once to make bodkin points for an entire segment of archers.
@mattklein100
I find it hard to believe that, as a matter of course, bodkins weren't hardened whereas broadheads were. That makes no sense at all. A hardened broadhead would be most unlikely, because of its shape, to penetrate mail or plate, although, I'm sure you'd still harden them. Maybe the bodkins that were tested hadn't been made properly. It wouldn't be the first time that defective weapons have been issued. Great video by the way. Thank you.
Cool! Would they originally all have been ground to shape along the socket?
I actually learned how to make bodkin points from this video and the few others on youtube. I've gotten very good infact. I use a 50lbs. flat bow so I needed a lighter arrow point than what I imagine is used with an english long bow. I make the bodkin points out of 1/4 inch square stock or refuse re-bar. My points weigh only 6 grams which is great for an arrow pushed from a 50lbs. bow. I'm wanting to make tudor bodkins, but for the life of me I cannot think of how to form them. Any help..
the best
Hey, great video. I was wondering is you tempered the head or did you just keep it brittle? Also, what steel were you using and what characteristics are you looking for in the head when it hits plate armor(slightly softer, spring temper, or very hard)? Thanks! P.S. love your website.
That's great. How much would 24 cost?
Any help on how tudor bodkins are actually formed would be super great!
i am making a new metal that i plan on using to make the strongest swords known to man... swords that can easily far-surpass even ancient Damascus...
my point i simply heard that bluing effect's the strength of gun barrel's my Q, is will it affect the strength of an impurity-free sword ?,
also i personally wish for my blue to be as deep and bright as i can get it,
how would i ensure that the metal holds a very solid reflective bright-blue color ?
and preferably without harming the strength of my work.
is there a way to make this kind of coloring work without compromising the strength
of the blade or is the coloring part just a rainbow i'm chasing ?.
@kariii333 You can also see the distinctive spark pattern when he's grinding the arrowhead.
omg freaking hell that arrow tip wat totaly of the striaigt line omg
I would think they didn't have grinders back then, and would have left it finished right before that step in the video?
Your overall technique is very nice, also the final product is very clean and finely forged. Not to be a smartass, but I noticed you're heating up way too much of material you don't work on. This compromises stability. Especially when you're using steel with high C, wich you obviously do, or otherwise heating would make no sense. You burn up alot of the C if you heat it up unnecessarily. Still way better technique and skill than what you mostly encounter on youtube! Greetings from germany!
The fire too is very large for what is actually needed. When these were being made in large numbers, it would have made more sense with say 2 smiths working each with perhaps 4 or more irons in the fire.
@huckleberry803 I think it's a high carbon steel because it can be hardened... ;-)
what section of bar do you use and what do you set your callipers to if you don't mind me asking???
@hectorcole how thick was the metal you started with?
what size stock do you start with????
for a second i thought my phone was ringing
i would like to buy them
whats the thickness of the iron dowel
Thanks.
@SouthernCross33
HC's got a website, I think it's on his channel...
how long does it take to make 1?
search for him on google mate, its the first option
Was it made out of steel or iron? I think iron, right? Because it is medieval.
i think its steel because its hard to find iron on websites its mostly steel, steel is cheaper too
and they had steel back in the 100 years war
We can't make iron. Every piece of metal (steel) must be steel, bacuse iron can't have carbon! When you make steel for iron dirt it mixes with carbon and you have steel! Simple? Of corse, we are telling that soft steel it's iron but it isn't!
were bodkins steel or iron??
Video needed a shot of the finished bodkin.
sorry but im still having trouble i think its due to the fact that the words on the top of the page are overlapping or is that just me
Show the end result of your hard work :(
@halfassedfart Well i didn't notice that but yes you're right...
Can somebody PLEASE tell me the device in the vice at 2:37?!
That looks homemade. If it was a proper attachment like a hardy then it would have been fitting into the anvil itself instead of a vice. There are other videos of people using similar homemade items to shape the fishtail of the arrow. Some more refined and other just a pointy metal rod in a vice. This block shows signs of being worked over one side and then sharpened.
This is side horn (a small version of anvil horn). Different cone size and different radius are using in blacksmithing. Try to look for it at the web, i. e. here: kowalperun.com/index.php?cPath=36_79
Thank you so much! I have been looking for this thing for months!
*****
Your welcome :)
thanks
hector can u make me 500 war bodkins and ill buy them off u lol
What is that: 4:53
icliced on supplies but nothing happened