Medieval swords: how were they made?
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- Опубліковано 12 кві 2018
- Josef Dawes of White Well Arms joins Jason to talk about the creation of the knight’s sword. Starting from a few billets of steel, like medieval sword blanks, Josef shows Jason some of the techniques to shape the metal and manipulate it to where it needs to be in order to create a well-balanced knightly weapon.
• Executive Producer: Jason Kingsley OBE
• Executive Producer: Chris Kingsley
• Senior Producer: Brian Jenkins
• Producer: Edward Linley
• Director/Editor: Dominic Read
• Presenter: Jason Kingsley OBE
• Subject Matter Expert: Josef Dawes
• Camera: Dominic Read
• Camera: Lindsey Studholme
• Continuity & Stills Photographer: Kasumi
• Production Manager: Kevin Case
• Sound Recording/Design: Liam Flannigan
• Music licensed from PremiumBeat
• Additional Camera: Darren Cook
• Additional Camera: Neil Phillips
• Additional Sound: Elizabeth Carlyon
Special Thanks:
• Chris Payton
• Ed Savage
Facebook: modernhistorytv/
Twitter: @ModernHistoryTV
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Radio mike amzn.to/2Tne0H0
Many thanks to Josef Dawes at White Well Arms: www.whitewellarms.co.uk/ - Розваги
I'm positive that blacksmith is exactly how medieval blacksmiths looked.
I thought they were a lot more beefy/burly
On the weekdays, I make kitchen knifes, but on the weekend, I make SWOOOOORDS.
Exactly what I was thinking, talk about a real experience.
B M shit you wrote it down before I could 😒😂👍🏻
Two scruffy buggers in a limestone walled barn make a sword.I'd pay for that.
He’s the dude who turns out to be badass warrior when his town gets attacked
lol, he's actually proper HMB fighter too!
@@ModernKnight Ouch! I don’t fancy the notion of getting belted by a bloke who pounds metal every day?
Perrin from Wheel of Time vibes.
@@Sukerkin you know he is mighty lol
Henry of Skalitz!
"To find out what medieval swordsmithing was like, I went back in time and kidnapped this blacksmith!"
DocIncredible They are both time travelers
3:29 theres proof too!
@@michaelmercado787 an m&ms advert?
@@michaelmercado787 you bastard you managed to break my UA-cam with that
"There it is...I made a sword for you...PLEASE RETURN ME TO MY FAMILY, STRANGE MAGICAL MAN FROM THE FUTURE"
At first the guy appeared a bit off, bit silent, but then he began talking about his tools and his craft and he couldn´t get enough of telling us about what he loves. True craftsman and artisan!
This smith looks straight out of an Asterix comic, he even looks like the smith! :D
@@thefalseshepherd3689 That's the one!
That or New Kids Turbo.
That's how I learned all my ancient history
Didnt now the Asterix and Obelix Comics were that popular in the USA.
@@davidklaube497 I thought they were known worldwide.
I didn't even know it was a French creation back then.
As a rule of thumb for me, if something gets a movie it probably is well known.
With that accent, I'm convinced that this Blacksmith is from Witcher 3
Still trying to unlock him in the game lol
Or Fable
Top Notch Sword!!
...or north England.
Sounds like a Nottingham or Derby accent to me.
Denethor and Old Theon Grejoy make a sword
Theon isn't really getting old now is he.
Oscar D Gyves i was straight up thinking Theom
@@eatthebourgeoisie5230 How dare you
Nailed it... impressive haha!
So glad to see someone else was thinking the same thing I was!
I like this guy, he seems like a nice, humble person.
I come from a long line of blacksmiths and in my experience they are generally very nice people. I don't think I've ever met a blacksmith that wasn't nice.
This episode really needs a part 2 for the refinement stage
no this one needs to be film again... with real smith using proper methods and tools
Not realy he might use his trusty angle grinder and his belt sander... No offense but watching someone grinding is just boring. In medieval Times there are Special Jobs like "Schwertfeger" in German they did the grinding.
@Yenda Pj
Do you work in a smithy? Do you know smiths?
If you cant say yes to both, I suppose you are less qualified than I, so tell me, master smith, whats the issue?
@@boredinczechia4382 still not word one ya gobshite.
Nobody is impressed at your spineless flex.
@boredinczechia4382
Abrasive little twerp, aintcha? 🤡
where did he find this NPC?
Misses Witch outside the map in a secret cave you can only enter if you have the game dev's phone number
Lvl 10,000 epic quest!
Runescape. He teaches you to make a dagger and a bow.
@@mindopen6974 Bahahaha
Smithy.
This guy has definitely the look of a smith! A true craftsman though. Great video.
He looks like Ogren The Drunk Dwarf from Dragon Age Origins.
www.google.com/search?q=Ogren+dao&rlz=1C1CHBD_en-GBAU760AU760&source=lnms&tbm=isch&sa=X&ved=0ahUKEwji4Pi52p_fAhXUV30KHWYiD_wQ_AUIDigB&biw=1920&bih=938#imgrc=I6_bhWl_LAu8XM:
That he does.
No this is not true craftsman...
Yenda Pj Craftsmanship! Work on your English, and stop trolling every positive comment...Dick...
Thank you. Most people are just making fun of the dude but you can see his passion for the craft.
I found this episode very moving. To see a craftsman at work is sheer delight. Thank you Josef. What a great encouragement you are. I spend hours at my embroidery frame, creating medieval embroideries from historical sources, taking note of their individual stitches, angle and colour. When I watched Josef work, talking about the spirit and feel of what he is creating - I understood and feel it is one of the deepest joys for me in engaging with crafts of the past. I think we can often condense 'historical accuracy' to facts and figures and eclipse the human experience, the delight that is craftsmanship. I will surely watch this episode again - and the music is incredible. Thanks again!
Kerry Hockey thanks for your kind words. Josef is a real artisan, I loved that he needed to sit back and look at his work for a while and see and feel how it needed to be changed.
Every tool we use was made by a tool, which in turn was made by another tool. You could trace that all the way back to the stoneage, pretty cool!
Very interesting point
Somz type they probably used a tool to make the same tool but improved haha
Yup! And same goes for accuracy. Every step of the way people got things more flat, refined, and repeatably measurable.
@@Swarm509 Very true! With a few unexplained exceptions, like the granite box underneath the Lahun pyramid and the boxes at the Serapeum of Saqqara.
I have never seen a sword maker, look more like a sword maker. That guy is spot on.
One word of advice, never pick a fight with a blacksmith. They're incredibly strong.
Not stronger nor faster than a sword yielded by an expert swordsman.
@@luisromanlegionaire He was talking about a fistfight.
A blacksmith is far too valuable to ever be sent into or anywhere near a battle.
Brother
And they have HAMMERS
About hitting the anvil with the hammer: It's a way of resting as well. The hot iron is soft and will absorb the force, meaning that you will have to put force into every stroke. The anvil on the other hand is hard and the hammer will bouce off of it, meaning that if you just relax and let the hammer fall it will bounce back without you having to lift it and you can use that energy to bring it down onto the hot iron again.
So true. Also to keep a steady rhythm helps with accuracy I reckon. Staying in the pocket
This video was very helpful. I'm an aspiring writer who's crafting a story set in a medieval setting with one character having grown up in a blacksmith family. Knowing more about how it was actually done in the time period and seeing it unfold, even in part, is just what I need to better understand the character's world and mindset. This is the first video I've found where the blacksmith uses mostly period tools whereas every other one I've seen uses a lot of modern tools. It'd be a bit awkward having a medieval blacksmith character using electric tools so this video has been helpful.
😂😂 " did you make these yourself?"
"No... These ones I bought myself!"
Gold moment right there 🤣
Is this hand made?
No but it is hand stolen!
That's the same.
pickpocket 100
Armourers had guilds and were definitely keeping alot of the knowledge to themselves throughout Europe.
That is not correct
@BlackDeathViral03 eeee.... nope
Yenda Pj it’s fantastic when people say they’re wrong, without providing an explanation.
Pure example of of r/iamverysmart
@FOAML8X No I am not a troll, I am blacksmith and swordsmith. I studied it for 4 years at school dedicated to blacksmithing where we also learn a lot thanks to books from medieval times. Now I am being self-employed with my own blacksmith workshop and also being maker of Interactive map of blacksmith in Czech Republic which including almost every smith in that country. There is few books written between 12 - 16 century describing methods of armor and weapons making. Of course, there were same "secrete" tricks, but most of it was shared in process of making skilled novices and future masters of this craft. It was one of the most open crafts in Europe with knowledge being shared by "workshop migration". Basically, majority of novices changed workshops to learn from others.
@andrew T I am blacksmith and swordsmith. I studied it for 4 years at school dedicated to blacksmithing where we also learn a lot thanks to books from medieval times. Now I am being self-employed with my own blacksmith workshop and also being maker of Interactive map of blacksmith in Czech Republic which including almost every smith in that country. There is few books written between 12 - 16 century describing methods of armor and weapons making. Of course, there were same "secrete" tricks, but most of it was shared in process of making skilled novices and future masters of this craft. It was one of the most open crafts in Europe with knowledge being shared by "workshop migration". Basically, majority of novices changed workshops to learn from others.
I’ve started knife making and I’m rubbish but I think I will show my wife this guy and say this is how I will end up looking like she will love it
So you're on the journey to becoming... A Northener in a woolly jumper?
@@MedievalGenie "Oh I was born on a Dublin street where the loyal drums they beat"
Amazing times we are in at the moment. 2 weeks ago I would never thought of watching how a medieval sword was made. Stuck at home, tired of the grim news, and this is absolutely fascinating. Music perfectly chosen btw. I have a whole new appreciation of the craft going into finely made items in the medieval times. Well done, both of you.
Thanks for watching and glad to have distracted you for a while.
@@ModernKnight thanks for the response. I hope you and your are well and safe. Take care.
All twenty of us, including the horses, are doing well so far,
SUGGESTION: You've made videos about the importance of a sword, how to hold a sword, how to make a sword...... Now, how about doing a video that explores techniques (possibly) used by a knight to maintain a swords integrity. Such as keeping it shiny, keeping it sharp, preserving designs etched in the metal, and or maintaining the hilt from damage. Thanks for the consideration.
I would also like to see this!
Bump
@@jonathanbetenbender307 ??? don't understand your response.
@@trojanette8345 Bumping up your thread/comment by commenting. Simply replying to a comment is favorable to the algorithm. So it was me making a comment for the express purpose of helping yours gain some attention; the higher up your comment the better. Now we've had interaction so all the better.
@@jonathanbetenbender307 Ah. Yes. Thank You.
I really liked the bit where they just sat there after making the blade and watched it for 20 minutes to see if there was anything they could correct. Like an artist taking a step back and looking at their work before finally finishing it to see if there's anything that needs to be corrected. I think that also goes into things like construction as well. Truly fascinating stuff.
Man, but now I wanna see him take the end product of the video and turn it into that refined version you held at the end.
I was really hoping they'd show that, yeah, especially since he said it was his favourite part.
That's the part that's secret
You should check out Alec Steele's channel! Hes a smith that goes though every detail of what he does in multiple episodes.. I think that's what you're looking for!
ArnasDev Alec has also worked with a few talented smiths as well. UA-cam is filled with them. Black Bear Forge is great too. He’s more down to earth than Alec.
chickenmonger123 dont forget green beetle and torbörn åhman
I've been binge watching all these eps. Came across this on accident. Glad I came across these
Its astonishing how a lot of people have the same experience.
same here
Gagandeep Ghotra not really. UA-cam recommends stuff that you would like. you could be looking at blacksmiths on google and you’ll see a vid on UA-cam about it
Can tell the smith guy is absolutely stoked to be able to share his experience with someone
The music when he's hammering that blade. Bravo sir. Bravo.
It's always amazing to see a true craftsperson at work. When they speak about the 'feel' of their work, they get a look in their eyes that says it all... :)
Love this, and it's probably just me (forgive an old fart rambelling on) but... the comment about people coming across a problem and then making a tool to solve that problem, I can so relate to. My late father-in-law was by profession a master tool maker for Rolls Royce, and his total approach was something like "If I don't have what I need, can I make one, from what I have to hand? As a last reort, I'll buy one" So we were in his shed when I've explaind to him that the gear shift on my motorbike was wobbling and making gear selection difficult, he said "Well I've got this rod of phosphor-bronze which is good for bearing surfaces because it retains oil, and we can ream that out and sleeve it over your gear shift and then mill out the casing to take it. Need some bloody good tolerances." It worked so well, and the gear shift was better than it had ever been when the bike was fresh from the factory. He said that the different appoach to the problem was "the difference between a DIY-er and an engineer" :)
My husband is like that. He's been a mechanic since he was 16, he's now 70. About 10 years ago we moved to West Africa and we have two cars and a motorbike, the bike is 40 years old and I think the cars are about 20 and 25 years old. He can't get the parts easily for them here so sometimes he's had to make them and make the tools to make the parts. My brain just doesn't work like that. I think can't we just sell these three vehicles and buy one decent one that doesn't need constant repair. 😂
Smiths were borderline sorcerers at the time. If you ever have the experience of seeing a master turn a pile of ferrous rocks into a knife, it's almost unsettling even with a basic knowledge of the science behind it. The most amazing thing I've seen, which is actually really easy, is lighting a fire with nothing but a hammer, a piece of wire and an anvil.
The value of "underlings" in a medieval smithy is an important aspect not to be undervalued. In a modern workshop, smiths can use technology like power hammers, hydraulic presses and automated forges that would have required apprentices and journeymen for labor and extra hands to work bellows and swing sledges to keep the shop running efficiently. It's basically impossible to form a puck of crucible steel into a bar efficiently without the aid of a power hammer or assistants with sledges. One person needs to place and manipulate the billet with tongs while at least one other person needs to strike it with a heavy instrument to form the raw piece. Ideally you'd have multiple assistants striking in succession to maximize the efficiency of a heating. If you were trying to equip a company of fighting men with weapons or armor, it's not so difficult to make tools with mild steel on hand to expedite the process with specialized drifts or dishing jigs to make a load of swords, spears or helmets economically. Without assistants, a chain hauberk would be a week's work, but with two or three apprentices you might make one or two a day.
Even using a household blowdryer in a DIY forge is a huge modern advantage. That little piece of technology replaces an apprentice manning bellows. Old blowdryers are literally a dime a dozen if you go to flea markets and thrift stores. If it burns out, toss it in the recycling bin so the plastics and metals can be reincarnated into a new life.
Dude how high were you?
i dont think blow dryers are recyclable like cartons of milks are
@@Skankhunter420 If you have to be high to put yourself in another's mindset, you clearly lack empathy and understanding my boy.
@@PhyreI3ird you clearly lack understanding if you didn't interpret that as a joke. Fuck off asshole.
Unsettling? Really?
Just mesmerising watching a craftsman at work. I am really enjoying this series and I must echo a number of other viewers who pass comment on Jason's polite and enthusiastic presentation. Thank you.
The well put epic music while showing this master craftsman smithing process with a top notch camera angle? Instant like!
Keep up the good work!
Hey fellas! I am a chef by trade, and very similar to what the smith was saying about keeping rythym by tapping the hammer against the anvil in between strikes. I do that when chopping vegetables, if I am turning one over, or repositioning the vegetable. I will tap my knife on the cutting board as I do that, and people always ask me why. The only answer I can ever think of is To keep my rhythm!
It's crazy to imagine that in the past, during wars, they had to forge thousands of swords for their armies just like this. It wouldve taken so much time...
Ideally, your guys would had bought their swords long before the fighting started.
This is so amazing. I absolutely love medieval blacksmithing, swordsmith and armourer, truly a joy to watch and extremely fascinating. It's one of those things I really could have seen myself become if I were to choose a profession again. It's fantastic - but oh so much patience you must have!
I *really* liked listening to this man talk about his craft.
Love these kinds of videos, and seeing a craftsman doing his job. Although I must say the blacksmith would be at home in a Monty Python skit.
He's not a real blacksmith. He's doing everything wrong. He's just a dude with a forge weld and some hammers.
@@binkbonkbones3402 He's an Armourer, and a highly skilled one.
@@binkbonkbones3402 and I suppose you are a real Blacksmith then?
Is that one of Lindybeige's sweaters?
Yes the one that he made himself in high school by stealing a sheep and then using his grandma's yarn when she was asleep, and by observing the lady next door knit a sweater, Half og LindyBeige stories and videos seem pretty much made up shit with a low-research rant than an informative video, though it is fkn entertaining. I digress.
@@sushanalone Agreed. Lindy's videos are just mostly wrong and made up.
@@SaSayed90 mad crackhead tho gotta love him
@@sushanalone you think lindybeige makes shit up, but you like modern history tv? Your judgement is... questionable.
@@binkbonkbones3402 you think modern history tv makes things up?
Your philosophy on letting the work 'speak' to you is lovely, really shows in the quality and skill of this work!
That is the EXACT kind of person I trust teaching me how to make a sword
jo is my hero. dude lives a life we should all strive for
This channel truly is a hidden gem. Thank you for producing all this wonderful and informative content. Perfect host 👌🏼
What an amazing vid to stumble across. Well done for keeping the spirit of swordsmanship alive
This fellow is a skilled craftsman . He obviously enjoys his lifeswork. Great, informative video.
Impossible to get enough of these videos. Can’t wait for them to blow up with views
His beard is perfect for this
Loved this video, loved the passion. Having worked in workshops and with metal, it’s absolutely awesome to watch such a passionate craftsman, who seems humble and salt of earth, he’s exactly what I expected, to an unexpected degree! Great videos
7:56 I'm sure this guy is a time traveller: I saw him as celt, german, anglo-roman, anglo-saxon, under king Henry the 8th crown, as pirate, as british grenadier during american revolution, as officer during napoleonic wars and more!
... Half of the european history is in his beard!
An engineer friend of always said "it's never a mistake, it's a design feature".
Sounds like he works for Glock.
Sounds like he works for Glock.
This is a truly addictive series, I love all the insights blended with facts.
Jason, thank you for the presentation, Josef Dawes, sir, you have a beautiful soul.
I have enjoyed all the videos so far...but this is magical. I always admire any true artisan.
Jokes about stereotypical looks and accents aside...what an incredibly skilled man, impressive.
Reminds me of a another scene: "One Ring to rule them ALL".
Smithing is so cool, as if you were the master of fire.
This is just about the most interesting video I've ever seen, well explained etc.
AMAZING!!! Such a talented craftsman - have rewatched many times already!
Great to see Reek found a purpose after what Ramsay did to him!
LITERALLY the first thing I thought of! Glorious!
🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣🤣
LMFAO!!!!
And after John Wick killed him and his Russian father.
Assholes
Fascinating. Love the music, too!
As a beginner knife maker, it is super cool to see some aspects of craftsmanship carried over, and some of the more simple tequnices that are still used today.
Awesome episode! Reminded me of when I was doing a YTS blacksmith training. We made gates and railings by hand :)
I love the epic music whilst the blacksmith hammered.
This was fascinating. Thanks so much for putting this together
This is what the History Channel should be.
I would buy a dvd or digital download of this if I could. These are amazing. I want to use this to accompany my homeschooling. Thank you for your time. :)
This guy is like I know he's giving me a compliment but I really just want to get this job done
Found this channel yesterday and it's quickly become one of my favourites! So interesting, so well presented, and I feel like I've learned an awful lot already that I simply had next to no idea of prior to finding the channel after watching a lot of the videos now. It will also make my play through of Kingdom Come Deliverance that little bit more interesting!
I love Josef's enthusiasm! Fantastic video
I greatly enjoyed and want to express my thanks for a truly accurate account of how swords were made. I watch the forged in fire series in USA but the blacksmith you have today puts all the others on the tv series to shame..I thank you!
Josef is an artist in steel.
@@ModernKnight yo
In Finnish mythology the two big heroes are a blacksmith and a sage. There is only one warrior and he is ridiculous in his warmongering, but the blacksmith forged the sky, sun and moon, he's that cool. I like our mythology :-)
I love seeing craftmens who love the work this much!! Did you see how excited he got when asked about making his own tools?
These are excellent and interesting ‘essays’. Many thanks for them.
13:48 Ah yes, my favorite medieval tool. The angle grinder.
ady gombos They were hand cranked back then though.
ady gombos It’s comments like this that give me a laugh. Lol
Yes but they do save time!! But I get what you're saying!
the old medieval propane forge is my favorit!
Yes the title may be a little off on this one, definately a modern swordmaker using modern tools, at least they discussed the historical difference
7:26 Damn that guy has some massive forearms.
Forget hammer curls, people need to get actually hammering.
I just love everything about this channel.
Love the amount of respect Jason gives this blacksmith. Credits where credits are due!
1:42
"did you make these yourself?"
"no, these ones I've bought myself."
He should be on Forged with Fire!
he should, he's great, and a good fighter too.
I was going to post the same thing but you beat me 😂🖕 😂 to it lol...just playing
I recently discovered that as long as you have a fun way to look back in history, it’s fun to learn history. Swords would be a cool way to look back in history. When he said you get to know someone based off their work, and these men are technically engineers, I knew exactly what he meant. They are engineering, problem solving, and creating in a 2000 year old society. The problems of that time come out in their work. He just opened a door
This is genuinely my favourite ever UA-cam video, I really want to start forging
josef looks like the dude off game of thrones.But great videos i have watched so far,i subbed tonight.
A finger in the bum!
Hah the Smith is such a freaking need, I love it. Do what you love mate
Love that little music bit tossed in with the hammer ... nice touch.
I am a huge fan of your content. Thank you for bringing this fascinating history to us!
Those epic forging montages though
Theon greyjoy has given up his life of wielding a sword for a simpler life
I’ve tried hammering a blade before.... wow is it hard. I appreciate the craftsmanship so much more after having attempted (and failed miserably!) to forge a pretty simple dagger blade haha! Great video, great channel!
Wonderful craftsmanship and skills pay off tremendously, this guy seems to love his work and seems to put a lot of his time in knowing each sword carries a part of his heart, for the next person. That's loveley
"I've forgotten the word..."
Distal taper.
Indeed.
Two of the dearest & oft repeated words in certain circles.
@@MedievalGenie Hey it's the Genie. I like you a lot. You're a smashing fella.
I'm glad you brought up about bouncing the hammer off the anvil. I was going to ask what (if any) the purpose of that was.
I honestly think part of it too is it’s just easier on your arm when you’ve got that rhythm going to drop it on the anvil than straight up use your muscles to stop the hammer and then restart, which kind of what he was saying
You spelled ‘Ammer’ wrong lol
Every second of this is just great.
Wow awesome seeing the partially finished one next to the polished one!
That bladesmith hair is the bomb!
When a lad finish his apprentice finished his apprenticeship, he was expected to have made th full sets of tools including anvil. This was done after hours or when there were slack times and part of his assessment. Certainly it was in my great great grandfathers time in Silesia.
They had special competitions for the apprentices once they finished their apprenticeship the Lord's or th he kings would put on a tourney for the best to come and show their skills with the best becoming kings àrmourers and Lord's àrmourers while knowing where the rest were when times of strife came upon the land.the very best lads were given a plague and inscribed crystal goblet to their win of that competition. Our extended family still has of those items in its possession from great great grand fathers winning his in Berlin before the king of his time.
How do you make an anvil ? Are you sure they really needed to make anvils becaudr that sounds impossible with only another mans anvil to make an anvil
@@karvast5726 anvil were cast in a mould of moulding sand.Once the main body was done the beak was added generally welded on then the hardened face was welded on one of my deceased cousins who knew my great grand father when he was alive remember him talking about it and he and one of sonsmade one from scratch to so how it was done this would have been in the late 1920s- 30s period. Two of my cousins and to great uncles and my grand fathers on both sides of the family could all do things like that.
@@kevinklingner3098 thanks ! I had no idea it was made like that but with this technique it seems fairly easier to make. Iw onder how they "welded" the plate on the cast part in the middle ages
@@karvast5726 welding is the face on is done by peining the edge of the base and the base of the face plate together whilst still very hot this takes awhile. With cast iron it is a little trickier than with cast steel.
Good on both of you for an excellent exploration of the art and craft.
This was great. I’m glad it was recommended. He shares some great qualities with James may. Subbed
Hrm. I have a few reservations with what's said there. (none of which, I will hasten to add are criticism of Josef's work at the anvil. I wish I had half his stamina...)
The problem with what he's doing here, in terms of a reference to our historical counterparts, is that we are working in isolation while creating a sword. the reality, however, is probably very different - for the *vast* majority of weapons created throughout the medieval period, no one person would have made "a sword" in its entirety - each component part would've been likely made by different smiths, and in some cases, parts would've been outsourced. We have a number of significant centres of blademaking - Solingen, Passau, Brescia, (and post-medieval, Toledo) where the blades are being produced in mass-production, by the hundred, packed into barrels, and shipped down the Rhine, up the Danube, and similar trade routes.
In an English context, the overwhelming majority of blades would have been made up the Rhine and shipped over. Those blades which weren't simply exports would have been produced from lenticular-shaped billets of steel, particularly of Swedish manufacture, given there's some fairly extensive records of the trade infrastructure of the period including steel from there. (English steel production was of relatively poor quality, "short" steel, with an excess of phosphorus, prior to the development of the Bessmer process, of course.). Such billets would likely have been drawn out, flattened and folded 2-4 times prior to final drawing out as a blade from a block, prior to forge-shaping. As such, a lot of the fundamental characteristics of the blade could be rough-forged into the blade during shaping of the billet, unlike the modern, consistent-thickness blade blank which Josef's produced there. Distal taper can be made during the drawing out process, as just a relatively minor addition to the overall process, compared to how much extra work it is on a blade from a modern, evenly-thicknessed billet. That entire process of folding was essential for the genuine article simply due to the mechanical limitations of the metal. The stuff we are using nowadays is a vastly superior material in terms of material homogeneity, almost lacking in the stringers which would've been commonplace in unworked steels back then, and its something I dont think enough modern smiths really remember would've been an important element both of design and manufacture back then.
Returning to the subject of manufacture, therefore, we really have to acknowledge that in many cases, swords are being made by cutlers, not blade-smiths. the secrets of production - particularly heat-treatment processes - something so often wrapped in layers of superstition (should you quench into the urine of a red-headed virgin boy, or is that of a goat which has been fed solely upon fennel for 7 days superior?) were jealously guarded amongst the cutlers' guilds and societies, but that of the assembly was less tightly controlled. That said, there is almost no doubt that there are elements which were equally hoarded by the cutlers assembling these weapons; the geometric principles published by Peter Jonhsson, for example, are a clear example of the plausibility of a cult of mysteries associated with the sword as an article of faith, in its inherent construction. I'm pretty certain that many of the finer details of such geometry were secretive. Those cutlers, however, would have been assembling parts in local fashions (and lets not forget, fashion, both geographical, and chronological are the driving force behind much weapon design) - the Castillon hoard is an excellent example of that - multiple different blades, Oakeshott XV and XVIII, plus a few XXa's and the type F3c falchion - yet the XVIII's are all hilted in a matching fashion, wheel pommels with crosses with drooping tips, and almost all the type B's are hilted in a matching fashion too, fishtail pommels, hilts with bulbous cross ends. But here's the *really* interesting bit. (ok, I lied, its only interesting to someone as sad as I am...). One of the Castillon B group has a group A wheel pommel. and the three Castillon C's, the XXa's and F3c have identical crosses to the castillon B group. (literally. I could take my tracings of the castillon B's I've handled, and overlay the group C blades, and they'd match to within a millimetre or two - they're clearly the same workshop.) Its clear that these are blades hilted up "to spec", for use, with pretty much standardised hilt parts that were mass-produced. Similarly, you have the large group of later 14th C blades in for instance Lubeck, where crosses are forged with oversize slots (and often, oversize pommel slots) which are a one-size fits all (or fits none) solution is used. Particularly in context of copper-alloy pommels, often hollowed, there's plenty of indication that these were outsourced to foundries, and fettled to fit in use, examining the originals.
As such, I sort of feel that when we're talking about making swords, we are often misleading the viewer/reader as to the reality. Our medieval counterpart bladesmith wasn't one lone guy in the workshop. it was the master and two apprentices on the sledges, forging out the blank. it was the worker with the scraper, cutting in fullers on a bench frame. it was the grinder at the water-wheel, and it was the polisher with the stones and emery powder, each working on dozens of partly-finished blades. It was then the cutler, often hundreds of miles away, who picked up that blade from export, and hilted it up in the local fashion, as likely a smith forging the parts, as himself being the one commissioning castings, or crosses to spec, then assembling them. Its also the hilt-maker, working the leather on each of those swords, and the sheathers who were protected by law under guilds to have monopolies on manufacture, working to make the tooled leather sheath for the swords. Each and every one, a different person specialising in a single faced of the industry to produce that sword.
Or, to be short, I feel that we should emphasise that collaborative and industrial aspect of the industries of arms and armour in the medieval period, compared to today.
information overload!!!!
tldr
Seriously, learn how to make your points shorter.
Your lack of attention span doesn't negate a larger point being made by the parent commenter. @@squirrelknight9768
If only people could understand the concepts of war and the logistics needed to fight one, you have explained this brilliantly. Also a majority fail to see the bigger picture in the scale of production and this is a prime example. One person in the line of manufacture that would take an unesesary amount of Man hours to produce one item when the labour can be split into segments to produce multiples at any one time, it doesn't make sense otherwise.
I had no idea that J.G. Elmslie had a youtube channel! Exciting stuff, and amazing comment. Thank you for sharing!
I wonder if this blacksmith would give quests to some random adventurers?
The artist's depiction of old world craftsmanship, beautifully wrought with an eye on integrity of the piece and of, also, history and posterity. The heart and mind, soul and spirit conspire to help hew out a blade worthy to be wielded by nobility or common man alike. Well done.
Note: I should have said "forge" rather than "hew"; it's more accurate to the activity. My apologies.
I could watch this guy all day, what a fantastic craftsman.
The Smith is brilliant he does it with such ease if you gents new how hard this was I mean man.