Viking age anvils from the Mastermyr chest - part 1
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- Опубліковано 29 вер 2024
- Looking at making the tools from the Mastermyr Viking age tool chest, I thought I would start with the anvils. These Viking age anvils are really quite small and are very different from todays blacksmith anvil.
My name is John Switzer, thank you for watching. Black Bear Forge is a small one person shop located in the Southern Colorado Mountains
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As someone who’s only anvil is a 20 pound railroad anvil, I take a lot of comfort knowing that throughout history smiths have accomplished a lot with even smaller anvils.
It's also a big kick in the gut when you realize that they were making things like the Sutton Hoo Hoard at the time. Folks today think they need huge shops with all kinds of tools, then something like this shows up and takes the wind right out of their sails. :D
Surely the original anvil was a plain rock.
@@censusgary if im not mistaken they might actually have been just a stump of wood :D or at least they used them to make bloom iron to stick itself :P
@@censusgaryor it might have been a log, my first anvil was a chunk of wood, it was terrible but still sortove useable.
Great project, John. Thank you.
The first one looks like a drift for the eye on an axe head
Do you find that a wood handle is better in the cross pein hammer than a fiber glass or plastic one
I always use wood, I have found synthetic handles harder to grip and even worse if you need to alter it to fit your hand. They are also more difficult to replace.
~Blacksmith Days~ © r. meuser
Anvil standing ~ brown with rust
A fireless forge ~ with ash and dust
Bellows hang still ~ no longer pulse air
Tongs and hardies ~ strewn everywhere
Shop disheveled ~ in despair
The days are gone ~ when that forge burned bright
When the smith formed iron ~ day and night
Cherry red steel ~ his hammer beat
Back in the fire ~ for another heat
Memories of that time ~ were so sweet
Every town had ~ a blacksmith shop
Where town’s people ~ often stopped
Buggy wheels fixed ~ horseshoes made
Long square spikes ~ of railroad grade
Hammers echoed ~ in evenings shade
Times have changed ~ the industrial seen
Men replaced ~ by big machines
A skill abandoned ~ in smoke filled shops
Where iron glowed ~ on an anvil’s top
Devotion to the trade ~ temporarily stopped
The brave efforts ~ of the ABANA men
Awake our interest ~ once again
People of all ages ~ young and old
Lean the art ~ and secrets untold
Our heritage again ~ begins to unfold
Maybe you can use this sometime on your video.
Really nice cover :p
all i can find when i google ABANA men is mens diapers, loved the poem but is it some kind of joke? xD or am i getting this totally wrong?
The fewer tools you have, the more purposes each one has. Shaped as they are, the first two could be drifts. However, they could also be functional as small anvils when used in a block. Might have been both when used by a traveling smith.
Just a few of my own thoughts on these tools, the fact that we are calling this set a "traveling tool kit" suggests to me this smith worked on items too large to be brought to his shop, such as the long boats, or wagons, most likely to repair them. Perhaps a type of rivet set. Small items like hammers, axes, and other hand tools would be made in his shop. Same as we do today. Just my two cents.
Looking at these anvils they definitely give me a silver Smith or similar vibe, something that would be nice for a traveling jeweler to use
John try Rune Malte Bertram-Nielsen’s site he has some videos in the wild setting up a forge without electricity very small anvils and forging blocks worth a watch
I have seen someone using very small anvils like this. Just couldn't remember where.
I actually linked to one of his videos in the top corner of this video for that very reason
Amazing! I am making all the pieces from the mästrmyr and i find really handy the L anvil (one side round and the other square), i have the hammers and axes, i made the lock too and beth Hommemberg explain me how to make some other pieces too. Good luck!
Looking forward to this series; I have the book also, and will likely follow your example to "rebuild" some.
I'm with you, John. These have GOT to be misidentified as drifts or some other similar tool. I know Viking-age stump anvils are small, but these are the smallest I've ever seen from that period. If these are actually anvils I would guess that they would have been used for smaller objects, especially when paired with the small hammers from the same tool chest. But, I'm no expert on tools from the first century.
Like bucks for nails/rivets on clinker-built boats? Shipbuilder's tools perhaps?
They may well be anvils, but I'm inclined to think they are probably not blacksmiths anvils, rather a jeweler/silversmith. Silver in particular was a pretty huge deal in old norse society.
tehbonehead I was having similar thoughts myself.
It's quite possible that they were used in ship building. That little concave he talked about on the smaller anvil would have done a good job at clenching nails being driven through planks. Similar to what is used in the building of the old steamer trunks. Another possibility is for repairing dented armor or cook pots. Just some thoughts.
Jim
looks like a large axe drift?
Have you by chance heard of Rune Malte Bertram Neilson? Great viking inspired work! His channel is awesome! Cheers!!
Also I think it is a great topic for a series !! Thank you!!
Yep, I even placed a link in the video for one of his videos on the subject
I'm really excited to see you entering the Mastermyr arena. This is a big interest for me. I have attempted to replicate a hammer and an axe thus far. I understand and appreciate your comments on whether these are in fact anvils or drifts. Maybe they serve a dual purpose, and possibly more experimental archeology will shed some light. Also, if they are drifts, this smith must have had an anvil of some kind. Thank you for entering the Mastermyr world!
I guess I really ought to be pretty happy about the 2"x7"x14" block of steel I use as an anvil. I keep complaining about the lack of a horn but it could be worse. It could be much smaller!
You could round one end to make a sort of horn.
i like the drift theory. I also believe this tool chest could have belonged to an apprentice that was putting his own tools together to "break out" so to speak but was unable to recover them for whatever reason be it an untimely death or other circumstances.
It’s incredible that modern technology started with this.
Great idea! I am looking forward to this series... thanks John!
Good Morning , John
I was really off a bit on my assumption ! But , one point you brought up about the possibility of the one being a Drift ! That was my first thought on that one also !
I am going to Enjoy this Series !
Thank you Very Much for Sharing ! Take Care and Be Safe !
KEEP HAMMERING !
My guess is that “anvil”. Is a eye drift, i know you were thinking the same thing.
They look much like auto body dollies perhaps for repairing dented damaged body armor. Or even something as ordinary as cook pots. Lol
indeed they do, first thing I thought when I saw them
I think your idea that the first one was more likely a hammer eye drift makes more sense; it explains the rounded edge, sorta!
This is great! I’m in the process of building a period Viking blacksmith area with correct tools also based on this book so you couldn’t have started making these at a better time! Thank you!
Glad it was helpful!
Larger one might have been multi function. Would make a decent anvil, but also make a good flatter if held in tongs, plus whatever other use could be devised.
Probably copper smith tools, but possibly a jeweller's set.
🐾🔥⚒
Very likely this person was working on bronze cauldrons since there were some with the find. As a hand held backing tool / dolly / bucking bar they make more sense. So I really feel the term anvil implies something to todays blacksmith that it may not have to the people identifying the tools. This is also translated from Swedish and there may be something lost in the translation as well.
My guess is this toolkit was essentially a "field service repairman's" kit. The smith, or perhaps an apprentice may have travelled to various villages, or even the battlefield to repair weaponry and armor etc. as a service. Maybe even the making of, or repair of simple "household" items the household may have had in those times. Or maybe even a nail/rivet maker that would go from place to place as needed. I am unsure of the feasibility of some of those things in that time period/culture, but it seems more likely than it being primarily for the making of weapons/items as the smith would in the shop.
The first "anvil" is clearly a drift.
I once tried to recreate it, didn't have the book with me and made the taper wrong. It did not work.
As I got the taper right in my second atempt, it worked perfectly right and I made several Axes with it since then.
Like the channel very much, thanks for making my days better.
@Johannes Wolff Hey Johannes, cool to meet you here. Did you not also make the Mästermyr chest?
Could they have been an amours blocks and sets to me they look similar to sheet metal/panel beaters dollies?
I was thinking they seemed more like dollies given their dimensions, but didn't connect the paneling to viking era, so thanks for that.
Similar pieces get used for driving small rivets.
It is extremely likely that smiths in the early middle ages would not have had a permanent shop. They probably lived much like late medieval bell casters due to the massive expense of their wares. There is some evidence in Scotland of dressed granite being used as a temporary anvil in late antiquity.
I think there has been a fair amount of evidence to suggest that there were fixed shop locations. Its one of the ways archeologists identify and date a site based on the iron ore and forge scale left from blacksmithing. That being said, I am sure there were plenty of people constantly on the move as well. But this find doesn't include any form of forge or bellows, so this wasn't a full traveling shop or those simply didn't get lost with the chest. Sadly we will never know for sure.
Maybe a traveling tool case for going farm to farm and making or repairing farmers tools? One might assume the use of a fire pit and charcoal or coal with a bladder bellows. Thanks for doing this as a learning series on Viking blacksmithing tools.
Perhaps it isn't an anvil at all, maybe you're on to something, maybe it is a battle axe eye drift?
Maybe not even anvils or drifts at all, they could be hammer or axe blanks that he was working on in any spare time he may have had. Or irons for shaping and forming any armour plating or bands for shields or boat parts. Unfortunately, without a time machine to go back and ask the craftsman, we may never know.
Hey john! Where do you get your 4140? Online or local?
Excellent project!! Looking forward to seeing more . Nice to see your old hammer back at work.
thanks for the video
Awesome, I've previously made a version of the tool chest with the Viking hinges, but haven't seen the book you're using. Back to shopping.
I found several copies available on Ebay
I can’t help but think of chandler Dickinson when I see stuff like this. When ever I think I need some fancy tool I remember chandler started on a rock and worked his way up. I could be as fancy as a Viking and make this on a rock and then work myself up as well.
John Great Video,Could you Please Turn up the Volume,Very Hard to Hear.Thanks
Just thinking out loud, but could the round one be more akin to a bucking bar? Might've been used for riveting things further along in the assembly process (like that riveted pot).
I'm wondering if these may have been for jewelry.
lots of possibilites
Instead of being anvils they are probably dollies to be used with the hammers found. That would explain the size and shape of them.
As a hand held backing tool / dolly / bucking bar they make more sense.
So I really feel the term anvil implies something to todays blacksmith
that it may not have to the people identifying the tools. This is also
translated from Swedish and there may be something lost in the
translation as well.
Just starting out here, using a 2# sledge head as my anvil for now.
John, I like your conjecture that the first "anvil" you worked on could have been a hammer eye drift. That would sure explain the rounded portion. The second "anvil" could also be another eye drift, with the hollow portion as the result from drifting hot hammer heads.
Thanks for not using a power hammer. Keep it real. Keep it genuine and historically accurate.
As a person who loves, history, blacksmithing and served in the Army. I would bet the anvils were a form of multi tool. They acted as a drift an anvil and so other functions. A Viking on a raid, who was the tool maker, blacksmith for the party, would on take what could be carried and served multiple purposes. Vikings loved axes, as they could kill, farm, cut wood etc...
Do we know if there was any evidence of them putting a metal band around the stump (similar to a barrel) to help prevent it from splitting?
It seems like you're essentially making splitting wedges, but in this case you actually don't want the stump to split. With the amount of effort involved in cutting a new stump, it seems like they might have wanted to support it so it wasn't continually replaced...
...or maybe they preferred to replace it because it was too heavy to transport? 🤷♂️
Hi John,
Nice to see your coal forge running again.
I’d love to see you working with charcoal one day.
There is no coal at my place but charcoal grows on trees :)
I have always thought I wanted to make and use charcoal. There just never seems to be enough time to make enough for it to be practical.
I have all sorts of cans ready to make into charcoal makers and figure out what works best.
I also need to figure out what kind of wood works best.
I haven’t got to that yet. During the winter I clean out the fire place every morning and sift out the charcoal.
I end up with a couple sacks of charcoal. I’m sure you’ll get to it one day :)
My metal gets hot and I smash it with a hammer so I’m doing ok!
I knocked a knife out on the heads of a mash + sledge hammer many moons ago. I broke the flag underneath but it was a great knife made from an old Dunlop tyre iron. I threw it out by accident. The steel was fantastic. Man I wish I,d kept it.
I live just 7 miles from mästermyr, born and raised on Gotland 👍
I would love to hear your thoughts on these little anvils. were they forging anvils or some other anvil like tool, such as a backing bar for riveting? Using a pair of dividers with the scale drawings they are almost the same size and shape as the eyes in some of the other tools, which leads me to believe they may have actually been a drift.
@@BlackBearForge i dont have Any inside information am afraid, First heard about the chest on your channel, but next time am in Stockholm i Will go to the mueseum that its displayd in
I have a gut feeling that those Anvils at least the first 2 are Drifts ! for large farming tools Remember those guys were Strong and they could use a bigger axe or adz than you or I would ever use. I know that a big strong man can fell a tree in a few minutes with a big axe.... instead of all day like we would do....with our small axes but with a big Axe comes the need for a real strong handle.... hence the large Drift ! or perhaps they were drifts for making connections on wagons you could fit a nice strong board in a Drift that large Right ? ....thanks for the videos John ! you definitely are an inspiration to this old man !
Bob.......
I can't remember the blacksmith that made one but it was pretty small and you hammered into a tree stump. They called it a Viking anvil and looked pretty cool, figured it would be small since they were always traveling. Great idea, I'd love to see you make as many of those tools from that book as possible, it's extremely interesting.
I bet they had a grinder. His name was Olm. Olm had to turn the grinding stone the whole day. Poor Olm.
Sorry but that looks alot like the ancient hammer drifts the anvils from that time period had small spkies on the bottoms
thank you for doing these
I'm gonna go out on a limb and say that at least the large anvil was probably what they called a stump anvil. It would have been larger in the top with a horn sticking out of the side of it. Similar to a modern anvil except smaller in size and the bottom would have tapered off to fit a hole cut in a stump, or other suitable surface.
You brought up an excellent point that I think myself. I've often wondered what the ancient cultures would think if they could see what we think their tools and other items were and how they were used. For all we know, some of the tools in that box could be scraps or something they began working on but quit and was carrying it back to their "bucket of useful treasures". We'll never know, but it's something I've always thought about.
Sadly, we probably will never know for sure.
I wonder if you turned the anvil upside down, with the rounded face on one side, and flat on other.. is there some functional reason to use it that way maybe? Maybe used it to make the dents in a swedge block or something?
I well never wing about my tools a gen after watching this
Maybe the little dip/hollow was a type of cupping tool? 🤷♂️
Always buy or make the toolbox before. Tools need a home to survive.
.
That second “anvil” with the concave top reminds me of a rivet backing block I have used a very similar tool riveting the skins on light aircraft
It does seem likely since it appears he was working on bronze pots
Curious about stake anvils now...
Did you see any stone anvils on your trip ?
Not that I know of
Have you watched the video about they Mastermyr Chest on PBS Woodwright's Shop with Roy Underhill? It had a few interesting things about it.
I don't think I can put a link on here. If you go to "PBS dot ORG slash video slash woodwrights-shop-viking-tool-chest" it will take you there.
I even have it on DVD
Excellent series subject!!!!
If even Bertram uses a hot rasp I'm sure you can too.
John, check out Rune Bartram-Neilsen's (I have probably butchered his name) UA-cam channel. He has a video from about three months ago where he does exactly this.. you might get a few tips to streamline your project. I look forward to seeing the entire Viking tool series.. best wishes and God's blessings..
I did include a link to his video in the top corner of this video.
Hi John, excellent, I was wondering when you were going to discover the older stuff. Mästermyer chest is a wonderful archaeological find and I am looking forward to see your version of the tools, as I have seen several reconstructions so far in the experimental archaeology discipline. I like the way you are setting this prpject up. Way to go!
Have any of those doing experimental archaeology given an opinion on whether these were in facr forging anvils vs some other more specialized use?
They certainly have views similar to those expressed in the other comments. A tool is a tool that was used in many different ways, just as the craftsman does, when he needs to do a particular job. In general the anvils were much smaller in that period. This is of course a direct result of the manner of iron production, as large amounts of raw material were not easiliy availabe and meant a great deal of investment in terms of work and fuel. So, iron was very precious. And in many cases it was not necessary. But there is another point: if there were large amounts of iron and/or steel, they were precious and you would not have left them, you'd probably rather take them and use them up. So, as you said it depends on the find context. This a rare piece of luck, as the chest was probably lost and not set down intentionally, and we do get a glimpse what was really in use, by a skilled smith. For larger awork like comapcting the bloom or so, of course large anvil stones were used.Another note to archaeoogical literature: Although we always try to classify objects to the best of our knowledge, this is sometimes not enough and the input of practitioners is highly welcome. What I mean to say is, that sometimes the classification is not "set in stone" and was simply used for a lack of a better understanding. Remember that an archaeologists has an awful lot of other things to know and consider as well (;
Excellent video John. I find these topics of historical tools really interesting. By the way, your anvil is dead quiet. I’ve tried to make mine as quiet with marginal success. I’m using a much smaller 70lb Chris Carrol Farriers anvil but would like to reduce the ringing, mainly for my neighbors peace LOL.
ua-cam.com/video/Z3365vFHXhw/v-deo.html
resembles wedge for hole in ax ;)
Question; from the look of the circular "anvil" if you turn it on its side that would make it a sewage....perhaps it was mislabeled as an anvil. In function however worked as a sewage?
Its entirely possible
I bet they they had steel for the whole thing. When using a bloomery, some blooms were probably mainly steel, right? Ask this facebook group or the smelters linked from the page doing Viking smelting research. m.facebook.com/groups/361798240526981
www.hurstwic.com/iron/
Looks like an axe drift.
What is special about your large anvil that it doesn't suck the heat from the small anvil so quickly
Nothing special. Just work quickly and reheat when it cools
There are dozens of period examples of places where these small anvils were fitted into a hole drilled in a boulder, rather than a wooden stump. If you mount the small anvil in something as massive as a huge stone, it has the same basic effect as a modern anvil. The other possibility that was discussed was that these miniature anvils may have been used for only doing small work. Such as making nails. Many of the tools in the chest were for woodworking, so it makes logical sense that the anvils would be used along the same vein, making nails or other small items, like lock parts or keys.
I haven't seen that information before. It would add considerable mass. Although these little anvils are smaller than the hammer faces found with them which seems unlikely.
For stump anvils they seem to be twice to three times the length and width but about the same in height, maybe half again as long.
As for these I would say they are more likely supposed to be drifts of some kind and not anvils.
That seems more likely to me as well.
These could be used as a dolly (backup) for work on fairly thin metal, which could be the sort of thing that would be done on the road - pots and pans, buckets and lamps, or helmet and shield - you need to be able to reach up inside.
That seems more likely to me. I wonder if the term anvil is used a bit loosely
I've also been making a set if Mästermyr tools. So far I've done a hammer, a set of tongs, and the nail/rivet header. I had the same thoughts you had about the "anvils". To me, they look more like drifts, as well. The hacksaw intrigued me, and I think that I've figured out how they made the blades. I believe that they hammered out a long, thin piece of steel, stacked several layers together and either collared or forge welded the ends so that they could chisel the teeth across the stack much like hand chiseling a file.
Making a hacksaw blade will be a real challenge. If i make the saw frame I will make it sized for modern blades so I can just buy blades after making one just for the experience
First on is likely an anvil. The second is probably a drift for a welded ax head. Third could be a flatner, grip it with a pair of tongs in the groove. I strongly suspect they had multi-use tools to save weight. This really seems more like a repair kit, woodworking, some metalworking, probably for repairing ships away from home. Just my two cents.
pic with square hole that looks almost identical to the "drift" www.thehistoryblog.com/wp-content/uploads/2012/07/Viking-axe.jpg
maybe its rivet anvil
This should be an awesome series, I love the historical stuff! I always enjoyed Rowan Taylor's UA-cam channel as it was largely historical stuff including some viking anvils and a hammer. Great work as always !!
Welcome home! This looks like it could be a great journey into experimental archeology. I'd love to help in any way. Awesome.
yeah, need to mushroom a bit of 2 inch stock, by hand, so let's use some mystery steel! glutton for punishment I call it!
Wow, as usual your videos are inspiring and make me want to fire up the forge, but unfortunately duty calls. However, I wanted to thank you for all the knowledge and inspiration you pass along to all of us! Thank you.
Nice sweedish book
Awesome work! 👍
Vikings were traders more than likely they traded for an anvil.
in many cases that was likely true. Although there do seem to be some fairly typical anvil styles common to the Viking age
They could also have been handheld anvils, for sheet metal work. Or maybe he was also a tinsmith? Handheld anvils are rounded with only a few (or non) sharp corners on it, so they do kinda look like the ones John made.
I think you are right John I think the one is a drift cause a drift would be harder to make when they could have found an ASO somewhere even used a rock if they had to the round one tho do you think it could have been for armor or something like. JMHO thanks for all the good information keep it up
Very cool John
Could these be dolly's like they use in auto bodywork maybe use for straightening tools or swords without deformation of the metal
Lol thats some tough stuff barely moves when you hit it. Cool stuff wish i had the sapce for a workshop.
Do they have examples of viking tongs that you have seen?
The book does show some tongs and we will be looking at those as well.
Is this set into a socket on a stump? Was there a wood chisel in the toolbox?
That is the way I understand it was used. There are quite a few woodworking tools in the find as well.
Thanks for taking the time to show how to work without the power hammer. Much appreciated. Have a happy day!
Hi John. Strange to hear You talking about Mästermyr. I live just a mile from Mästermyr.
Wow, Do you have any insights on the chest and its content. I am wondering if the term anvil is loosely applied or the result of translating from Swedish. These seem to small even by historic standards for any forging
This is so interesting! It's nice that someone from the Mastermyr area is following this discussion! Wow!!
@@BlackBearForge Sorry, no inside information. The book was written in English, so no translation errors. But maby mrs. Arwidsson didnt know all that much about blacksmith therms.
I have a theory: The poor guy who lost his tools in the lake, Mästermyr was a lake at the time, was a kind of travelling handyman.There where also carpenter tools in the chest. Going from place to place fixing things. Maby a locksmith? Some keys and padlocks was found. I dont think the anvil was used as you do, hammering out axes and such but more for staightening out small things. I got a chunk of steel on my workbench just for that reson.
That is a fairly reasonable conclusion. I didn't realize the book was in English originally, I assumed it was translated for the second publishing in 1999. I would also suspect that he might have had a larger anvil and forge at his home location.
That mystery steel looks a lot like bearings that I have access to that are made of 52100.
My first thought about the anvil was it was meant to be mounted into a stump at the job site. I think portable job site anvil
Very nice
The rounded edges would be useful for a drift.
Also if someone chiseled out a hole in a stump. One could run a wedge on the rounded side to use as a anvil. Just a thought great video as always
Just finished watching "Viking Blacksmith Tools episode #1." It strikes me, as these are clearly stump anvils, that this chest may have belonged to a ships blacksmith. Their roaming the oceans, and the vast number of iron fittings needed to outfit a sailing vessel, would require the talents of at least one crew member to be a blacksmith. The shapes and sizes also suggest a naval origin. I personally know what happens to any metal and salt water. So did the Vikings I am sure.
We will probably never know exactly what he was working on. But the authors of the book think he was repairing or making cooking pots and there were several bronze cauldrons with the find.
@@BlackBearForge Thank you John. Cauldrons included with the find could very well suggest a traveling smith. When land bound, between voyages, a man must make a living. The Vikings had large cauldrons on board for various purposes . But, yes, we will never know. Thanks again for a great edition to the best blacksmithing videos on UA-cam.
As a huge history buff,I'm loving the content.thanks for sharing.