Ric Furrer Posted May 20, 2012 Share Posted May 20, 2012 October 10th 2012 NOVA "Secrets of the the Viking Sword" Documentary 9PM/8Central some photos here:http://www.doorcount...s.com/NOVA.html In the Summer and Fall of last year I had the pleasure to be involved in the production of a TV documentary program focussed on the Viking Sword. The program was produced for NOVA (http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/) though the work of National Geographic and Pangloss Films (http://www.panglossfilms.com/). In October of 2011 Pangloss Films came to my shop and documented the making of a special sword based on the research of Dr. Alan William's of "The Wallace Collection" in London (http://www.wallacecollection.org/). Several years ago Dr. William's began a study of Ulfberht inlayed sword blades and discovered that the blade which carried a signature of a certain type appeared to have no slag. His work can be seen in several articles and his new book "The Sword and the Crucible" ISBN 9789004227835. I had the pleasure of spending a few weeks with Dr. Alan Williams in North India back in 2007 and can tell you he is an extremely insightful archeo-metallurgist. The program will discuss the importance of Dr. Williams' find, a particular blade housed at the National Museum of Denmark (http://natmus.dk/) as well as illustrate the manufacture and larger context of these cultural artifacts (My bit). We did the work in a charcoal forge with leather bellows on a stake anvil....more or less. Some of the smelting processes of manufacture are based on the research of Dr. Ann Feuerbach , currently at Hofstra University, and I await her book on the subject which she is currently authoring. For my part I enlisted a bellows and hammer man in the form of Kevin Cashen of Matherton Forge in Michigan (http://www.cashenblades.com/). Kevin and I have been friends for many years and in addition to being a deep well regarding European blades and a talented craftsman...I simply enjoy him being around. Kevin was a huge help to me for the film shoot as it is always a good thing to have someone around with his skills and depth of knowledge, but he preferred to be a bit more off camera than on. Thank you Kevin! Following the filming Kevin and I went to Arms and Armor in Minneapolis (http://www.armor.com/ ) and saw Chris Poor and Craig Jonson and were given a very good tour and handling session of the Oakeshott Collection.http://www.oakeshott.org/ In this project I was part of a greater whole and I believe this may be a defining watershed for the public to see what is possible by modern smiths. Peter Yost of Pangloss Films has produced may award winning features for TV and I look forward to seeing this program he has crafted. As to the sword I made? You will have to wait till the premier October 10th to see it. I will say it is the first of its kind in 1,000 years. Yours, Richard Furrer www.doorcountyforgeworks.com Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Paul V Posted May 20, 2012 Share Posted May 20, 2012 Hoping the program eventually finds it's way to Australia it sounds great. If ever you hear anything I'd love to see it here. Cheers, Paul V :) Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
chichi Posted May 20, 2012 Share Posted May 20, 2012 Good for you. It looks like an interesting program! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Francis Trez Cole Posted May 20, 2012 Share Posted May 20, 2012 can't wait to see the program Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
r smith Posted May 20, 2012 Share Posted May 20, 2012 If you missed the link ric posted here it is again. http://www.pbs.org/wgbh/nova/ They have past shows that can be seen online everything I saw there now is from 2012 Ric, that sounds great, I can't wait to see it. smith Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
robert hanford Posted May 23, 2012 Share Posted May 23, 2012 This will literally be my first TV show in years! I'm actually going to be purchasing a TV soon and can't wait for your program! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Ric Furrer Posted August 19, 2012 Author Share Posted August 19, 2012 New preview of the program has been posted here: http://video.pbs.org/video/2265039786/ Ric Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
34557564 Posted August 19, 2012 Share Posted August 19, 2012 Can't wait to see it! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Jeff Lodge Posted August 20, 2012 Share Posted August 20, 2012 Thanks for the updates. Hopefully I won't miss it when it airs! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Daniel.85 Posted August 20, 2012 Share Posted August 20, 2012 Thats gonna be awesome! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Trip Posted August 24, 2012 Share Posted August 24, 2012 First time in 12 years that I wish I we had a TV. :( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
griffinforge Posted September 3, 2012 Share Posted September 3, 2012 Congrats Ric, can't wait to see it. I'll be taking part in your iron smelting class at NESM in late October, should be lots of fun. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Richard Furrer Posted October 10, 2012 Share Posted October 10, 2012 The show's premier is tonight and will air other times later this week and next.For now it is just a US release.Richard..look forward to meeting you in Maine.Ric Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
bigfootnampa Posted October 11, 2012 Share Posted October 11, 2012 WOW!!! That was a great Show Ric!!! Thank you for putting all you have into it... it showed!! Very worth watching! Buncha young teens watched with me and they were riveted! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Randy Posted October 11, 2012 Share Posted October 11, 2012 Great job, Ric! Very enjoyable and educational! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
KST1-Derek Fultz Posted October 11, 2012 Share Posted October 11, 2012 Just caught the tail end by chance. Came in from the shop to help get the kids in bed, popped on the tv, and there was Ric! Sword looked awesome, and the film presentation was top notch. Just like you would expect from NOVA. I'm going to try to catch the whole program later in the week. Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
1forgeur Posted October 11, 2012 Share Posted October 11, 2012 Watched it tonight. Awesome. Thanks Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
K. Bryan Morgan Posted October 11, 2012 Share Posted October 11, 2012 Excellent show Rick. Now get Nova to do a set of blacksmithing tools vids and we will have it covered. :wacko: Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Dillon Sculpture Posted October 11, 2012 Share Posted October 11, 2012 Right on! Sweet sword great presentation :D I wish they would have shown more of the shop :( Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
oakwoodironworks Posted October 11, 2012 Share Posted October 11, 2012 Great Job!! I really enjoyed the show. I really liked the info about the knock-off swords that were made of inferior material in order to take advantage of the reputation of the high quality sword. They couldn't even copy the name correctly. Just like some of the copies being made of different things today. I guess things haven't really changed much in the last 1000 years! Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HWooldridge Posted October 11, 2012 Share Posted October 11, 2012 Great job Ric! I enjoyed it immensely and recorded it for posterity. All of your work was top notch and I didn't hear any BS explanations.from the other participants - it's refreshing to see something actually researched and presented in scholarly fashion but still balanced enough to engage the average viewer who has no knowledge of swordmaking. My mother's side of the family were seafaring people from Denmark. Makes me wonder whether there's a crucible sword somewhere in our distant past...hmmm... Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Drewed Posted October 11, 2012 Share Posted October 11, 2012 That was very cool! I was amazed at how nice that crucible steel seemed to work. No slag blowing off, and looked terribly easy to weld. Ok, so the 11 hours of pounding it just to get it to a point where you can shape it couldn't have been much fun. My favorite line. "You put hours and hours of work into a sword and if it were to break now, well, that would just...suck." Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Francis Trez Cole Posted October 11, 2012 Share Posted October 11, 2012 Ric very cool it was a very done program Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
Bob S Posted October 11, 2012 Share Posted October 11, 2012 you can watch the whole show here... http://video.pbs.org/video/2284159044 Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
HWooldridge Posted October 11, 2012 Share Posted October 11, 2012 Ric, I may have missed it but never heard where the sword resides now. Did it go to a museum? Thx, H Quote Link to comment Share on other sites More sharing options...
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