Gobae

Yes, I'd already been to his site before I asked here. The reason why I prefered to ask here is to get opinions from end-viewers to see what they thought of the DVD's.

I was looking at these DVD's Forging a Viking Bearded Axe http://www.amazon.com/dp/B006OBC5D4/ref=wl_it_dp_o_pC_nS_ttl?_encoding=UTF8&colid=5T6E8LBDPU1X&coliid=I1C5DD5K0IJV5Z Forging a Viking-Age Broad Axe http://www.amazon.com/Forging-Viking-Age-Broad-Axe-Austin/dp/B00PW9WDKE/ref=sr_1_1?s=movies-tv&ie=UTF8&qid=1422470187&sr=1-1&keywords=forging+a+viking-age+broad+axe Does anyone have experience with them? Is there a significant difference between the two processes, such that having both is helpful? Are there any other Axe making tutorials that are better? Thanks!

Depends on the anvil, and what's actually reverberating. It didn't do much for mine (a PW), while placing a magnet under the tail did wonders.

Nope, no problems at all. The amount of noise/smoke I make when smithing isn't any more than when my neighbors have a party, burn wood in their stove/fireplace or let their dogs bark incessantly so both "live and let live".

Only if you rinse your pipes with vinegar (or some other acid) to release it and then drink. Which is where it becomes a problem with cooking. If you're cooking an acidic food the oxides are released from the copper and enter your food.

I'm merely trying to correct inaccurate information.

The copper is not the issue it's constant exposure to copper oxides. (The green stuff)

I've seen the same done with RR spikes. The spike head was folded back and welded to give enough mass to make a ladle.

Yes, very true. They don't necessarily do better in the strength category, but the girls tend to be more willing to listen & be diligent and therefore come out ahead. Many of the boys come up with excuses for their poor work ("I wanted it to look rough/rustic/Orcish", etc) instead of practicing.

We just use a swage block and round stock to form them. Once you get some practice it's pretty quick; my wife can make around 200-250 nail rings and hour. Initially we tried to protect the nail from marks by lining the swage with a piece of copper sheet, but the nails are often harder than the block and the round stock so marring is minimal. Final sizing is done at the time of sale with a standard ring sizer.

My wife usually tells her students "HIT it! Don't scare it!"

Oh, I almost forgot; "Iron for the Eagles: The Iron Industry in Roman Britain" by David Sim & Isabel Ridge

Yeah, the question is pretty broad, "Ancient" means a lot of things to different people. But here's some 'Celtic' and Migration era stuff I've found helpful. "The Mästermyr Find: A Viking Age Tool Chest from Gotland" by Greta Arwidsson & Gosta Berg "Early Irish Ironworking" by B.G. Scott "Pagan Celtic Ireland" by Barry Raftery "The Celtic Sword" by Radomir Pleiner "Werkzeug und Gerät aus dem Oppidum von Manching" by Gerhard Jacobi "Celtic Britain and Ireland, Ad 200-800: The Myth of the Dark Ages" by Lloyd Robert Laing & Jennifer Laing Some of these dive really heavy into the archaeological metallurgy side of things (which you may or may not find interesting too), while others are general history books that happen to a chapter or two on metal/iron working.

You could turn it into a flute. http://news.cnet.com/8301-17938_105-57543385-1/requiem-for-lives-lost-making-music-from-mexicos-guns/

Yes, technically it is a fob. Though many people refer to the whole thing (ring and fob) as a key-ring.