JustAnotherViking

Viking tongs discovered as part of a grave goods find in Norway: Interesting that the sword is bent rather than broken in this find (to deter grave robbers given the value of a sword in those days)

Now we just need that fellow on youtube who has been building the mud huts and so on to catch up to the iron age, and perhaps we can get a working example of what works and what was easy to design using limited resources. Shaping and sharpening a flattish blade design was probably easier to do on a grinding stone than a complex shape. As it blunted and wore down, the tip would be easy to keep pointy for whatever purpose it was designed for just by sharpening a straight line.

You need to make a miniature cannon

Didn't quite follow me home as much as it may somehow have found its way from a well known auction website to my front door this morning. It fits in the Hardy hole ok, but I'll probably sort out a small stump for it instead.

Anyone who paid over the top for something will expect the same in return when selling if not more. It's likely purchased with disposable income, so they'll have no issues with hoarding it when they realise they will only get a fraction back on investment. If popularity does decrease, those who find anvils or have them passed down without having paid a small fortune would sell at the market rate, which in theory you would expect to be lower in this scenario

I have no doubt that metalworking tongs are an ancient invention, it was more of a curiosity around who invented the first pair, and what was used to help hold hot metal to make the first pair. Not like you could pop into the local steel yard and get some round stock or a shape close to the desired dimensions

Going off topic a bit here, but any thoughts on the evolution of tongs? Big stone as an anvil, another stone tied to a stick for a hammer, you've got an iron bloom heating up... How do you move and work it? Bone or antler?

I read a short article on them (vikings) today that made an interesting point about their way of life, with the majority of the population living in remote farms, with settlements rarely exceeding 15 houses. As a result of this way of life, most households would do their own iron work rather than relying on a blacksmith. Larger and more skilled items would be traded, but simple items would be done on the farm. There was a reference cited for this part, so I'll have to obtain a copy and do more reading on the topic. It would however support the simplicity and 'monkey see monkey do' approach a suggested above. Might also explain the whole small anvil approach if it's just for small easy to make items made from the bog iron taken from their land

I would speculate a combination of trial and error based on the available tools and materials of the day, coupled with aesthetics. It was a shape that held up well to daily use and abuse and was easy to make. If you look at other viking age finds such as clothing, tools, buildings, etc, they tend to be fairly simple in design using a little material as possible, and then decorated with carvings for aesthetics rather than time spent on a fancy form to begin with. Most of the everyday weapons would just be farm tools such as the axe (with the exception of the select rich and powerful few), so it was probably a design of a similar nature that worked as a general utility knife with a few iterations to also function as a weapon.

Speaking of bottle openers...

Small round stock will just stick to itself at the right temp, no hammering required. If you have a few pieces in the fire, let them get nice and hot, wait for a few sparks to fly, then lightly touch them together. They should stick and it cools over the next minute, try and pull them apart... Should be one piece and just bending around the welded part. Once that works, you now know what look for. Next time try sticking them together and hammering a bit to weld more of the bar together.. Hopefully that works out and you're on your way to successful welds after that. Start simple and work your way up, just experimenting

What type of steel are you trying to weld that's failing?

If you're just trying to forge weld mild steel, you don't need flux... but it can be useful as a visual indicator. Otherwise, you want the steel to have started spitting a few sparks... there's a fine line between welding sparks, and a burnt mess. I'd suggest starting with two small diameter bits of round bar. Stick them in the fire touching each other, and wait for the sparks... pull it out, and gently but firmly hit them together... they should have now stuck. Now grab a third piece, and get it to stick to the previous two... rinse and repeat. Congrats, you now have a successful faggot weld and on your way to your first basket twist. Do this another few times using the small round stock to get used to the indicators... when it's too hot, too cold... etc... at the right temperature the scale will fall off and you'll not be messing with fluxing, wire brushing etc. Once you move up to thicker stock, there's a bit more involved in terms of getting the whole piece up to temperature, heat soak, etc... so start small and simple.

Would it work to throw down a full sheet of thick plate to spread the load? Thin sheet of rubber, or silicone between the plate/floor, and then bolt the hammer foot to the plate.

Keep us posted on how you get on. I did a quick search for postage of 3kg from Thailand to UK, and it was quite reasonable Good luck!

Nice work! How long did it take to machine each block? If you are thinking of marketing the blocks, what weight are they?

If people weren't happy to pay the crazy inflated prices, they wouldn't get away with charging as much. I'd think a lot of people getting into this recently, are doing so as a hobby. They likely have a stable income, plenty of disposable cash for the new hobby, and are happy to pay a premium to get what they perceive they need 'NOW' opposed to waiting it out, asking around, and paying sensible prices. My other main hobby is motorcycles... compared to buying custom parts, upgrades, donor bikes for projects.... not to mention the fuel and ferry costs for weekend trips... buying blacksmith equipment, even at inflated prices, is cheap by comparison! I'm sure plenty of others are approaching it with the same mind set.... sell one of the spare bikes in your stable, and boom, instant forge packed with gear.

Must be. Antique, rustic, artisanly crafted, gluten free, organic anvil stand

I've just spotted an 'anvil stand' on eBay for £90 (appx $120) ...its a tree stump.

This wasn't just a panel, it was the entire structural part of the car If you search YouTube for 'How Its Made Dream Cars " Aston Martin Vanquish' you should find it

I watched a fascinating 'how its made' video about how a certain luxury car was made. The body was a bunch of pressed aluminium sections that were glued together. The sections went into a jig, glue applied, and additional sections rivited into place for alignment. The whole body/chassis was then baked in an oven to cure the glue. Crazy that material science is that far these days... Trusting glue to hold hundreds of horse power together

What sort of steel did you use for the tool?

Wow! Impressive work littleblacksmith and ausfire.

Many thanks for that link. Now that I see it, that looks vaguely familiar... Might just cut off one and replace with the square.