Iron production in the Viking Age - Lofotr Viking Museum (2003)

More info : http://www.lofotr.no
Experimental iron production based on the reconstructed viking age technology. Bloomery iron production based on swedish furnaces from the Viking Age. Charcoal production based on knowledge from northern norwegian archaeological sites. The experiment was carried out at the museum in Lofoten under the supervision of K.G. Lindblad in 2003.

Category:

Education

Tags:

• viking
• vikings
• wikinger
• vikingos
• viquingues
• vichingo
• jernalder
• iron
• age
• archaeology
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• lofotr
• Lofotr
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• Lofoten
• Nordland
• Norway
• experimental
• production
• bloomery
• ironmaking
• furnace
• charchoal
• northern
• rosting
• ore
• welding
• chieftain
• handcraft
• ancient
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• scandinavia
• heritage
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• interpretation

[Kingofsomething87]

How much did the end product iron bar weigh?

[geirarej]

@Kingofsomething87 It weighed 600 g.

[ArtistBlade1972]

How far above the floor is the tuyere in this furnace design?

[geirarej]

@ArtistBlade1972 It was 15 cm. from the floor. 

[snezzzen]

I also wonder how patient and skilled people managed this complicated process. Maybe they have had another understanding of physics and chemistry than people today. May I ask you how you do the tempering of the knife after forging, it seems to me as a problem if the "C" content is too low...

[geirarej]

@snezzzen I am not sure I understand what you are asking for. If you mean how to turn iron into steel, this is done after the iron is produced in the smithy. Then carbon is added to the low carbon iron, through a series of heating and cooling the iron. I suggest you contact K.G. Linblad at Bäckedal folkehøgskole in Sweden for detailed information on this.

[spreadthetruth95]

3:00, lol I didn't know Vikings had Adidas shoes ;] good video, very self-explanitory

[dramey03]

@ohvnaq i think you can put the ashes right in with them

[ohvnaq]

oh and how do you separate the iron ore from the ashes after roasting?

[ohvnaq]

this is amazing! what type of rock did you use for the kiln?

[snezzzen]

@Froddofromtheshire First I found a japanese vegetable tool...also interresting ;) and then the steel.

Thank you!

[Froddofromtheshire]

@snezzzen google oroshigane.

[NANDO218]

@snezzzen i think they did have a better understanding. it took thousands of years for man to figure that out. even down to the coal making process. its only knowledge built on top of knowledge. now people dont know these things because corporations do this behind closed doors with specialists. back in the day, a child could watch his father doing this and he would know and possibly even find a better way to do it. now knowledge is almost completely compartmentalized.

[marklosextremus]

@mrtechnology100 about 1000 years

[CaptainFluffy6644]

this is incredible...

[snezzzen]

@geirarej You got my question. How to turn the low C iron into steel? A thing I never do with success in my hobby forge so far. Thanks for your answer and the folkehøgskole adress!