Explaining the mystery of sword METALLURGY!

[@Azerinth]

Another major reason for the switch from bronze to iron at least around the Mediterranean and Europe was the Bronze Age Collapse. One of the two components of bronze, Tin, is actually very rare in the Earth's crust and only found in a few scattered regions in and around Europe and the Mediterranean. To use bronze on the scale the Empires of the time needed required intense international trade. When those empires collapsed for murky reasons, that trade dried up and so people switched to iron out of necessity. The term "Iron Age" is actually a derogatory term from a Greek writer who was lamenting how much harder it is to work iron than bronze.

[@kevinmc1111]

Good point. Bronze age tin came from as far as Afghanistan. Tin ore is actually fairly abundant in the mountains of Turkey and Greece but somehow those cultures were unaware of it. During the iron age Phoenicians sourced tin from as far away as Britain, even though there were much closer sources.

[@memo_b_random1978]

This is awesome for a quick 7-minute intro. The science of metals & materials engineering is fascinating and was one of my favorite college courses. 👍

[@furiouspaladin1814]

I've been making blades for a few years, but I still found this very educational. Thanks Shad!

[@benwagner5089]

Watching this video as part of a college class would be helpful. With the instructor we had, half the class was dozing off while he went through all this info.

[@Nitrof1er]

I worked 2 years in a foundry, the art of metallurgy is so interesting.

[@zacharycouch1983]

As much as your more silly videos are Thoroughly entertaining, I really value these precious educational bits. It really plays up the fact that you guys aren't just screwing around in a backyard, but there's real knowledge in play. Great piece, Shad 👍🏻

[@sirellyn]

I hope this gets a ton of views because this stuff is so educational. I'll show my kids later.

[@TheHornedKing]

It's amazing what people in the past managed to figure out through trial and error.

[@RoaADDW]

I always love videos like this where I feel a little smarter afterword. Then I try to explain it to someone else and I feel dumb again. Seriously though, great video.

[@robertpaulin2724]

This is dead on for an introduction. Well done Shad from a Materials engineer.

[@kraikken]

Great explanation! I'm a metal lapidary by trade and I might use this video to educate my engineers when I launch into tempering rants on products they purchase for shaping.

[@walkir2662]

2:28 not only is iron more plentiful you only need iron. Meanwhile, the strategic resource of tin had to be imported from far away and cut be cut off / intercepted by your enemies, A purely domestic defense industry that gets the same results was obviously preferred by everyone (but the bronze industry),

[@chipsdubbo6983]

Great video let us all hope that the crusade of the shadlands saves shadiversity.

[@ridingonabudget]

I learned more about metallurgy in this video than a whole semester of metallurgy class in university. Now on to the application, let’s see you forge a blade. ))

[@Wardenboi]

I loved this video, this could easily be one of the lectures of my mechanical engineering study!

[@scientoakuilusakuilar]

I've never seen such an explanation of sword metallurgy before. It's truly fascinating how our ancestors discovered all this.

[@MrTickleTrunk]

KZbin! Where you retain more information than you did in school because channels like this get to the point and don't bog you down with useless info just to fill up a test.

[@snowdrop9810]

5:30 this is because above 727 C° or 1000K, the iron changes phase into whats called "Austenite" which has an FCC structure, which while being denser than the BCC ferrite, has larger holes, meaning the carbon attoms fit more easily. The martensite having much smaller grains means that the motion of Dislocations(defects) in the crystal structure get stopped sooner by the grain boundaries, meaning the metal is stronger, but more brittle.

[@trfinley7076]

Wish you could start including bainite in your breakdown of metallurgy. I understand that spring steel is far more common, but the process of forming bainite is fascinating to me.

[@elishaberry611]

Sword science with Shad!

[@DeanCalaway]

That's a great sword, still impeccable after everything you did to it on other videos.

[@Roland3ld]

Here is the usual like, comment, and full watch for engagement metrics.

[@TheHealeyverse]

Great rundown shad. Always loved finding out about the construction processes of different swords and weapons, and you cover it nice and efficiently without losing much of relevance for the less enthused but mildly curious out there. 😄 Hopefully alot of people will learn something from this. Also.. beautiful looking sword. 😁👍

[@CreepyMF]

Shad certainly has a way to teach that makes it easier to understand.

[@YandreYak]

meticulous enough to make a good, clear narration

[@notacleverman9438]

Really awesome crash course in metallurgy!

[@shinigamimiroku3723]

Maybe this is just the old chemist in me, but this is why I find metalworking and smithing so interesting.

[@DesignerBerg]

Wow. Loving the condensed format here!

[@budthecyborg4575]

It would be awesome to have professional metallurgist to do a guest episode about heat treat on swords.

[@Connor_Crain]

Reminds me of a class on steel I took in college, love this stuff!

[@jierdareisa4313]

I love ALL THE SHADLANDS videos!!!! ❤

[@cubancavalier3051]

I’ve not done forging before I am fascinated by it and love watching videos on it. I’ve learned a lot from this 7min video!!!!!

[@Señor-Donjusticia]

The virgin pearlite vs the chad martinzite.

[@kyleflamm4780]

Super helpful explanation! I feel like I have a much better understanding of what's going on.

[@JJP8XIV]

Nicely done Shad.

[@kiler273]

love how to the point this one is

[@Tajarim88]

Totally screwed that up in craft school. You're great at explaining!

[@ApfelJohannisbeere]

I just had to watch it twice in a row to enjoy it ^^

[@PhilBagels]

I'd like to see a video about how a sword (or other item made of steel or iron) is repaired. In the LotR movie, they show the sword that was broken being repaired by heating up the pieces and then banging on them with a hammer until they magically decide to form one whole sword again. Maybe that's the way you do it if you're an elf and have some inherent magical powers, but how would it be done historically in the real world?

[@MustangAndKodiak]

Videos like this are so underrated

[@Gelp]

Superb video! I learnt so much that I have wondered about for many years ❤👍👍👍

[@ZttackFrmBhind]

I might just use this in my chemistry class

[@unncommonsense]

I actually learned something!

[@riukrobu]

I've learned so much from such a short video! Thanks Shad!

[@MichaelRoachDavid]

Excellent explanation

[@meganfoster8838]

Thanks for explaining!

[@SmithandWesson22A]

Good stuff Shad

[@dylanhalifaux]

Fantastic video. Thank you!

[@falconknight4964]

One day I shall use this, and draw it for battle in my novel WIP

[@brettonalwood4173]

I learned so much from this video.

[@deltrex]

Iron vs Bronze was tested here on KZbin (I belive it was the "how to make everything" channel) and an iron sword will absolutely destroy a bronze sword. Everybody expected them to be about equal, but it turns out they are not at all.

[@muddyrudder1]

I clicked this video so fast just to hear Shad say the word METALLURGY!

[@muddyrudder1]

First word…He didn’t disappoint ❤

[@SinisterSlay1]

They must have done so much trial and error to figure this out because it's not like they could actually see these crystals right?

[@enoughothis]

The Riddle of Steel!

[@lordcaradoc3222]

Good luck with the new channel! I'd love to hear your thoughts on the game Kingdome Come Deliverance and the just-announced sequel.

[@sheldoniusRex]

Shad is pretty spot on with this video, and I'm no expert in tempering springs or swords. I just want to say that when you draw tool steels for things like cutting, stamping, or blanking dies or for cavity and core blocks in plastic injection molds, you will typically only heat the metal up to some point between 200c to 400c. Each alloy has different optimal draw temperatures. You would never heat those industrial tool steels up to a dull orange for tempering. But, like I said already, I never tempered swords. One more thing, you can introduce additional carbon into a surface layer up to a mm thick by quenching your steel part in oil. That said, oil quench wont work for some steels because it is too slow, and won't work for a whole lot more steels because it is too fast. When you quench the blocks from a mold or die set too quickly they can crack or even shatter.

[@Magnus-n2t]

Very educational! Great job Shad!

[@bsquared3809]

Science! I love it!

[@ronsmith8424]

The Secret of Steel ! KROM !!

[@hotcoffee5542]

Excellent video!

[@Medievalshields]

Great video so informative

[@caseymauldin8396]

That was an excellent video and explanation. Thanks!

[@trevorlarson3984]

As a degreed and professional metallurgist, this is a very good simplified explanation of how ferrous metallurgy works. Good on you sir!

[@worldkeyvideo9080]

Cool informative video!

[@arnor254]

swords!

[@Benjanuva]

This is really cool stuff!

[@Stevie___]

Can you have a look at armour articulation, such as on foot combat armour (Henry VIII preferably:p). Would be cool to have a detailed look at how they added armour such as this for the armpits and the elbow pit.

[@timsippel1845]

Very good video

[@TheNekofanatic]

More to incorporate into my games!

[@ForgottenLoreGames]

Great stuff! Thanks Shad!

[@Kargoneth]

Metallurgy is fascinating.

[@scrubsrc4084]

I loved the metallurgy side of my old job

[@hasmond6808]

What did you work as?

[@scrubsrc4084]

@hasmond6808 I ran a cupola furnace in an iron foundry. Did everything from guttering and statues including knes by gormley to old cosworth dsv engines and roots blowers you could stand in

[@Vedues]

I was about to write a comment pretending to be a massive weeb, claiming that folding steel ten thousand times like in every katana ever made obviously makes it a billion times better, but then I realized some people might actually take me seriously.

[@GaiusIncognitus]

This was fantastic!

[@King.Leonidas]

yeah that sounds cool a civilization using steel in the age of bronze. totally a campaign for gurps

[@dudeman-z6d]

Please make a longer version of this for shadiversity that would be awesome

[@TheRealMrCods]

Evening Shad. 👍

[@fexul-]

Love it

[@Off-Brand_Devin]

This is awesome. I studied mechanical engineering, but a lot of my work has ended up related to materials science, and it's a fascinating field of study.

[@matthewmcguigan4293]

Digging the mid-length content. I recently found your channel and these 5-10 minute videos hit the spot for me in terms of education and length. Love it.

[@YandreYak]

feels kinda bad for Austenite to have been left out :(

[@Maninawig]

Question: how much strength do you need to use to bend a sword?

[@timothyfavorite1875]

Fascinating stuff, love it.

[@rosbifke]

The difference between ferrite and martensite can be perfectly compared to the difference between an empty balloon and an inflated balloon. When ferrite is heated up to about 600°C (can depend on the alloy) it changes into another type of crystal called austenite. A single crystal of ferrite looks like a cube with one atom of iron on every corner and one in the centre of the cube, austenite looks like a cube with one atom on every corner and one in the centre of every face of the cube, an empty space in the middle. At around 600°C the carbon freely floats around the crystal and will freely migrate into the centre of the austenite crystal since there’s so much room inside. When the steel is cooled slowly, the austenite changes back to ferrite and since the ferrite does not have room in the centre of the crystal the carbon is slowly forced out back into the pearlite as mentioned in the video. This is the deflated balloon. When cooled rapidly, the carbon has no time to move away and gets trapped inside the crystal that wants to form ferrite but which now has a bunch of carbon stuck where there isn’t really room for it, blowing it up like a balloon. This is the main reason why the curve on a katana is formed due to the differential heat treatment, since the martensite (aka blown up ferrite, kinda) is physically larger than ferrite and therefor pushes the tip of the blade upwards. A deflated balloon (ferrite) is soft, malleable, shapeless, but nearly impossible to tear. An inflated balloon (martensite) is hard, not deformable, has a defined shape, but one imperfection or tiny tear in it will rip to pieces. I know no better way to illustrate the difference between toughness (deflated) and hardness (inflated).

[@foggynight]

Amazing descriptions, metallurgy and material science is amazing.

[@rho2888]

Thank you I've been waiting for an explanation like this for a long time!

[@jaredwilson1938]

Great video!

[@Alpha.Phenix]

Would a copper-iron alloy be good for swords and stuff?

[@jerrysanchez5453]

Well you learn something every day

[@eropis]

I would like more metallurgy videos. I found it quite interesting.

[@odotawaissaku3755]

Cool video

[@Grandwigg]

This was an excellent breakdown. I'd love to see this alongside some footage of the different stages in progress. I wonder if there's any blacksmiths or bladesmiths near enough to Shad to do a follow-up for this and the main channel. (Good luck on the notifications and the social media silliness with your govt )

[@Alphqwe]

Hi Shad. Have you seen Scholagladiators video on the 7:17 making of "viking damascus" swords?

[@PeregrinTintenfish]

A good use of visuals

[@billcipher1212]

i like this channel

[@icanmainit1655]

if only this video came out 2 years ago when i still had exams about metallurgy

[@daarkdocumenter]

Yes! I needed this video!

[@TheGaboom]

Good morning 👋😊

[@vannersp]

I'd like a link to that video on modern steel alloys. I'm fascinated by this.

[@syncrossus]

banger video

[@shawnmauney200]

Im comparing this sword to the Honshu Tactical Broadsword, which sword would you recommend if you had to buy one for now???

[@GGBlaster]

It’s all crystals? Always has been.