Forging a wrought-iron, welded face viking hammer.

This video describes the methods I used to create a prototype for a range of museum-quality replica "viking" and early medieval blacksmithing hammers.
The body of the hammer is coarse-grained wrought-iron while the face and peine of the hammer are both made from EN42 steel which is prepped and forge-welded into place using traditional methods.

[@menefrego7183]

lol you have one of the best comment sections on youtube i didnt know people could be this positive on the platform

[@mossyhollow3732]

You created an honorable tool.

[@RowanTaylor]

+MOSSY HOLLOW Thank you :)

[@Angelo-tc8wz]

I simply love your toolmaking videos. I've watched this one several times and still learn something new each time. Your work is inspiring, hope you start posting again :)

[@sondreverby4489]

Thanks for the tip for holding the pieces together. I have wondered how I would do that with no modern welding tool. Now I know what I am doing next summer :-)

[@danestolthed6383]

Absolutely love watching your videos! I can always tell a great craftsman because they're their own worst critic, you do amazing work Rowan, BIG thumbs up!

[@tastindaganja]

brilliant content, great teaching!

[@stantilton3339]

Rowan, I enjoyed the video very much. I had not seen a hammer face welded before. It inspires me to do one myself. I have a bit of wrought iron for a special something. Very nice work. Thank you for sharing.

[@troytreeguy]

I like this, I just have a lot of trouble with welding at the forge, i am learning a lot though from you and Alec, and DF

[@MrDancbr600]

As I've said before, I love your videos and wish you would make more. Great to see the way you work

[@stuffbywoody5497]

Good video. I have enjoyed watching a few of your clips now. My Grandfather was a smithy. I believe he used old sump oil to treat things like hammers and axes. Maybe even chisels, not sure, he's been gone for the better part of 20 years.

[@williamwazere]

The cut spikes for setting the hammer face prior to welding is genius.

[@lebommjohnson8101]

Big thanx for giving us a glimpse of the smith using the hammer he just made ! I wish more vid-makers would include a bit of that.

[@darthtaiter]

Gorgeous, simply gorgeous... the whole process... and your voice is very soothing, saying just what you need to and no more... but really explaining why you do what you do.

[@OrionsAnvil]

Beautiful work. Great video. Thanks for all the great videos lately, some of the best out there.

[@user-nv8pq7zr8q]

I miss Rowan Taylor. He's an incredible craftsman!

[@NathanNostaw]

Those spikes for joining the pieces before welding are a top idea. I have seen you do these in a couple of other videos and will use it next time I gave a go. Many people forge welding would love to know this technique. Would save the frustration of the bits flying off or being left in the forge.

[@darkhunter667]

Great video! Going to make one of these hammers soon and this answered many of my questions. Thank you.

[@markjames4442]

Another terrific video Rowan. Thank you for taking the time to make them. I learn a lot from each video.

[@charlesakin4614]

Awesome job!! I especially like the forge welded face and pean bit!! Learn so much from these!! Thank you so very much for sharing your knowledge!!!

[@Estjei]

I really like this because you barely used any power tools. You used the power hammer at the start, but that was only to get a piece of iron with which you could make the hammer, so technically if you'd had a piece of about that size, you wouldn't have to use any power tools. That makes this an even nicer video in my eyes!

[@RowanTaylor]

+Sebastien Legendre Thanks mate :) Glad you liked it!

[@shexdensmore]

wow. amazing workmanship.

[@filipponseele7346]

Weldone especially the blacksmithwelding of iron and steel.I known how tricky this can be.Kind regards from Filip Ponseele, blacksmith-Belgium

[@nickwoo2]

that is a neat way to hold the pieces together when heating

[@workwithnature]

RowanTaylor Thanks just starting out now got a table made from old clay bricks for the fire. Learned a lot from your videos. Should be making some videos too as a newbee, might mention you in some of them as you know your stuff and are sharing your info freely ;) Cheers David.

[@RYGIELSKIII]

realy inspiring work man! keep on forging!

[@hagerwarrior]

Beautiful!!

[@scottleft3672]

Best craft smithy channel by far.

[@waxnmoon8604]

Yet another great video. Thanks for sharing.

[@MrRHAWKER1]

Very nice work Rowan works well

[@Aminuts2009]

This is a project I've been wanting to do. Thank you for the comprehensive video showing your process. As it happens I just got an order of wrought iron in. I don't think any is an inch square though. But that's alright. I'll figure something out. And I've subscribed.

[@salomao1971]

Muito agradecido,pela oportunidade de ver um mestre trabalhando.Um fraternal abraço.

[@knivesstuff]

just found your channel! You have some very nice videos. I will watch some more tomorrow. Great job!

[@knivesstuff]

+knives&stuff Great Job! REally love your videos

[@leperejoe1536]

Turned out really nice.

[@nicko9404]

great video cant wait till the next one!!

[@hasdrubal121]

Nicely done, thanks. liked and subscribed

[@cypherian9821]

Having now watched about half dozen of your vids I like your style of narration to include the self depreciating humor :} "Set My Gloves On Fire" .. " Drop your work and swear a bunch" lol even though you did not let that into the edit :} Power hammer comments " I have one deal with it" :} "It keeps my elbow from falling off" and your shoulder just so you know :} . It is good to see you point out your own mistakes and helps those who are just starting out or as in my case just coming back to it after 30 ish years lol. Keep up the good work and good luck in your future endeavors. I will be watching to umm help umm knock the rust off the memories from school so long ago. Cypher

[@RowanTaylor]

+J Ryan Haha, thank you for taking the time to comment, it is much appreciated! I tend to do the whole self-deprecation thing naturally, less people are offended if I'm making fun of myself! A mistake is a mistake though and it would be disingenuous of me to leave it out, unless I started cursing like a sailor with no shore-leave in which case I'll leave it out because there are kids watching these, you know!

[@Friidom2]

Great video!

[@RowanTaylor]

+Friis Forge Thanks mate :)

[@OakeshottXVI]

I've made a couple of these types of hammers, and prefer to punch the eye last exactly because of the problems you had with the eye deforming. Also, the wrought sometimes likes to split open along the grain at the eye, and the welded steel peen and face help protect it from splitting apart entirely. Anyway, good video.

[@maidenlord6663]

Really nice weld

[@Zogg1281]

Thanks for sharing, I've learnt quite a few new techniques........ or old depending on how you look at it. I've always wondered how to people would have forge weld without a welder to attach the pieces together before doing the actual forge part (i.e. those chisled tabs).

[@JustinTopp]

I’ve been given about a pound of wrought iron in the form of a wagon tire and I’m doing the same thing you’ve done. Might be a bit smaller or bigger than your I’m not sure the weight of yours. It will be my first time working with wrought iron. The face and peen will be forge welded with a bit of 1045 I was also given

[@goldenphoenix1069]

well I still say I would love to be able to reenact with some of the tools that would have been used at the time. Since I don't want to be in full armor maybe a smith would suite me better.

[@dageinarstenseth3303]

Awesome!

[@fishfinder401]

I would love to see this hammer head quickly etched, but it would look even better, great job though, gained a new subscriber

[@RowanTaylor]

+Noel Laflamme (fishfinder401) made a small batch and etched them. Will be uploading photos on my facebook page soon!

[@NathanNostaw]

Good looking hammer.

[@TheShedStudios]

very nice video 👍 thanks

[@RowanTaylor]

+TheShedStudios Thanks mate :)

[@bluemtnsman]

Impressive.

[@dylanu6695]

nice job!

[@RowanTaylor]

+Dylan U Thanks mate :)

[@boonethompson797]

Beautiful work, it earned you a new subscriber. The hammer looks like it might have elements from French, Swedish and German style hammers, I wonder if there was a sharing (or stealing as it may be) of ideas from all the trade and raiding that was going on.

[@dominiccox7534]

Cool vid

[@chybz]

Hey Rowan ! Just subscribed, your videos are awesome and I really like your crisp narrative style ! At 11:45, it seems you're struggling a bit with the french word "languette" (which you refer to as "spiky bits") :). Nearly every word ending with "ette" is a smaller version of the same word (sometimes with a notion of being cute) without "tte". In this case "languette" is a small "langue" (tongue). Other example: "fourchette" (table fork) is a small "fourche" (garden fork). Hope this helps. Please keep up this really good work !

[@BronzeAgeSwords]

so relaxing watch this

[@rupert9199]

Beautifull, you should try water quenching sometime.

[@user-ik3qh4ve5b]

Отличный инструмент получился.

[@garybirtwistle4520]

Hi great vid as always, I'd like to make one but I only have wrought iron in strips 2-3" wide and 1/2" thick, would I be best trying to upset it to 1x1" or forge welding a laminated billet? Many thanks If interested My iron source is arch formers for chimneys and you can see the original forging marks some even have welds in where they must of been too short!

[@forge52100]

Nice, though I'd probably polished it up and etched it to show the wrought iron grain and the welded faces.

[@cmoayves]

I found quite reassuring that you would drop a piece, make a mistake, say "I should have known", its like a permission for the rest of us to drop a piece, … Thanks for the video.It makes one feel one could do that.

[@RowanTaylor]

+cmoayves No worries. I drop work, make mistakes, start over, throw a tantrum, throw a hammer, burn myself, under-price, etc. Never think you have no skill because you make a mistake. I've been there and still do it from time to time with the whole "I'm crap, this is crap, everything is crap". Mistakes are what make you learn: "That's too short, I'll make it longer from now on."

[@cmoayves]

+RowanTaylor I'm just learning this, that going in the forge in the morning is not going on stage to perform. I have not lived like that most of my life. Just learning now. It's not easy. What is worse, is that the only way to learn in the forge is realy to make mistakes : not ever making a mistake is not ever forging anything different. ... I think I'm writing to myself. I should get back there ... Thanks for taking the time.

[@RowanTaylor]

+cmoayves Well, get in touch if you need any advice. What I used to do when I was training was to take a piece of plasticine and hit it with a spoon. It moves in a similar way to the metal. Or you can pinch it between your fingers too, as long as you can equate the pinching to what will go-on over the anvil :)

[@cmoayves]

+RowanTaylor I will get in touch when I'll have a specific problem. This is an offer one cannot refuse ...

[@nickulvatten1039]

Incredibly beautiful Viking hammer ! Do you think someone like me with novice blacksmithing skills and a coal forge powered by a old pair of double-lunged bellows could forge a similar hammer? I am going to use medium carbon steel for the whole hammer though, it takes quite the effort to reach forge-welding temperatures, especially for larger stock.

[@user-yr2hy8yf2i]

Спасибо!!!

[@690Lighthouse]

You mentioned increasing the viscosity of the oil by heating it, I think you should have said decreasing the viscosity, water for example has a low viscosity where oil has a higher viscosity, by heating oil the viscosity is lowered making it more fluid.

[@RowanTaylor]

+Roger Bartle You are correct and a slip of the tongue on my part. I'll correct the info once I have figured out how to do it

[@eddiesblacksmithingkjv9185]

Roger Bartle this is true. he was incorrect

[@eddiesblacksmithingkjv9185]

RowanTaylor get video though inspired me to make my first hammer

[@jeremyknop5378]

what did the weight come out to on that? Its a nice looking hammer for sure. Not sure I'd be comfortable enough forge welding with my current set up but you definitely make it look easy. I love the narrative too by the way, it almost reminds me of a BBC historical documentary, almost kind of soothing to listen to lol

[@jens-eriklangstrand1689]

Admire your skills, Rowan - always learning. Would you tell me - for the sake of interest - is there any evidence that one welded high-carbon steel forging into it when made hammers in this periode?

[@scottleft3672]

nice job weld heating and upsetting the peen....ive seen another fellah make a drift/punch from an allan key only to have it split from the overlooking of that very trick....(personally i think he tapered the wrong end).

[@christopherneelyakagoattmo6078]

I would reeeally love to see a viking era hammer with the eye forged welded. Were a lot of the hammers of about this size?

[@morisarzensek]

great looking hammer :) just put a camera a little bit further back if you can some wider angles

[@RowanTaylor]

+How to make it Cheers mate :) yeah got a bit carried away with the close-ups. This week's video I use a few more wide angled shots. Slowly getting to grips with the best way to show stuff being made - I like that the close-ups show the metal actually moving.

[@morisarzensek]

I like that idea :) you just need to make a balance.

[@jamesgroomes1812]

I did a dry run on a hammer and I had this video in mind, would you next time you show your punch kind of show it? I made one too sharp and uneven which makes an absolutely awful hole.

[@jrfiif2217]

awesome video! about how long is the stock when it is 1" square? do You know the weight of these?

[@gabrielsturdevant9700]

you got your grain running the exact opposite way it should be, let the lines run with the direction of force, not against it, it'll last longer

[@moraton99]

Interesting welding technique man, thank you for sharing. You quench at bright yellow, isn't it excessively hard for a hammer (too brittle)?

[@garethbaus5471]

The color shown might not the actual color.

[@JustinTopp]

And the temper stops it from being too hard

[@absmith666]

During heat treating, you mention carrying out tempering three times. Do you allow it to cool and polish in between and allow the purple colour to form each time? Thanks very much for the videos.

[@NathanNostaw]

You do have to remove the colour from the face between each temper.

[@Saksikoipi]

I'm not sure if I just happened to miss it, but how heavy is this hammer? It certainly looks quite sleek and light.

[@lukewoodard9368]

thats fucking cool!

[@lennartohnenam3209]

Hey Rowan, first of all thank you for sharing all these videos and knowledge with us. I really appreciate that and it's a whole lot of fun to watch your videos ;) I still wonder though whether the find of that hammer actually had the welded on faces? The second last bloomery I helped with resulted in a steel with 0.55%C and the last one felt pretty hard when we compressed the bloom so I assume an even higher amount of carbon in it. What I'm trying to say is that from that experience I assume that good hammer steel was plenty available, which would probably reduce the use in forge welding the faces which (even for your standard, for mine it would be around factor 10 :P ) pretty much doubles the effort. Do you have knowledge about the availability of good tool steal or had the find even forge welded faces? Keep up the grate work and please keep recording it ;) Cheers, Lenni

[@RowanTaylor]

+Lennart ohnenam Sorry for taking so long to answer you - I am trying to catch up on all the comments at the moment but I have to prioritise my workload.... You are correct and I agree with you. While steel is easy to produce in a bloomery furnace by increasing the height of the furnace itself in order to maximise the exposure of the iron to Carbon, back then soft iron seemed to be more often produced. Soft, low C iron takes longer to produce as the bloom has to sit at the bottom of the smelter for longer in order for the air to remove as much of the carbon as possible. However soft iron has the advantages that it is easier and quicker to work and easier to weld with, which I think is the main reason to produce it. I believe that steel was produced more infrequently because it was harder to work with - just my personal opinion, mind, and being a smelter you may know more about it than I! From looking at the archaeological record, many hammers which survive seem to have excessive mushrooming from prolonged use - which would indicate to me that they are more likely either made from a softer material or not heat treated at all (While that may seem odd, I have recently read a report on the metallurgy of Anglo Saxon knives stating that only a few were actually heat treated in spite of the fact that the ones which were thermal-cycled were VERY well heat treated.) If good steel was so readily available it begs the question of why also weld a bit into an axe or onto the edge of a knife - or even pattern weld a sword? Something else must have been going on which I will admit I do not fully understand.

[@lennartohnenam3209]

+RowanTaylor Thank you for taking the time to answer me ;) Since what you said made very much sense to me it still bothered me since I know how exhausting the process is to get a bar of steal from iron ore. Hence I did a little research on that hammer and tadaaaa: Found this: www.academia.edu/6344172/THE_MASTERMYR_FIND_A_Viking_Age_Tool_Chest_from_Gotland (You can just sign up, write a view words and then download a very good paper of the find). In this document Sten Modin is quoted who did a metallographic analysis of the sledge hammer mastermyr find (which looks very similar to yours but weights around 3.5kg). To make it short "The test area was on the peen of the sledge hammer. At least two materials with different carbon contents were observed." I guess there we found a good reason to do it your way sir ;) Regarding the heat treading I lately read a view posts in a german blacksmithing forum where a view people told me that they do not harden their hammers. Since this seemed ridiculous to me I asked a bunch of other black smiths and they didn't seem very surprised. It obviously works for these guys. Why shouldn't it been working for the people 1000 years ago?! I'm asking myself the very same questions as you do (except of the pattern welded swords. I'm very sure that as today, that was just to have one good looking sword). Probably they rather produced wrought iron to decrease the time the blacksmith requires to work the steal (imagine forging an axe from high carbon steal ... my arm allready hurts when I just think about that). Why they really did it. We may never know.

[@Lmr6973]

Great video. I liked well a more scientific way but the ancestral is is good enough while picking up an electric wire wheel.

[@BrandXsps]

Would Viking Smith's have welded harder steel on to the faces or is this a modern practice.

[@JustinTopp]

They would’ve done it. Steel was very expensive so they used it like this for a durable tool that used as little steel as possible

[@donaldasayers]

Once you have done the weld, how do you keep a track of which end is which?

[@plalonde2]

On norse axes the languettes point downwards. Why upwards in the hammer? I'd expect them to be a bit in the way if I was short clearance.

[@xmaswitguns]

You said you don't like visible welds. Did you mean once the weld zone is polished or visible with forged finish only?

[@caveofskarzs1544]

Is that a massive clinker beside your fire at 16:16?

[@firstnamelastname8865]

My god it is

[@tamakona113]

if you need an iron hammer to work a piece of iron until it can be forged into an iron hammer how was the first iron hammer made

[@conleycustomironwork3227]

How heavy is your smaller anvil and bigger

[@twentypdrparrott694]

Where does one find wrought iron these days as it has been out of production for so long?

[@Th3Sabator45]

old items that were made from wrought iron

[@briancarroll6803]

I stumbled, literally, into some tonight in an old building here in town that is falling in. I'm going to try to arrange to collect as much as I can before the falling building claims it.

[@Obstruct329]

I would like to buy this hammer

[@Mr.TalleyMan]

What kind of oil do you use at 15:30 ?

[@tasatort9778]

I see you are also "Drop Forging" at 5:14 :)

[@Sgtassburgler]

Teh burnz ar reel.

[@KowboyUSA]

Power Hammer!

[@RowanTaylor]

+John Ratko A most indispensable tool!

[@RowanTaylor]

+John Ratko A most indispensable tool!

[@RowanTaylor]

+John Ratko A most indispensable tool!

[@RowanTaylor]

+John Ratko A most indispensable tool!

[@daki222000]

Nice video's you have made here! btw, the word "langues" is french for tongues. the pronounciation is just 'lange" with the '' a' pronounced as in the word 'are' (a. i. you are) and the g pronounced as in 'getto'. the s on the end is not pronounced in french. it is there for the plural form. cheers.

[@skogsmulle4life]

hey am new to smithing so i just wondering that (flux) do?

[@SeraphimKnight]

+skogsmulle4life prevents formations of oxide between pieces which would weaken the weld

Why did YOU add hammer head to a hammer Can someone explain me ?

[@williamwazere]

+Filip Srdić The body of the hammer is made of wrought iron, a relatively soft metal when compared to modern mild steels and much softer than high carbon or tool steels. A hammer made of just wrought iron would quickly deform with any regular use in metal working. It would need constant dressing or repair, and would wear out quickly compared to a carbon steel hammer. Welding on a carbon steel hammer face gives the hammer the durability and advantages of modern hammers as you can harden the face on top of the fact the high carbon steel is tougher. Back in the day when steel was difficult to produce and expensive wrought iron was used for the body of tools like axes and hammers. Only the part that benefited the most, such as the face or edge, were made of steel. That's why Rowan here is doing it this way so that his viking hammer is authentic in it's construction.

[@DimitrisHavlidis]

I am sorry i am no smith, but why is flax used in the process?

[@agustinvenegas5238]

Because otherwise the faces oxidise and that's not good for a weld

[@hitridjus]

great video, but why such long nails?

[@tropifiori]

What happened toRowan?

[@RowanTaylor]

I'm coming back in the next few weeks with a Roman fibula 😉

[@josefranciscogalicia269]

Desperdicias mucho carbón, pudiste haberlo forjado de una sola pieza de acero al carbon, el Temple se puede hacer al agua, incluyendo el revenido, le disté en la madre a la lima, raspando la madera, el acabado del mango del martillo, es deficiente.

[@godofflames5427]

its pronounced lAn jets

[@yousseflahbil9573]

Are u British

[@toeofawesome1264]

if you draw out the cross peen with your cross peen how was the first cross peen cross peened?

[@RowanTaylor]

+Toe ofawesome with a stone hammer. you can do it with the flat face of your hammer though, it just takes a bit longer.

[@toeofawesome1264]

RowanTaylor huh. i just figured the first blacksmith was just magic.dammit.

[@johnathydongle5101]

Bro clean your nails

[@johnathydongle5101]

CoreyTheWolfTWC well I know that I am one lol i was talking the length like mine don't look that bad and I'm forging 75 percent of the time buddy