Inside the Craft: Weaponry & Dark Sister

Master Armorer Tim Lewis, Swordsmith Peter Johnsson, and more discuss the collaborative process and historical research behind developing the weapons in the show, including Dark Sister.

[@brghid]

I'm so happy we are getting more behind the scenes content! There is a high demand for this for sure (:

[@CRATPUBG]

When release HOTD season 2?

[@lyrilljackson]

@@CRATPUBG now

[@Divine_Chareka]

The amount of work that went into the first season is just staggering. I do hope they keep up the quality as they work on the second season. Gods I love this show!!

[@thedragondemands5186]

Fun fact, from the Making-Of-House of the Dragon Book: the hilts of Valyrian steel swords are meant to be covered in "Dragon leather" (I guess from the weaker points between the main big scales like at the joints or something) -- so they didn't want it to look like just regular leather. To achieve this odd, dragon-scale like look, they actually used *ostrich leather* for the prop hilts.

[@BlazingSteel]

That could also mean the skin of the wings.

[@georgedanielsbiz]

@@BlazingSteelwings are metal

[@BlazingSteel]

@@georgedanielsbiz the wings of dragons can be harvested for leather. That's how Dark Sister can have a handle wrapped in Dragonskin.

[@georgedanielsbiz]

@@BlazingSteel I’m sorry I thought that you were talking about wings on the hilt of the sword

[@BlazingSteel]

@@georgedanielsbiz nah I love the wing designs on the sword though.

[@LeornianCyng]

The whole team put so much love and care into the detail over the last decade. HoD took it to a whole new level. Everything was absolutely stunning

[@Schutz_Staffel]

Dark Sister is truly a masterpiece of art in history with its wielder Daemon Targaryen 🔥

[@dmoney8602]

Calm down Virgin

[@HK-gm8pe]

I think its my favorite valyrian steelsword in the whole series ,its basically just as iconic as blackfyre only that its more comfortable in battle

[@u.v.s.5583]

It will always first and foremost be Visenya's sword. That's why the name.

[@AlisonInCT1971]

The detail to everything in HOTD - costumes, weapons, the castles and locations, props - is just phenomenal. GOT's details were pretty amazing but HOTD just upped the game to a whole new level. I love seeing how things come together on this set so keep the videos coming please!!

[@TalkingThrones]

Release more of these, please! These are great.

[@Divine_Chareka]

TT!

[@ErnieGaming]

These swords are really a work of art.⚔

[@ismagoff]

You just know it's going to be good when Peter Johnsson is making the sword. The guy is swordsmithing royalty. Also love to see all the historically accurate sword props like the Gallowglass sword type in the background. It gives such a grounded feeling despite it being a fantasy show.

[@jamiecorrigan3241]

You Really MUST See Peter Johnsson's ''THE VIKING SWORD WHAT IT WAS AND WAS NOT'' But Read The Newest Comments First. Comments From Which Peter Johnsson Has RUN LIKE A FRIGHTENED RABBIT Rather Than Answer,

[@ismagoff]

I have seen it and I have read your MANY comments. Aside from your obvious self importance, it is clear that you have a chip on your shoulder when it comes to Johnsson, as shown by your commenting/ spamming aggressive messages over the course of several years... It kind of undermines the validity of your points (which I don't dispute). But I do not blame Peter for not further engaging with such comments. You may have time to write novels on KZbin, but many of us are actually busy doing things. That being said, I hope you have fun doing it. And Please Do Keep Capitalising Every Single Word. It will only reinforce people's perception that you are a highly stable and trustworthy person 😉

[@jamiecorrigan3241]

@@ismagoff Ah ~~~ One Of Johnsson's BLIND SHEEP ??? Well You Are Of Course Entitled To Your Narrow Opinions. As For Peter Johnsson ~~~ From The Word Go He Has Refused To Admit His Endless Errors And False Information. I Greatly Object To Such False Experts As He Is Spreading His Nonsense To Those Who Do Not Know The Difference. If This Upsets You ~~~ Frankly My Dear I Don't Give A Dam. But You, As Johnsson Himself May Be Certain Sure That I Will Always Expose His Nonsense When Ever And Where Ever I Find It.

[@hypothalapotamus5293]

This is a pretty crazy pattern weld, which more closely resembles Valyrian steel than anything previously used for the show. That said, the repetitions show that it is not true Damascus (something that is out of reach), which I believe one person has replicated using a crucible steel process but I don't know if he was able to make a sword out of it.

[@serenatargaryen4932]

Love these insiders can't wait for HOTD Season 2 🖤♥

[@notactuallyEDGY]

God I hope they release official replica's of Blackfyre and Dark Sister...

[@AaronGuest]

They have the better book version of Blackfyre, hopefully they make a Dark Sister book version soon.

[@jlogan2228]

I love that dark sister is a more thing and nimble looking sword than most others in the series and it just seems to fit Daemon so much more bc it's smaller size makes it far more likely that he'd carry it with him at all times no matter if he was even buck ass naked vs a bigger heavier sword like Blackfyre

[@sorkeror]

Peter Johnsson is a true master of sword making, all of his designs sport perfect proportions, weight distribution , it's a true pleasure to wield his designs.

[@aidanrogers4438]

I really hope we get videos on Blackfyre and Aegon’s Dagger too.

[@Alberto_m_v]

The fact that there is only one original and functional sword representing Darksister and Blackfire blows my mind

[@Lord.Bloodraven]

Dark sister and blackfyre look absolutely beautiful can feel the power and symbolism behind them just by looking 😍

[@jennalogan5552]

This is so Awesome, I love watching behind the scenes and seeing what goes into making such a fantastic show. As an artist myself I really appreciate all the different elements that go into the making of a show like this and I love seeing how dedicated and creative the artists of all the different departments are. It's such a marvelous series and everyone who works on this show should be extremely proud of themselves and their work! I would kill to be an artist involved with This show. Great job guys! Can't wait for season 2! ❤❤

[@shubhamnema8281]

Can't put this master crafting into words. Just Bold and Beautiful, hat's off to you guys literally.

[@JOpalensky]

So happy we are getting this insight with this series!

[@simonalexander2354]

Absolutely incredible design and workmanship goes into making these swords a reality, these guys are the best every tiny detail is encompassed to really bring the individual weapons to life!! Whatever HBO are paying them.. Double it!!

[@colorbyanusree]

There should be a museum where all these magnificent pieces can be displayed for us, the fans❤❤

[@wafflingmean4477]

This kind of production quality reminds me of watching the Behind the Scenes for Lord of the Rings. They really gave the costume designers, set designers and prop designers the time and resources to go all out and provide an atmosphere for the screen which simply cannot be done without such care. It's why the Hobbit, Rings of Power, Wheel of Time and Netflix's Witcher feel so... off at times. Writing aside, there's an atmosphere all those often simply lack which Lord of the Rings was able to provide by having the actual physical assets and sets that were needed. Game of Thrones pushed the limits of filmmaking in so many ways, but House of the Dragon to me genuinely feels like the best the film industry has ever produced in terms of costuming, set design and props.

[@marco_sfrd]

Can't wait for Season 2 🔥

[@adreamingghost]

unfortunately you will have to tho so there is nothing but waiting that you can do 🥵🔥💯

[@rihanahmedfaruq3936]

I will be can't wait for season 2

[@itsgorani9133]

OMG I did not know Peter Johnsson did design work for this. His sword geometry tries to grasp what makes handling swords lively or cumbersom. I wish I had the funds to buy some of his Albion swords. I am looking forward to season two

[@TesGon]

Its insane. Quality is really good for these things.

[@Shak2k11]

Props, Practical effects, Score and Sets are always at a high quality top tier standard. Those departments always raise the bar and never mess up no matter how bad or downhill a show or movie is going. I'm talking about the last season of GOT and like Disney Star Wars or Just Disney in general, not HOTD.

[@user-xp2gc9dn2g]

These folks are at the top of their professions . Hats off I am a huge fan of their work !

[@marcfrancisteodoro7720]

Amazing video! I hope you guys upload more behind the scenes of HOTD.

[@hopesweeney-qx3ur]

So glad we’re getting this content and more spin-offs

[@julienneter6759]

This is really cool ! Also, two of the swords at 2:46 seem to be based on Charlemagne's sword Joyeuse (or at least the sword that is called Charlemagne's sword and has been called such since the middle ages) which is always a cool detail.

[@pedrojorge1912]

Happy that in HotD we didn't have any soft and flexible "sword", like Jon Snow's Longclaw in the Battle of Bastards.

[@jhomaagamata1177]

been waiting for behind the scenes.. 😊

[@akshitpasham2303]

My dream to work in one of such huge project.. so much detail for each and every thing is just amazing..

[@dmoney8602]

Get a different dream

[@jamesalexander8193]

They didn't want a fantasy element to the swords, they wanted a fantastic element to the swords. They delivered that in the best way possible, dark sister is modern and old, realist yet fantasy. It looks advanced beyong its years despite being so old, and those dragon wings, scales and egg all give it the look of old valyria

[@stevenli2948]

I hope they make the original version of longclaw and Brightroar because this is the two swords I really want to see!

[@dustindavidson1437]

I have the Jon Snow sword Aegon on the conqueror sword. Would love to have dark sister added to that set

[@2teej742]

Now just please please please please make sure the replica displays that come out are as close to the original as possible! Dark sister has to be my favorite blade of all time and im dying to get a replica even if its a small batch of 200 ill pay anything for this work of art!

[@Human000001]

"There's a beast in every man, and it stirs when you put a sword in it's hand" -Ser Jorah Mormont

[@TundeEszlari]

I love your contents. ❤

[@Gman1024]

Gorgeous work, I bet it's a challenge to assure they don't walk off set, haha.

[@ozgur1388]

best sword of any live action media. pure elegancy. wallpaper of my phone and pc

[@will420high4]

Best show in years!!!

[@robertsmiley2207]

I'm taking sword ⚔️ notes ✍️ I'm such a super fan of HOTD such sweet lore 👑 and history

[@cymru_am_byth]

Props to the props department :)

[@SwordAndFern-mw3ke]

The fact that they got Peter Jonson to make this sword is enough for me to watch it

[@jamiecorrigan3241]

YOU REALLY 'MUST SEE' PETER JOHNSSON'S ''THE VIKING SWORD WHAT IT WAS AND WAS NOT'' TO REALLY UNDERSTAND HIS KNOWLEDGE OF VIKING AGE AND MEDIEVAL SWORDS. BUT READ THE NEWEST COMMENTS FIRST, COMMENTS FROM WHICH HE HAS RUN LIKE A FRIGHTENING RABBIT RATHER THAN ANSWER FOR MORE THAN TWO YEARS.

[@ashav3li]

waiting for season 2 is like waiting for my dad to come back from the shops.. and that was 10 years ago

[@jackelinevalladares7118]

Waiting for a season two teaser soon ❤

[@JasonMc..]

This is awesome

[@Chemson1989]

I am almost certain the budget they had for costumes and weaponry were more than the whole VFX budget of Witcher s03 😂

[@JohnnyWoodard]

It's cool that Gavin Rossdale is still finding work.

[@TheAntiTrope]

I really need to be on this show 🤞🥲

[@RyanFox85]

Ohhhhhhhhhh my! Dark Sister is absolutely fucking stunning! 🔥 just. Wow.

[@afron4310]

Waiting for HOD seson 2❤

[@dreamfyres]

Plz can you release bloopers on set or any deleted scenes we would enjoy

[@iammetin]

Where I can buy

[@tymac9127]

More behind the scenes content please😢

[@deathstrider111]

i wish to say tim Lewis has my dream job

[@Sparrow.......]

Best series after GOT❤❤❤

[@theredeemer1644]

Without a doubt.

[@D_KaRtHik]

Hard to See S2❤

[@Jhin224]

DARK SISTER is my top 1 sword of all time!

[@Hallows4]

Definitely getting Weta Workshop vibes, here.

[@jensherrig3000]

GoT: There is a beast in every man, and you See it if you put a sword in his hand😊

[@AAAAAAAAA523]

عم استينك الحلقه ❤ احبك HOD

[@whatisreddin7367]

I still prefer the books version of dark sister, it looks more elegant and royal. But this one is very different and also looks amazing

[@satriawiranata4496]

You got me at first half

[@lucymccarthy7346]

Tim, the armour guy is a bit easy on the eye 😍😉

[@HamzaDimension]

Tim Lewis' Karisma is a lord one 🥰

[@mosheshalev9929]

Amazing

[@stephenking5852]

Blackfyre has the better cross guard, but I really like the middle section in Dark Sister’s handle.

[@A_Rayes]

It is the wonderful Damascene steel, the best steel in history for making swords. It was made in the Syrian city of Damascus, as Damascus was famous for making weapons in the Middle Ages and ancient times. It's Valyrian steel in the real world

[@zacktanner4539]

for real I would go work abroad at whatever charity they wanted for two years to get my hands on one of those replicas D:

[@geancarloloiolacavalheiro2525]

Very Good

[@Arthur_Revan]

Season 2 soon???😯

[@adreamingghost]

Yeah in 2024

[@janezkette3901]

I like that pommel of Dark Sister looks like dragon egg (all sword look amazing)

[@tiborsramek]

next season when

[@Donstaa]

They definitely should’ve gave it to damon in real life as a gift of honor and demolishing his role 🔥🔥

[@lisnamoljoseph4681]

S2??

[@Kanbreah]

I dunno what i desire more, a replica of the Dark Sister or to be in the show just to die by dragon fire in a scene or something xD

[@TodayNot]

They have atleast another season and many more spinoffs and shows in the chamber, you might get your chance yet if you try. Oh and replica swords have been for sale quite some time now.

[@Kanbreah]

@@TodayNot Im from Brazil, unfortunately the replica is way to expensive around here. and about the show i can hope and try. Thank you for the incentive ♡

[@mubarakusman9184]

I want one 😭

[@elvistran4595]

Can a company make a commercial replica version of the Dark Sister so I can hang it on my wall. The Longclaw on my wall needs a friend.

[@tomcruise9317]

Dei next seson when

[@danieledaniele6678]

You know this is a truly powerful masterpiece when they summon Kurt Cobain to craft it!

[@Ryyzaa]

announce s2 date

[@adreamingghost]

April 2024

[@DipayanSain]

Please launch HBO in India 🙏🏻🙏🏻

[@iamsheed7794]

Why did you use the seven-pointed star in Dark Sister if the Dark Sister was designed in Old Valyria? Faith in Seven wasn't make sense for sword makers then at all. The Targaryens had another faith.

[@BlazingSteel]

Blackfyre was layed with Aegon the Conqueror when he died, and was on his funeral pyre, the fire is said to have darkened the blade and likely damaged the hilt. At some point during the time between Aegon's funeral and Jahaerys Targaryen's reign, both swords may have been rehilted to reflect a shift to the Faith of the Seven.

[@AaronGuest]

​@BlazingSteel It was never said they were re-hilted or that they were damaged. Also, why would Maegor (the one who would've re-hilted them) put symbols of the seven on it when he hated that religion.

[@BlazingSteel]

@Aaron Guest implications. Let's not forget that GRRM does many parallels. Longclaw's hilt was damaged in the fire before being fit with a wolf's head pommel. And odds are that it was rehilted for Aenys, Aegon's son and Maegor's brother, though he was not martially proficient, he likely didn't want his father's sword to be rendered unusable.

[@BlazingSteel]

@@AaronGuest Aegon's funeral pyre would have been the earliest it would be rehilted, but Blackfyre and Dark Sister have been in Westeros for at least 150 years by the events of House of The Dragon. That's plenty of time for the hilts to be either damaged, worn, or decayed and needing replacement, especially if the hilt components are not made of Valyrian steel. As a magical steel, the blades would certainly outlast the hilts in any form of wear and tear.

[@AaronGuest]

@@BlazingSteel Not a single Valyrian sword was said to be too damaged that they needed to be re-hilted. That would just be a poor excuse, those swords would've been getting taken care of by some of the best smiths in Westeros. Also why would they be re-hilted with different designs?

[@konigstoregllm6778]

Nice❤

[@sonamtashi7706]

I’m peeved that they never mentioned Dark sister or Blackfyre in the show. Valyrian steel is a pretty big deal in their world to the point Tywin was willing to pay an arm & a leg to get one for his family.

[@adrianneagoe3652]

They mentioned dark sister so many times. Did you watch the show?

[@janezkette3901]

Yup the ancestral sword of House Lannister was Brightroar but it was lost when Tommen II Lannister, King of the Rock, sailed to Valyria and never returned.

[@roccobot]

Finally, Kurt Cobain is back

[@Mordred14394]

yo, they actually used damascus steel 👀

[@TheMarizanebogdan]

They should've kept the designs from the book for the swords and the crowns. The Conqueror's crown looks awful in the show, Dark Sister and Blackfyre are way more regal in the book, the series version look like any regular sword.

[@AaronGuest]

I 100% agree. The crowns look bad, especially Jaehaerys' crown, and Aegon's doesn't even have the rubies on it. While the swords are lackluster compared to the book versions, Dark Sister looks decent, still not good or unique though, and Blackfyre just looks atrocious. I don't get them saying they were going for a realistic vibe for the swords when the setting is fantasy, and it's not like the book versions of them were unrealistic, even the Blackfyre replica that Valyrian Steel is making looks better, they could've used that and it would've been way better.

[@TheMarizanebogdan]

@@AaronGuest Absolutelycorrect! A show with dragons and people with silver hair and purple eyes definitely don't need to be 100% realistic, I don't understand these showrunners' decisions.

[@SHARKVADERS]

G O T !!!!!

[@rahulsaroy7424]

OMG seriously back in game of thrones 😧

[@ashutoshporichha7623]

legend damascus

[@tamarabrunozzi8482]

Um WOW look at how many views in such a short period of time since posted (3hours) 😳😳😳 10,000 views (corrected) 😳😳😳❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤❤

[@danmandic6935]

@Tamara Brunozzi that's 4.7 million subscribers and just 10 thousand views

[@tamarabrunozzi8482]

@@danmandic6935 um I must’ve left my brain in the street and it got ran over. Wow. Ty for correcting me!

[@amarelle7975]

Dark Sister is about to swim in next couple of years

[@vishalmishra579]

Dark sister should be needle like wielded by Visenya who was a better warrior than Aegon ever was, while Blackfyre was more ice like ,used in ceremonies rather than in actual battle because Kings who wielded it rarely came to field, they preferred to ride dragons

[@Vaelor.B]

I wouldn't base the design too much on Aegon and Visenya, sure they were the first owners in history we know of but they definitely weren't the first owners at all Ice and blackfyre were btw both used in combat and weren't only ceremonial things

[@Elnina-pv3bx]

​@@Vaelor.B not really. Blackfyre was indeed to heavy and long to be used in war

[@Vaelor.B]

@@Elnina-pv3bx @Elnina where did you get that from? And if so why do we have so many examples where it was used in combat or war. Aegon I. Used it for example in the invasion of the Iron Islands (killed qhorin volmark) or during the first dornish war (killed the disguised fool of ghost hill) After him Maegor used it in his Trial of seven Jaehaerys I. used it in the 3rd dornish war and the young dragon aka Daeron I. Fought the whole conquest of Dorne with it And even the infamous Daemon blackfyre (who named himself after the blade ) used this sword in the first blackfyre rebellion

[@janhenker8970]

@@Vaelor.B it is stated that Dark Sister was forged for a woman's hand, so why not base it off Visenya? We do not know who owned it before her, and we'll never know.

[@Vaelor.B]

@@janhenker8970 we probably will never know xD maybe one day we'll get more information on this matter, but basing this blade too much on Visenya would impling that this blade was made for her which it wasn't It was already an old heirloom when she got it

[@achillesprimerakis161]

Create s2 plzz

[@adreamingghost]

No they only make these videos for now. Because of the writers strike they can't film because the cameras want more pay you know obviously logical makes sense. And of course they do not create season 2 because it has been almost a year and they renewed it right after the first episode of course they need like 3 years to start.

[@adrianneagoe3652]

@@adreamingghost the writers strike does not affect filming because the scrips were done months ago. Theyre filming in north wales right now

[@adreamingghost]

@@adrianneagoe3652 I was joking about that i should have made it clearer

[@adreamingghost]

@@adrianneagoe3652 however the writers strike may still affect the season in terms of rewrites and changes that can not be made during or between filming.

[@adrianneagoe3652]

@@adreamingghost they said theyll reshoot stuff after the strike if they made any mistakes along the way but the strike should not affect production. They also revised each episode a lot with George so it should be fine

[@Parkjoonho18]

He looks like kurt kobain.

[@rizmemes]

Wow

[@ahmedesawy5852]

نشد حيلنا بقا شويه عايزين سيزون 2