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(io9)   Meet the blacksmith behind Game of Thrones' incredibly functional swords   ( io9.com) divider line
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    More: Cool, Game of Thrones, Ned Stark  
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8110 clicks; posted to Geek » on 13 Feb 2013 at 8:26 PM (5 years ago)   |   Favorite    |   share:  Share on Twitter share via Email Share on Facebook   more»



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Cthulhu_is_my_homeboy
2013-02-14 12:32:46 AM  

loonatic112358: buttery_shame_cave: i'd rather stamp aircraft aluminum blades out on a press if i were gonna sell to renfair folk. that or use wood. wood's pretty popular, surprise surprise.

I was just  thinking quick and cheap as hell for folks

Stamp Al and then coat it i guess so their grimy hands don't cause it to oxide

As far as the swords, if your just doing props for crowd scenes you probably don't want to do metal anyway, just make em out of plastic or foam and paint them


Aluminum won't hold an edge, of course.

Well, 7075 might, it's fairly hard. But probably too brittle for a blade. Although for a display piece, that doesn't matter.
 
TommyJReed
2013-02-14 12:55:35 AM  

jimboflux: "My brother has his sword, King Robert has his warhammer and I have my mind...and a mind needs books as a sword needs a whetstone if it is to keep its edge. That's why I read so much Jon Snow. - Tyrion Lannister" I'm more interested in how they make some of those books look so old and used. Especially the  Lineages of the Great Houses, I heard that is a most excellent read.


My guess is they use Tea or another light stain to give the paper the appearance of foxing, and they bind it in distressed leather that they abuse, scratch up stain and then oil.
 
red5ish
2013-02-14 01:00:47 AM  
I am not going to watch the show but I'd love to have that guy's job.
 
cptjeff
2013-02-14 01:09:30 AM  

red5ish: I am not going to watch the show


Why not? It's a pretty damn good show.
 
Hollie Maea
2013-02-14 01:43:46 AM  
The Derp is strong in this thread.
 
RatMaster999
2013-02-14 02:09:18 AM  

msupf: Yeesh, this guy is an embarrassment to any real blacksmith.

A fuller is not a blood channel or blood groove, or blood whatever. It was for making the sword lighter and less flexible.

/going to watch the PBS special where a real blacksmith makes an ulfbreht sword from scratch.


My parents gave me that NOVA episode on DVD.  Fascinating stuff.  I also highly suggest a documentary called "Reclaiming the Blade".

/CSB:  My coworker's fiance is in the background during the discussion of modern sport fencing
 
sendtodave
2013-02-14 02:11:42 AM  

buttery_shame_cave: Suckmaster Burstingfoam: Today I learned that there is such a thing as a swordsmith hipster.

i use the distinction just because of the process. you can make a sword, or you can smith a sword. the 'smithing' implies that you are shaping and crafting it by traditional means. 'making' doesn't imply any of that, at least to me.



smith  
 Use Smith in a sentence
smith  [smith]  Show IPA
noun
1.
a worker in metal.
2.
a blacksmith.

verb (used with object)
3.
to forge on an anvil; form by heating and pounding: to smith armor.

So, when a smith works in metal in a way that isn't forging it over an anvil, he is not smithing?

But... but... he's a smith!
 
duenor [BareFark]
2013-02-14 02:24:51 AM  
The Nepalese smiths use discarded tata (truck) leaf springs to make their famed kukuris.

They are most definitely NOT decorative.
 
StoPPeRmobile
2013-02-14 02:37:51 AM  

sendtodave: buttery_shame_cave: Suckmaster Burstingfoam: Today I learned that there is such a thing as a swordsmith hipster.

i use the distinction just because of the process. you can make a sword, or you can smith a sword. the 'smithing' implies that you are shaping and crafting it by traditional means. 'making' doesn't imply any of that, at least to me.


smith  
 Use Smith in a sentence
smith  [smith]  Show IPA
noun
1.
a worker in metal.
2.
a blacksmith.

verb (used with object)
3.
to forge on an anvil; form by heating and pounding: to smith armor.

So, when a smith works in metal in a way that isn't forging it over an anvil, he is not smithing?

But... but... he's a smith!





And a guitar tech is a luthier.
 
Virtuoso80
2013-02-14 03:00:06 AM  
I'd rather meet the man behind Game of Thrones' production design. For a somewhat budget-strained show, everything looks friggin' amazing.
 
HotWingAgenda
2013-02-14 03:16:28 AM  

ha-ha-guy: I'm surprised they aren't entirely machined myself.  The blades must end up with nicks in them from the swordplay or when an actor goofs around them with.  I figured rather than paying someone to polish them, HBO just had a room full of them.


If I was shooting a TV show about people doing sword fights, I would want the prop swords to look used and beat up.  If everything looks shiny and new, it looks fake.  Like when a Medieval character looks like they have been showering on a regular basis.
 
Polish Hussar [TotalFark]
2013-02-14 04:16:15 AM  

RatMaster999: msupf: Yeesh, this guy is an embarrassment to any real blacksmith. A fuller is not a blood channel or blood groove, or blood whatever. It was for making the sword lighter and less flexible. /going to watch the PBS special where a real blacksmith makes an ulfbreht sword from scratch. My parents gave me that NOVA episode on DVD.  Fascinating stuff.  I also highly suggest a documentary called "Reclaiming the Blade". /CSB:  My coworker's fiance is in the background during the discussion of modern sport fencing


For anyone interested:  NOVA: Secrets of the Viking Sword.  And for those who prefer their blades to be of an Asian persuasion:  NOVA:  Secrets of the Samurai Sword.

I also looked up the trailer for "Reclaiming the Blade,"  looks pretty cool.  Trailer and website.

jimboflux: "My brother has his sword, King Robert has his warhammer and I have my mind...and a mind needs books as a sword needs a whetstone if it is to keep its edge. That's why I read so much Jon Snow. - Tyrion Lannister" I'm more interested in how they make some of those books look so old and used. Especially the  Lineages of the Great Houses, I heard that is a most excellent read.


I have no idea how they actually do it, but I would imagine through techniques similar to those used by the OSS during World War II to age freshly forged papers and currencies: treating the paper like shiat.  One of the most common techniques the OSS used was to just throw the document on the floor for a day.  12-24 hours of being trodden upon produced a wonderfully worn passport.  Another thing they'd do, but I think this was used more for counterfeit currency, was to strap it under some guy's armpit for a workday.  Although, I suppose the guys at HBO would probably also have access to special paper stocks that are produced to appear aged.
 
MayoSlather
2013-02-14 05:20:11 AM  
I guess I'm the only one here that's even mildly impressed? As someone that sucks at just about everything, I respect people that can make stuff.
 
LittleSmitty
2013-02-14 08:20:24 AM  
Meh, I was hammering out knife blades as a teen and trading my handiwork for all manner of goods, like mini bikes and weed.

/Son of a son of a Blacksmith
//Still got Pop's old forge tools and the "baby" anvil that fits into the full size anvil
///An old crosscut saw makes a biatch'n filet knife
 
SpectroBoy
2013-02-14 09:23:53 AM  

Brontes: The only smithing he did was on the cross-guard, everything else was machine tools.  A little on the lame side.

/super amateur knife maker


I agree. He makes what real sword makers call "sword shaped objects"
 
Tricky Chicken
2013-02-14 01:33:21 PM  

red5ish: I am not going to watch the show but I'd love to have that guy's job.


I have no idea what that guy's real job is, nor why you would want it.  Everybody seems to have missed this from the farking article -

" (FYI, he's not Game of Thrones' official blacksmith - that's someone else - he's just recreating the sword from the show for this video. Although the video doesn't exactly go out of its way to explain this(.  "

I even included the ending open parens.

This is just some fanboy making props for himself, not for HBO.
 
cefm
2013-02-14 01:46:56 PM  
Reasons why subby is retarded:

A) the article clearly states that he is NOT the show's blacksmith - he's just making a replica of one of the swords from the show.

B) the sword he makes is a replica and a prop - NOT a functional sword blade.
 
StrangeQ
2013-02-14 02:40:42 PM  

cefm: Reasons why subby is retarded:

A) the article clearly states that he is NOT the show's blacksmith - he's just making a replica of one of the swords from the show.

B) the sword he makes is a replica and a prop - NOT a functional sword blade.


It's a quenched (i.e. hardened) steel blade with a full tang so it is structurally sound.  what about that exactly is not functional?
 
Tricky Chicken
2013-02-14 03:09:09 PM  

StrangeQ: cefm: Reasons why subby is retarded:

A) the article clearly states that he is NOT the show's blacksmith - he's just making a replica of one of the swords from the show.

B) the sword he makes is a replica and a prop - NOT a functional sword blade.

It's a quenched (i.e. hardened) steel blade with a full tang so it is structurally sound.  what about that exactly is not functional?


On a related note, what makes a sword 'functional'?

You could argue that any bar of metal with a beveled edge that you can swing or stab with is a functional sword.  I think the sticking point here is the difference between 'period' and 'non-period'.  I am sure that if we all carried swords around for day to day protection, we would make most of them differently than they did hundreds of years ago.
 
turboke
2013-02-15 10:30:21 AM  

Brontes: The only smithing he did was on the cross-guard, everything else was machine tools.  A little on the lame side.

/super amateur knife maker


i0.kym-cdn.comView Full Size
 
iq_in_binary
2013-02-16 10:05:10 PM  

buttery_shame_cave: loonatic112358: buttery_shame_cave: loonatic112358: WhippingBoy: Why don't they just make swords with a 3-D printer?

Print a sand box, poor steel to make a mediocre sword,perfect for ren fair tourists

i dunno, assuming you used the right print media, an evacuated print area(or argon filled, something non-oxidizing), and a hot enough laser, you'd get something vaguely sword-ish...

but the post-printing finish work would be a deal-breaker. 3d printing tends to be on the rough side. some processes like ceramic can be very smooth, but i wouldn't want to wield a ceramic sword, no matter how much i like that miyazaki movie.

the external logistics, the fact that your print media would all have to be made from your base alloy, the fact that your print box would have to be very special conditions kind of kill the idea, though it IS kinda neat.

I was thinking more like this

[www.standardalloys.com image 400x300]

3D Printed Mold Box and cores, no patterns needed.

As an aside I know the guy who was responsible for designing the impeller that was the result of that

ah, missed the whole 'casting' part. yeah that won't work very well. you wind up with ass for swords that bend at the slightest provocation. i must have glossed over it because it's as far from blade-making as you can get and still be doing metallurgy...

steel doesn't cast. aluminum does, but to be strong, cast aluminum has to be fairly bulky.

bronze would work, i suppose, but then you have combination of heavy AND flimsy.

i'd rather stamp aircraft aluminum blades out on a press if i were gonna sell to renfair folk. that or use wood. wood's pretty popular, surprise surprise.


Steel casts just fine, actually. Ever seen a Ruger rifle?
 
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