I just had an amazing birthday gift! My wife took me to a real modern-day blacksmith to create my very own Viking axe! This was a really cool, really challenging, and very educational experience that taught me a lot about how medieval blacksmiths and armorers made axes, swords, and other weapons. So join me on an intoxicating trip to the forge!

The Armorers

Yes, sir. Here is now the smith‘s note for shoeing and
plough-irons.

Henry IV.

What IS Drunken Smithy?

Drunken Smithy

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Modern Vs. Medieval Blacksmiths

I saw a smith stand with his hammer, thus,
The whilst his iron did on the anvil cool,
With open mouth swallowing a tailor’s news;
Who, with his shears and measure in his hand,
Standing on slippers, which his nimble haste
Had falsely thrust upon contrary feet,

King John

Part I- Selecting the Weapon

A weapon is a tool used in battle. Like any tool, it depends on who uses it and for what purpose. As my video below about swords demonstrates, many medieval weapons were designed to defeat the armor of the period- whether the chain mail of the early 12th century or the advanced suits of armor of the 15th:

So choosing a weapon to fight with depends on the warrior using it. For example, a Viking warrior in the early Middle ages might only be armed with a spear, while a late medieval knight might have plate armor and use weapons like a pole axe or a mace to concuss or punch through plate armor.

Part II- HEating the Steel

Medieval armorer from jordan1313

Part III- Shaping

and from the tents
The armourers, accomplishing the knights,
With busy hammers closing rivets up,
Give dreadful note of preparation:

Henry V

Pattern Welding

Part IV- Quenching it

For More Information:

Armourers and their workshops: The tools and techniques of late medieval armour production

https://www.tf.uni-kiel.de/matwis/amat/iss/kap_b/backbone/rb_3_3.html