Historic Iron Smelt in Sweden

Jens Jørgen Olesen

6:39am Jul 4

How to make iron in the old way www.youtube.com During the Viking market at Foteviken Museum in Sweden in 2011, one Danish and two Polish Blacksmith

This is a segment by my friend Jens from Heltborg in Denmark. Much of the narration is in Danish (or Swedish - go figure).
In the sequence shown, 16 kg of ore was used with an end yield of 6 kg (at the rough bloom stage). The clip also shows the team consolidating the lacy bloom into a (much smaller) working bar.
There are a number of interesting aspects to the method:
* Use of what looks like a rock type ore, perhaps not roasted.
* Use of a variation on the 'slit drum' bellows (which I've seen in African smelting)
* Bellows plate tuyere set up
* Use of wooden 'Troll Hammers' for initial compaction of the bloom.

The overall method produces a lacy bloom, rather than the dense puck shapes we get with our insert tuyere and higher volume air systems. In the end however, its the bar of iron that counts!

Nice work Jens - and a very good documentation video.