Tap to unmute
Ore to Axe. The Complete Movie.
Embed
- Published on Jun 12, 2025
- This documentary film details the process of smelting iron ore into metal and forging it into an eighteenth century-style axe. Follow blacksmiths with over 100 years’ collective experience as they demonstrate every step in the centuries-old bloomery smelting process. By combining earth, air, and fire, they create that “tool of necessity” used for generations. Oredog Blacksmiths Shelton Browder, Ken Koons, Stephen Mankowski, and Lee Sauder take you on the journey of finding ore, making charcoal, building a furnace, smelting the ore to iron, converting the iron to steel, and finally, forging the axe. If you have ever wondered how the tools so important to our ancestors were made, watch and see skills almost lost to history. To purchase a DVD of this video visit oredogproducti...
The processes documented here can be dangerous. The blacksmiths, photographer, and Ore Dog productions are not responsible for injuries or damage sustained when attempting the processes depicted in this video.
I didnt even know ore dogs were a thing. Makes sense as iron oxides definitely have a scent to them. That is insanely cool
true
Man’s best friend for sure. We would be so behind in technology without dogs
Dogs can sense cancer, drugs, hypoglycemia, sausage... theyre pretty amazing
@@michaelestrada1564 Rubbish. Bacon, roast pork, crackling, ham ... the pig is obviously man's best friend.
@@Foreignmonk34 hahah sausage. I love how they can detect anything, but also sausages.
Came here from the Primitive Technology channel
Ye I saw that comment that's why I'm here
same
Lmao same
@@larrysal8866 when whole world goes to sh!t I want to know how to make tools
Same
No wonder regular people thought blacksmiths were magicians. That was awesome to watch
also cos early smelting of metals had a lot of bad side effects from the heavy metals present along with the target ores. A big reason for the stereotype of a zany blacksmith comes from the arsenic that was present in early copper extraction and bronze smelting.
In Medieval era you'd buy coal from charcoal burners (a stand alone profession since antiquity), and mining and smelting would likely be done by the mine. So blacksmith was only casting the last set of spells from this video.
Excellent. Really adds perspective on the cost of this essential and ubiquitous tool 200+ years ago.
In the Napoleon era they needed so much charcoal that they clear cut forests and build massive lines of charcoal kilns, acid rain happened too.
@@CommonApathy yeah they moved to coke and coal
These guys are absolutely legit. Imagine doing this so much that you develop a preference for making wooden internal furnace forms.
The amount of organisation and labour required to equip an army in centuries gone by, using methods like these, must have been truly epic.
War wolf the trebuchet lead to the stripping of lead from every roof and window in the countryside for the counterweight
Almost none actually. Until maybe 200 years ago the vast majority of armies expected soldiers to arm themselves. At best, officers would be given funds to buy from whatever smiths happened to be local. Equipment barely mattered since most battles were decided by who was better at feeding soldiers and keeping them from deserting.
This has to be the best documentary i’ve seen in decades.
Aye !
When I studied Blacksmithing some years ago, making Iron and steel this way was one of the classes. When we did our charcoal, we tightly packed our wood to the point where we almost had to batton the wood in to the container. However our containers where massive. We could stand 3-4 people shoulder to shoulder inside those. Tho our coal where supposed to last over a year, as we used charcoal to light our forges. Doing the same i would estemate you would get 3/4 of the quantety placed inside your barrels.
+ Dont let the wood get thuroly started, but light it and let the fire get a good grip, then put the lid on, and alternate the openings at the bottom, A good burn will take about 1.5 days depending on the quantity placed in to the container.
Slow burn = high yeld.
As my teacher said. "A good burn, will make the local fire department thinking about making a visit." (Due to a large amount of slow drifting smoke being released from the barrel/container.)
glad you added some tips, I've definitely seen more efficient charcoal-making operations. overall a great video though.
@@21Airyk I had the local police come when I was setting up a smelt once. It was due to the smoke from the stack on the bloomery, though. I didn't have enough air at first in the stack, and it took awhile to catch properly. I had also put too much in too quickly as it was the beginning. When I told the officer I was a bladesmith, and this was for a job and not just a fire for no reason he hung out and watched and visited for half an hour. He would have stayed all day. I sent these guys $20 because Lee answered a lot of questions for me when I was learning to smelt, refine, and turn iron into steel or cast iron into steel. I suggest everyone who likes this video send them some contribution. They earned it by learning, documenting, and sharing.
awesome stuff. I hope the algorithm picks up this video. This is amazing
As a mechanical engineer its fascinating to see all the different process and the understanding of the material that the olf ones already have, thanks for the excellent video
Impressive from every angle. Which material hasn't been be available to western blacksmiths for 200 years? Iron blooms?
I'll guess he means wrought iron which is actually wrought out of a bloom vs. modern processes, but I barely know anything about this subject.
You can't commercially buy wrought iron as it's been supplanted by more brittle/less workable cast irons, or by steels.
It's occasionally made for blacksmiths or by hobbyists, but commercial production has died off.
Back when it was made this way, it lasted well over the creator's lifetime, and for some it was their most valued possession. I've done blacksmithing as a hobby using rail spikes myself, but had no clue how an axe is actually made, very interesting how the traditional axe was not entirely made of steel, but it also makes a lot of sense. Very insightful, thank you for this elaborate guide, not too many of these floating around the interwebs, that's for sure!
I know it's been one year but I got to say, this is the most beautiful thing I've ever seen
Ore-sniffing dog? Who knew! This is such a lovely video. Thank you.
They should have trained it for precious metals instead!
Story, video, narration, music, all excellent. Piece of art...
I'm in awe of the process, and the sheer amount of labor involved - kudo's, gentlemen. Your axe and this film are a work of art.
Missed your opportunity for a great dad pun there.
Looked for how to cut foam rubber & well here we are.... watching something just as wholesome inspiring & American as Dick Proeneke & Alone in the Wilderness. Right Now the Nation Needs more of this type of Media. It brings people together & makes for Great projects for family & Friends.
Thank You for All the hard work that went into this Fine Production.
it took many iron tools to make an iron tool. add to that a herculean amount of power, precision, and perspiration, and the result is nothing short of wizardry.
Hence why the popular and skilled creator of the Primitive Technology channel is having trouble smelting more than iron prills from his furnaces (5-6 attempts documented so far). One man running the blower/bellows and stopping to add charcoal and ore charges invariably leads to an inferior bloom.
These hard working men are keeping alive a very old method of producing Iron. Must be very few men or History Clubs that would go to this length and effort for a Real Time Reproduction of How it was done before the Industrial Age.
I don’t get tired of watching this video. Im on my 5th
This is a beautiful piece of folk art!
This is a really tight production! Music was great!
It is a marvelous video and a great documentary, Steve's concept to bring forward and document the process is remarkable and deserves a big thanks from the learners and enthusiasts.
Couldn't even think to miss a single second of the video and the narrative.
Thx for sharing.
Beautyful documentary. Thanks for sharing! Watching this process always makes me think of the first people discovering this process, step by step. The time and effort it took until you get to a point where you have iron tools to create more iron tools.
Just imagine they could see the world now, after industrialization. Metal everywhere, forged by hammers that run with electricity. Getting ore out of the ground in tons and melting it in huge quantities. Quite a journey humanity has been through 😄
This is absolutely the best video on the internet, hands down. Thank you for sharing !!!
15:00 wow. what fantastic music along with a great documentary. cannot thank you enough for sharing this
So much work going on in this vid. I needed a beer just watching it. Great job, guys!
Superb video. Somehow I found myself following peoples attempts at smelting iron (often failing). I think your video completes my journey. Thank you so much for posting this, just amazing to see the skill, effort and care you all put into your craft.
Thanks for you very positive feedback! We had fun making it !
Haha! Same here. This video is a "finally, someone who actually knows what they're doing" moment going down this rabbit-hole of a historical hobby.
This is the best video on RUclips. Thank you for detailing the process step-by-step and making it easy to follow.
A fine example of the whole process, complete with the end product. Thank you, well done guys.
Wow! High quality educational video about actually melting ore into iron. Everything explained and done way better than on any survival channel. Thank you!
This makes me wonder how many blacksmiths were im a town back in the days of thrones! The amount of labor for one axe is monumental! No one alive today truly understands how easy life is compared to those from long ago! Thank you for making me feel like a lazy, weak individual.. 😂 time for a nap! Great work, gentlemen!
Оце і є - базові знання. Такому потрібно у школах навчати. Щоб діти змалку знали що вони здатні СТВОРЮВАТИ.
Дякую авторам і всім хто доклав руку до цього скарбу.
48:52 "We have come full circle this has been a journey to understand the ancient means of making iron to reproduce that method and to generate a material that has not been available to western blacksmiths for nearly 200 years" ?!
Wrought iron probably
@@houseofwonders1well since 1850 or so. That’s when the Bessemer process was invented. But wrought iron manufacturing went on for quite some time after that. It hasn’t quite been 200 years, but since the start of the 20th century wrought iron manufacturing has largely been forgotten and replaced.
All that said, I like wrought iron. There’s something honest about it.
Wonderful video! Very well produced, too! I'll never take the axe I own for granted again every time i sharpen it.
You lads are the real deal for this historical recreation: preventing the old methods from being forgotten. Amazing film.
I'm usually inclined to try (at least once in my life) the "old way" of doing things. This, not so much! Very cool to see, and I appreciate all the little metal objects a bit more now.
The yield they got from that smelt is indicative not only of good quality ore, primarily that these fellas knew what they were doing. Absolutely incredible yield.
Just made my own blast furnace, going to melt down some pre I found next week. Do I need to be concerned about the fire getting TOO hot?
Best bloomery smelting and forging video I've seen so far. Bravo, gentlemen, very well done.
An axe in the number one tool, weapon and building block of most civilizations alive today.
This is really a first rate documentary!
This is an incredible video! Thank you so much for creating it.
Absolutely glued me to the screen. Well done
Hey guys, I love this video. Who plays the music during the construction of the kiln? I was really enjoying it
Deserves far more than the 36k views, great video
most beautiful documentary ive seen for years. This is Alfred Habermann tier. As much as i love the beautiful sophisticated art Habermann did, i love this raw unquestioning production of a worktool. Im dont even like my own thought on splitting it in those ways. The progress shown is art on its own.
You have to love craftsmanship
Find a job you love as much as this pup loves his job.
Man I wish I could disappear into the bush, chop some trees with my mates and our dog who can sniff out iron ore rocks, these blokes are living life
Excellent video, I love and miss the old ways. Thanks for sharing a part of history.
Great project documentary. I like to think most of us understand the primordial call of attempting to build essential technology from scratch (hence the broad appeal of the Primitive Technology channel)... but... as your film shows, inserting just a few modern upgrades in the process allows for superior and more predictable results, which end up being a bit more satisfying when coming out the other side. With only a few exceptions, modernizing the air blast variable is what most "build it from scratch like our ancestors would have" enthusiasts end up doing.
29:44 three hammers, spot on. another example of the great craftmanship of these blacksmiths.
Fantastic and informative documentary! I highly recommend it to all blacksmiths, persons interested in history, metallurgy, or even hard work! Bravo gentleman!
Awesome stuff, would like to try it one day myself !
Magnifique!
A triumph of showcasing centuries of hard work and knowledge, refined into a craft.
Bravo.
I learned a lot from this video. The effort and ancient ingenuity that went into something that seems so trivial nowadays. I have a new respect. I didn’t know Hudson’s Bay Company had an outfit in Vancouver, WA, I should have known.
I own the DVD well done! Thank you for your contributions to the CRAFT and documenting the process!
I find it really fascinating how we make things from scratch like this. Although it also makes me wonder how you make the tools in this video that were used to make the axe!
With wooden tools. 😀
the amount of sheer labor is incredible - amazing human men in 2022 still possess this knowledge
This was an absolutely fascinating documentary, thanks to all involved in the making of this piece of art. I enjoyed every second. Well done!
This video is a masterpiece
Neat to see it done from start to finish but my gawd that's a lot of work! Thanks for sharing.
Great watch. Sat through the whole thing and I learned a lot. Love this type of work - extracting value from nature, creating something new and usable and carrying on traditions and techniques.
Outstanding movie, Gentlemen.
This is the best video I have found on RUclips yet. I was just left in awe. Thank you for making this video.
Great video! Thanks.
Maybe I need to rewatch it
But during the reheat process to make it steel, was it the first made bar of iron placed into the pit and then heated with the slag or was this the iron pills potentially in the slag reheated to make a new bar of ore?
I think the latter
Amazing video! Words can't describe how much I enjoyed watching it. It's the most complete iron production process video I've ever seen, actually.
I think you guys should wear masks when crushing the roasted ore and ear protection when hammering the iron. Not for safety, but for your health!
Thank you so much for sharing this precious knowledge and craftsmanship.
I don't get the rationale behind the attempt to infuse carbon into the bloom by heating it a second time. When the ore is being smelted into the bloom, wasn't it already in a high carbon environment with all that charcoal surrounding it? what's the difference between that and the second time? I thought carbon would only dissolve into steel when it was in the liquid form?
I’m speechless- amazing documentary. Thank you so much for sharing!
Put this on 2x speed and watch these guys work!
Where can I find the music to this background Very Very Well fitting with the video what a masterpiece !!
This is the only place-we made the music too.
Great video! Really well made
fascinating production
That's why I pay for the internet! What a gem!
Excellent discription! Enjoyed every minute.
Seeing what a huge chore and specialisation it is to go from mine to kiln to iron to steel to tool/weapon/armor it now doesnt surprise me the common man in medieval times couldn't afford to buy these things!
The science behind it also makes me realise why alchemists where interested in it
Great "how to video". These guys know what they are doing and do an excellent job explaining the process. Note how they hold the sledge when striking. I was taught this method by Francis Whitaker, who worked in Yelliins shop and rarely see it used. Also look at their shop and how their side draft forge pulls the smoke. No need for a hood.
@@ggilmoreyou Thank you!
Excellent.
Very impressive!
Beautiful. Nice work.
Bravo and as always- Amazing and well done! Critical history is not always clean and academic- the techniques and technology is a hands on education. Beautiful and BRAVO gentlemen!
Awesome documentary. Really enjoyed it.
amazing video. Thank you so much for uploading it to RUclips so me and others in the younger generation can watch it. I can see how much work went into making this film
the Chapter 5 part was so useful for what I needed to learn to do. I could make my own little smelts, but I needed to refine the bloom and clean it and add carbon (or remove it, depending). Usually add. I need to keep getting the process more refined. I can't wait for retirement :)
this is excellent
This is so educational. Thank you
Beautiful combination of science and history. Well done!
Outstanding video. It helps to make me apppreciate the metal I work with. Thanks
Very interesting video, thank you so much for this experience
Underrated channel. Subscribed.
Wow. Thank you so much for this film gentlemen, may God bless you.
The 3 Guys know very well what they are doing, and btw. I like the old fashioned clothing....
best documentary
Thanks! That was a brilliant documentary!
Awesome video. Thanks for sharing. Ore dogs?!
That dog is so fucking happy, so awesome to see.
What an amazing video! What a truly incredible journey Major kudos to this team! Thanks!
you guys are so cool ! nice job.
fucking youtube hiding this gem of a channel for years, godbless some random comment on the Primitive Technology channel
godspeed, lads
Really well-made. This is awesome!