As someone who does leatherwork as a hobby, I had a nails on the chalkboard wince and goosebumps run down my back when he took a scalpel to those sheaths.
As someone with a lot of experience in weathering and ageing things (bit of cosplay, lots of post-apocalyptic costume and propmaking) - the thing that scares me the most is that whatever you're doing to an object, will most likely look awful, terrible, you'd think you've ruined it all, and that feeling stays with you until you're done. *Only when it's done it all comes together.* Also - it's worth keeping in mind, that randomness is random, and people are terrible at being random.
I've got an oak staff I got at a Ren Fair way back. First thing I did was carefully wax it with new beeswax, then laid it in a gravel driveway and rolled it around underfoot, then brushed most of the crud off and buffed it with steel wool, more wax and then an old towel. That put maybe ten years' worth of beautiful random dings in it between a really nice deep finish that's not "too" shiny, and it was still serviceable. It's maybe twenty years old now and has darkened incredibly, and unevenly.
I also find people forget about things like repairs. For instance just because a blade is old doesn't automatically mean the scabard or handle is the same age.
Random is important. All of the stuff I carry regularly has weird divots or scratches from where I've dropped it or bumped against something. The inside of my wallet has scratches from getting grit between the halves. But it's also important to think about why something might be worn. The toes of my boots are worn more than the uppers. The uppers are always covered by my pants but the toes are dented and scratched from kicking open the latch on the warehouse door or tapping over something on the ground. Just where it turns on my ankle the leather is rubbed constantly by my pants so it's differently colored. It looks like wear...not like I tossed into gravel and ran over it with my truck.
@@JainZar1 let's bot forget that if it's an old well used blade that's been kept sharp it's not going to be the same shape or dimensions as when it was first forged
Just a little tidbit from my experience of on camera vs real live, we did some Mandalorian cosplay a couple years ago. The first go I did little cracks, chips, stains and stuff all over the place, I thought it was way too much and was worried I overdid it. Come to find out we did really well and tons of people wanted pictures and they were everywhere, but i go and look at the pictures and it straight up looks like we are in mint condition armor. The next year I maybe added 3x the amount of damage and weathering I originally had and it looks way more like what I had envisioned. So sometimes for screen you have to go a little overboard for it to read (on camera). But always good to keep in mind it's muuuuch harder to go back than it is to add more.
@@ronweasley9001 Cheap red wine isn't a bad substitute, the cheaper the better. Oxblood shoe polish if you can find it, but be sparing. The older blood is the darker it gets to nearly black. Try rubbing finely-ground red rust in and then sealing it in with wax or matte varnish.
Does look too brown and not black enough to be grubby blacksmith hands. It's called blacksmith rather than brownsmith for a reason. Perhaps a blacksmith on his day off working in the garden.
He also said season 1 and season 2. I know we expected the witcher season 2 and technically been said it's coming but I think Tod's just confirmed it 😂
Pharmazak I am still making mine. I didn’t have any wood so cut down a tree. But now I am trying to make make the cross bow without any tools except a saw and an axe
Ironically, this is perfect reference for me as a 3D artist. Seeing the difference between a brand new blade and an old, worn one makes it much easier to get the materials on such models right. The funniest thing is that Tod's workflow of ageing actually works really well in 3D texturing tools. It yields a much more believable effect. Good stuff!
When you say that you need to make a good item and then "destroy" it, and that may hurt you to do so.... ...when you take a sword and age it according to a character or a story, you are in essence giving it an identity. "A sword" was forged, but "THAT" sword was born. I think that is beautiful.
I used to restore antique furniture and used a similar set of methods to age new parts. Much harder than it looks but with a bit of practice it gets quiet easy. Most important part is to age things logically such as when Tod pointed out which way up a dagger is worn or how it was held. Great video.
I just went onto your website and I am amazed at your prices I don’t understand how you can sell them that low for as much time as you have to have into each piece wonderful quality sir
This should be part of EVERY prop maker/enthusiasts toolkit. I see far too many, great quality mind you, weapons and apparel looking pristine when it's supposed to look "aged" or used. And it doesn't matter how great the quality or craftmanship is when it looks factory new, it just breaks all form of immersion for me. This is masterfully done, and all with stuff everyone has laying around the house.
Great work, nice and subtile. One thing that always frustrates me peronally is over-aged really really beat up props, you see alot of post apocalyptic stuff for example where people carry really grimy and beat up, almost to the point of being unusable weapons. if a guy is out in the wilderness and has to survive with what he has got he is going to take care of it.
You try to, if you're sensible, but, with no way to repair things, they get beaten up pretty badly, usually a single time that goes wrong. If you can't then sort it, what choice do you have? Throw it away and die without it, or soldier on.
Every time you mentioned the owner of the Quillon dagger; liking his chicken, being a slob, being a fat guy, not being able to fix things well... cripes sounds like you were talking about me! Much love sir and keep up the good work! I think I've got to distress my quillon Dagger now
One skill that I didnt think about is a good imagination and understanding of history and how a person would have actually worn down their weapons through use. Well done Tod.
This is really fascinating man - as a collector and fencer my mind is so saturated with taking care of pieces that I had never thought to wonder how they are done up for film!
@Tod's Workshop For rusting steel, have you tried warm saturated sodium chloride and hydrogen peroxide solution ? It's very fast - a few minutes - not too iffy to use and not too toxic. Pre-etch slightly the steel with vinegar, citric acid, etc after degreasing for best results. Not fully relevant to your application, but may be instructive, this mixture is actually used to produce very tough black oxide finish in some so-called "red rust bluing" processes, by repeated applications with boiling and carding of the steel in between. Useful for tools and such. There are a couple of videos about it on YT.
This is so interesting to watch (once you get over the pain of seeing those beautiful weapons being „destroyed“). It’s not only a nice look behind the scenes of move production, but it’s also just relaxing to listen to you, imagining how those weapons got woren of and what their history is! Please make more of those videos!
13:40 that moment just blew my mind... also who knew sawdust could be so useful. And now I’ve got a bit of it thanks to making my own crossbow. Great video as always!
This caused me to frantically run a lap though my apartment. Some scrap pieces of hide and some thinner soft leather, a knife, a torch, some water. The simplicity of cutting a pattern and heating the leather? *mind blown* Thanks a lot, this might be the solution to getting a fine pattern for a few small details in a project I have. :)
Love how this starts as well all do, gloves on.. and quickly descends into.. nah gloves off and filthy hands... good to know this is a thing regardless of skill level !
Mustard makes a nice patina on carbon steel. It leaves a mottled pattern. Put it on thinly and let it fully dry. Three times works best for me. It worked great on my "antiqued" hatchet.
I found out, after years of use of my swords that a very important factor of age on the handle is the colour of the gloves of the owner. With use, those gloves get wet with rain or sweat and eventually the colour transfers to the handle. I think it's quite interesting, a blackened handle is fine for someone wearing black gloves! There were gloves of every colour, red, blue...
as well, if you are handling metal, polishing, and then putting your hands on the leather or wood, the very black oxydized iron that you removed tends to darken quite a bit the wood, and it's black. I wouldn't be so catégoric as you on the fact that a black handle is wrong... it happened to me quite often to blacken it when polishing.
-"Quick, Lars, the enemy are already at the gates!" -"But I have yet to decorate my scabbard!" -"Alright, be quick about it!" -[Scribble scribble scratch scratch] -"That's... beatiful.. now let us fend them off!"
Sounds like the "story" for the weapon needs to be decided on first. Then, replicate what would happen during that story as best you can...without overdoing it and destroying the weapon or scabbard. I rather like how you don't damage the weapon's edge. Even with a weapon that's led a hard life, if it's still used as a functional weapon, you'd expect that any nicks to have been polished out. The hilt or scabbard may be wearing out, the blade may not be kept as clean as it should, but the edge...that could mean the difference between living and dying, according to how well it's been looked after.
Nicks and chips can be present in the blade's edge, but those nicks and chips should be sharpened too. The blade's edge won't be a smooth arc either. There will be dips and such from sharpening out those nicks and chips.
@@InSanic13 Then you are going to have a weird moment when Matt has realised somebody was about to fool him and he is holding a sharp weapon in his hand.
Interesting video, I enjoyed it. I was a professional blacksmith for years , made mostly 18 th century knives and axes. I made many “Antique “ ones. I had to do them so they had to pass and not just look like what someone thought looked old I used to see knives and iron that were aged with bleach and they looked like things that were aged in bleach. To do a good job you have to know what an original aged piece looks like whether an old butcher knife or a $5,000 Bowie knife. What you don’t normally want is an even finish because things usually don’t age like that. I usually rusted iron up using a mixture of nitric and sulfuric acid. Heat the surface up some first. Then sometimes I’d sprinkle some black powder on it and light it. I liked to put the piece outside under black plastic. The plastic builds up the humidity. Check it after a day or so to make sure you didn’t age it to much. When satisfied use baking soda to neutralize the acid.
I saw Stewmac age a guitar, and to make more irregular dents, he used a rock and gave it a bit of a hammer from different angles to create different dents, unlike the regular dents a hammer makes. Not that what you were doing wasn't already great stuff, just thought it might add to the pool of ideas.
Great vid Tod, thank you. I have done a good bit of aging of weapons and have found out a lot. Ruined a few thing along the way. For making pitting i have pray glued a bit of sand paper on the face of a small hammer. Also pool chlorine powder will make a nice pitting effect. Hydrogen peroxide + salt or vinegar + salt will produce rust fast. Heating the metals just before blueing or patina. It seems to go deeper.
To kind of help protect one of my carbon steel Mora knives, I gave it a mustard patina using large grain Dijon. It gave it a really interesting finish, and resharpening gave it a different edge color. Since mustard is a paste, it sticks pretty well to blades.
Love absolutely everything this man does. However... the position of his logo being offset on the shed triggers me. Would be awesome to know what weapons etc you have actually made for productions.
Tod adds realistic backstory to justify wear on items that most viewers will look at for 5 seconds and move on or wont even notice at all, let alone know what they are even looking at if they do
I really believe that people recognises what is right or wrong on a subconscious level even if they don't on a conscious level and this needs to right for everything to 'feel right'
@@tods_workshop yeah your probably right about that either way seeing you go the extra mile on the realism is awesome for pedants like me i hope more mainstream people gain a greater appreciation for realism aswell, thanks again for all the content Tod
They might not notice that it "looks right", but the second it looks "wrong" it is like a neon sign flashing through your bedroom window as you try to get to sleep after a 12 hour shift, it will drive you crazy.
Back in 2002 a friend of mine was in a stage production of the Man of La Mancha. He came to me and asked if I would prepare the rapier he was going to be using for the stage. I used a trick I had been taught a few years earlier by a prop maker that worked out fantastically. I cross polished the edge so that when the stage lights hit it they glinted off at a different angle so the sword really looked like it was sharp, even though there was no sharp edge on it at all. That turned into quite the job, after the other people in the play saw his sword they all came to me for the same treatment on theirs. I polished a lot of swords and daggers in just a few days.
One thing that is missed. The old steels if they were steel at all were much softer and didn't hold an edge as well. If you look at old trade knives you see butcher knives sharpened down to eventually look like boning knives. They had to sharpen daily use knives a lot more often than we do.
That is very true, but some things don't work visually. when a guy pulls out a cleaver and it has been sharpened so much that the blade is thin and concave and is actually really annoying to use as a leaver, but it is all he has - that was reality, but is hard to explain in a 2 second sequence
I found a great aging compound in a watery solution of potassium permanganate (not too weak!). Works great on unpainted wood, leather and paper (all organic materials really).
I've never felt so conflicted watching a craftsman work! The crafter/engineer in me can't believe what Tod's doing to these fabulous pieces that must have taken _a long time_ to make... but the artist/roleplayer in me is intrigued by the techniques & the aesthetic he's getting by destroying them! 😵
Very cool and useful vide, I'm saving this one and will pass it on when I have the chance., I really like the methods that you mention and seem a lot better, more realistic than other techniques I've seen recommended, most notably using spray paint or a spray bottle. The reason I don't like the spray paint/spray bottle method of applying weathering is because they leave a distinct dapple pattern which, to me, screams artificial.
I picked up the Bauernwehr dagger from Tod Cutler about a month ago and love it, considering the price point, and am extreeeeemely considering a custom commission one of these days, when I feel a bit more comfortable with dropping well over $1000 on a sword. I'm just so impressed by the work.
I had to chuckle at the string to mend the shrunken handle... I have an old hatchet at home with a leather handle. My grandfather mended a gap in it ages ago with a bit of string sealed with beeswax.
I'm a blacksmith and dabble in bladesmithing in Alaska. A good technique for us is to leave the entire weapon untreated outside for a week or two in the rain. It will rust the head and grow mold and moss in that short amount of time on the wood. A little bit of sanding and it looks like a used axe.
*shudders in prior military* Spent four and a half years passively obsessing over rust and wear&tear, and 18 months specifically obsessing about rust and wear&tear as a shipboard steam plant bilge inspector. Watching this was both like watching an art form, and watching a reenactment of a train wreck that took off a part of your hand. Informative, beautiful, and #@&%ing painful all at once.
Very interesting topic! I have never tought how important it is to make equipment fit to character in a film. I would also make knife edges a little thinner- when you look at archeological findings many of them are so damaged by countless sharpening, that there are like 40% of original blade length left. Great film as always!
Six years ago a drop of paint fell on my scabbard, which is wood wrapped in suede. I hurriedly cleaned it off, and was left with a dark smear on my previously pristine scabbard. I was mortified. Tonight I watched this video over dinner, and Jesus Christ man...To cheerfully violate your work in such a way. I couldn't look away. I HAD to see what you'd do next. Terrifying stuff.
Always interesting to see how other people do it! I make loads of stuff for cosplayers, but it's amazing how many things you stumble on to by accident or by watching someone else do it slightly differently.
When it comes to the work you do for movies or TV-shows, like The Witcher as an example, how much of that is of your own design, and how much of that is done according to their specifications, rather than what you yourself thinks looks good?
In the case of Witcher, little is an actual design, it is more collaboration between myself and the head armourer, bouncing ideas until we have something we both like
*BREAKING:* _Deranged man destroys life's work in front of internet audience_
As someone who does leatherwork as a hobby, I had a nails on the chalkboard wince and goosebumps run down my back when he took a scalpel to those sheaths.
So painful to watch......
Tom Meakin 😂😂😂😂
As someone with a lot of experience in weathering and ageing things (bit of cosplay, lots of post-apocalyptic costume and propmaking) - the thing that scares me the most is that whatever you're doing to an object, will most likely look awful, terrible, you'd think you've ruined it all, and that feeling stays with you until you're done. *Only when it's done it all comes together.*
Also - it's worth keeping in mind, that randomness is random, and people are terrible at being random.
I've got an oak staff I got at a Ren Fair way back. First thing I did was carefully wax it with new beeswax, then laid it in a gravel driveway and rolled it around underfoot, then brushed most of the crud off and buffed it with steel wool, more wax and then an old towel. That put maybe ten years' worth of beautiful random dings in it between a really nice deep finish that's not "too" shiny, and it was still serviceable. It's maybe twenty years old now and has darkened incredibly, and unevenly.
I also find people forget about things like repairs. For instance just because a blade is old doesn't automatically mean the scabard or handle is the same age.
@@ianmills9266 Also if the blade is used regularly, it probably is kept sharp, so you probably don't have rust on the edge.
Random is important. All of the stuff I carry regularly has weird divots or scratches from where I've dropped it or bumped against something. The inside of my wallet has scratches from getting grit between the halves.
But it's also important to think about why something might be worn. The toes of my boots are worn more than the uppers. The uppers are always covered by my pants but the toes are dented and scratched from kicking open the latch on the warehouse door or tapping over something on the ground. Just where it turns on my ankle the leather is rubbed constantly by my pants so it's differently colored. It looks like wear...not like I tossed into gravel and ran over it with my truck.
@@JainZar1 let's bot forget that if it's an old well used blade that's been kept sharp it's not going to be the same shape or dimensions as when it was first forged
Just a little tidbit from my experience of on camera vs real live, we did some Mandalorian cosplay a couple years ago. The first go I did little cracks, chips, stains and stuff all over the place, I thought it was way too much and was worried I overdid it. Come to find out we did really well and tons of people wanted pictures and they were everywhere, but i go and look at the pictures and it straight up looks like we are in mint condition armor. The next year I maybe added 3x the amount of damage and weathering I originally had and it looks way more like what I had envisioned.
So sometimes for screen you have to go a little overboard for it to read (on camera). But always good to keep in mind it's muuuuch harder to go back than it is to add more.
Good advice
ageing of weapon by blood on the wood parts, recent bloodstains or old ones?
It has to look aged to a glance not your trained eye looking for the wear an damage.
@@ronweasley9001 Cheap red wine isn't a bad substitute, the cheaper the better. Oxblood shoe polish if you can find it, but be sparing. The older blood is the darker it gets to nearly black. Try rubbing finely-ground red rust in and then sealing it in with wax or matte varnish.
@@SuperFunkmachine I'm comparing against old tools with wooden handles I see at yard sales, and I'd say the examples shown are damn good.
I found it very entertaining to see tod telling the story as he was weathering the piece and I never thought I would hear him say "he's a greasy guy"
The little back stories were the best part lmao
I would watch a regular series of just that.
I really like the way you "aged" your hands at the same time. Good grubby period blacksmith hands now.
One way or another I am only ever properly clean after a 2 week holiday
Does look too brown and not black enough to be grubby blacksmith hands. It's called blacksmith rather than brownsmith for a reason. Perhaps a blacksmith on his day off working in the garden.
Did Tod just casually mentioned he made Geralt's sword?
He did
ahem... Swords
@@tods_workshop #humblebrag
He also said season 1 and season 2. I know we expected the witcher season 2 and technically been said it's coming but I think Tod's just confirmed it 😂
@@garethlloyd1445 It was already confirmed. They announced they started filming in February.
Watching someone so skilled destroying the most beautiful pieces is as much heart wrenching as it is amazing XD
To do it and not care as it is part of the job did take make years
"If I can do it, you can do it"
Says the master craftsman that can draw a perfectly straight line on a suspended piece of wood with one hand
That's an old carpenter's trick- you use another finger on the side to keep your line parallel to the edge.
this isnt destroying, this is finishing the art, and i have a lot of respect for the talent I've just beheld.
Hi Tod, I made one of those simple crossbows you showed us in your last video, it is really fun. Thank you
Pharmazak I am still making mine. I didn’t have any wood so cut down a tree. But now I am trying to make make the cross bow without any tools except a saw and an axe
Nice! How long did it take you to make it?
I made it too. Works good. Now just making a set of crossbow bolts for it.
Great - well done and thanks for letting me know
@@joanignasi91 about 6 hours I would say, but I'm really inexperienced using tools
Ironically, this is perfect reference for me as a 3D artist. Seeing the difference between a brand new blade and an old, worn one makes it much easier to get the materials on such models right.
The funniest thing is that Tod's workflow of ageing actually works really well in 3D texturing tools. It yields a much more believable effect. Good stuff!
Ageing is like ogres, it has layers
Like ogres and onions
You've been practicing all these techniques on my car, haven't you
What kind of dagger do you like?
Salt and Vinegar
Nothing like some salt and vinegar on my aged bollocks...
Smarts some
@@tods_workshop smarts a bit extra if you apply the salt and vinegar after knocking some scratches in with a cleaver
ferric chloride and citric acid was my fav
imagine you make artwork so bad that some brit 1000 years later throws shade on you for it.
Yeah - whoever you were I am sorry for dissing your work (but it was terrible)
@@tods_workshop #sorrybutnotsorry ? :,D
As a certain British minister would say, "sorry you feel that way".
@@tods_workshop Isn't it quite likely the guy did it for himself, and would say "well, better than nothing!"
Omg, mentioning the salt water gave me chills, lol. At first I'm like NOOOOO! Then I remembered the point of the video.
Great video.
When you say that you need to make a good item and then "destroy" it, and that may hurt you to do so....
...when you take a sword and age it according to a character or a story, you are in essence giving it an identity. "A sword" was forged, but "THAT" sword was born.
I think that is beautiful.
"I'm just gonna go back in and abuse them again"
And this is why we need, Matt Easton would say, context.
I bet Matt and Tod could team up for some really satisfying penetration.
I have seen a few videos of Tod penetrating. Some archery targets, that is.
That was quite painful, and don't have a personal attachment to these things.
The way you describe your process and encourage the audience to try it for themselves, I can only imagine your full name as "Tod Ross".
I used to restore antique furniture and used a similar set of methods to age new parts. Much harder than it looks but with a bit of practice it gets quiet easy.
Most important part is to age things logically such as when Tod pointed out which way up a dagger is worn or how it was held.
Great video.
I just went onto your website and I am amazed at your prices I don’t understand how you can sell them that low for as much time as you have to have into each piece wonderful quality sir
Thanks
5:20 Seasoning a dagger
Before making an enemy eat it.
This should be part of EVERY prop maker/enthusiasts toolkit. I see far too many, great quality mind you, weapons and apparel looking pristine when it's supposed to look "aged" or used. And it doesn't matter how great the quality or craftmanship is when it looks factory new, it just breaks all form of immersion for me. This is masterfully done, and all with stuff everyone has laying around the house.
I like to use sanding gloves and manipulate the object as if I where using it. the sandpaper gloves give ware in location of use.
Nice plan - I use dirty hands in the same way
Great work, nice and subtile. One thing that always frustrates me peronally is over-aged really really beat up props, you see alot of post apocalyptic stuff for example where people carry really grimy and beat up, almost to the point of being unusable weapons. if a guy is out in the wilderness and has to survive with what he has got he is going to take care of it.
You try to, if you're sensible, but, with no way to repair things, they get beaten up pretty badly, usually a single time that goes wrong. If you can't then sort it, what choice do you have? Throw it away and die without it, or soldier on.
"He must have been drunk and comatose to do it that badly."
Some people claim they make better art when not sober, so...
That's just the nature of degenerates, they will always find excuses for their behaviour. Especially drug users.
Most likely their art looks better to them when they are not sober !
'No one expects the Ladies' Temperance Society!'
@@bashkillszombies There have been studies showing that if you learn something while drunk, you'll have trouble repeating it while sober...
Probably it looked better when new than after spending 1000 years in a bog....
Every time you mentioned the owner of the Quillon dagger; liking his chicken, being a slob, being a fat guy, not being able to fix things well... cripes sounds like you were talking about me! Much love sir and keep up the good work! I think I've got to distress my quillon Dagger now
One skill that I didnt think about is a good imagination and understanding of history and how a person would have actually worn down their weapons through use. Well done Tod.
Olaf is watching and thinking, "I hate it when I take a dozen spear blows to my Seax's scabbard. :( I paid so much for that."
A Tod vid day is a good day
This is really fascinating man - as a collector and fencer my mind is so saturated with taking care of pieces that I had never thought to wonder how they are done up for film!
@Tod's Workshop For rusting steel, have you tried warm saturated sodium chloride and hydrogen peroxide solution ? It's very fast - a few minutes - not too iffy to use and not too toxic. Pre-etch slightly the steel with vinegar, citric acid, etc after degreasing for best results.
Not fully relevant to your application, but may be instructive, this mixture is actually used to produce very tough black oxide finish in some so-called "red rust bluing" processes, by repeated applications with boiling and carding of the steel in between. Useful for tools and such. There are a couple of videos about it on YT.
Thanks - didn't know about that one
I don’t think I’ve ever been more truly fascinated with a RUclips video than this one. Bloody brilliant! Sir, you are a great artist. I commend you!
This is so interesting to watch (once you get over the pain of seeing those beautiful weapons being „destroyed“). It’s not only a nice look behind the scenes of move production, but it’s also just relaxing to listen to you, imagining how those weapons got woren of and what their history is! Please make more of those videos!
"Oh it's so anoying! You paid loooots for this." I don't know wether I should cry or laugh to be honest.
13:40 that moment just blew my mind... also who knew sawdust could be so useful. And now I’ve got a bit of it thanks to making my own crossbow. Great video as always!
This caused me to frantically run a lap though my apartment. Some scrap pieces of hide and some thinner soft leather, a knife, a torch, some water. The simplicity of cutting a pattern and heating the leather? *mind blown*
Thanks a lot, this might be the solution to getting a fine pattern for a few small details in a project I have. :)
Love how this starts as well all do, gloves on.. and quickly descends into.. nah gloves off and filthy hands... good to know this is a thing regardless of skill level !
Mustard makes a nice patina on carbon steel. It leaves a mottled pattern. Put it on thinly and let it fully dry. Three times works best for me. It worked great on my "antiqued" hatchet.
Never tried that - thanks
@@tods_workshop YW
I found out, after years of use of my swords that a very important factor of age on the handle is the colour of the gloves of the owner. With use, those gloves get wet with rain or sweat and eventually the colour transfers to the handle. I think it's quite interesting, a blackened handle is fine for someone wearing black gloves! There were gloves of every colour, red, blue...
as well, if you are handling metal, polishing, and then putting your hands on the leather or wood, the very black oxydized iron that you removed tends to darken quite a bit the wood, and it's black. I wouldn't be so catégoric as you on the fact that a black handle is wrong... it happened to me quite often to blacken it when polishing.
lol, love how each piece has its own backstory:D
Tod's channel just gets better and better
It's oddly satisfying to watch beautiful weapons get destroyed. It truly is an art in itself.
I love listening to tod in the background while I'm working on projects
I used the HBO mini series Rome and the the BBC comedy Yes Minister for that role
-"Quick, Lars, the enemy are already at the gates!" -"But I have yet to decorate my scabbard!" -"Alright, be quick about it!" -[Scribble scribble scratch scratch] -"That's... beatiful.. now let us fend them off!"
Dude, Todd distresses props with a level of confidence that makes me flinch just watching lol
Sounds like the "story" for the weapon needs to be decided on first. Then, replicate what would happen during that story as best you can...without overdoing it and destroying the weapon or scabbard.
I rather like how you don't damage the weapon's edge. Even with a weapon that's led a hard life, if it's still used as a functional weapon, you'd expect that any nicks to have been polished out. The hilt or scabbard may be wearing out, the blade may not be kept as clean as it should, but the edge...that could mean the difference between living and dying, according to how well it's been looked after.
Nicks and chips can be present in the blade's edge, but those nicks and chips should be sharpened too. The blade's edge won't be a smooth arc either. There will be dips and such from sharpening out those nicks and chips.
Your professionalism, creativity and love for this are astounding.
You're the Bob Ross of distressing weapons.
Now to buy a modern replica and see if I can put one past on Matt Easton...
Not with Tod's maker's mark on it, you won't. Might be funny as a momentary prank, though, to fool him for a minute until he sees that mark.
@@InSanic13 i never mentioned that it had to be one of Todd's pieces. It would be funny though.
@@InSanic13 Then you are going to have a weird moment when Matt has realised somebody was about to fool him and he is holding a sharp weapon in his hand.
Interesting video, I enjoyed it.
I was a professional blacksmith for years , made mostly 18 th century knives and axes. I made many “Antique “ ones.
I had to do them so they had to pass and not just look like what someone thought looked old
I used to see knives and iron that were aged with bleach and they looked like things that were aged in bleach.
To do a good job you have to know what an original aged piece looks like whether an old butcher knife or a $5,000 Bowie knife.
What you don’t normally want is an even finish because things usually don’t age like that.
I usually rusted iron up using a mixture of nitric and sulfuric acid. Heat the surface up some first. Then sometimes I’d sprinkle some black powder on it and light it. I liked to put the piece outside under black plastic. The plastic builds up the humidity.
Check it after a day or so to make sure you didn’t age it to much. When satisfied use baking soda to neutralize the acid.
This video is an amazing combination of sheer horror and incredibly relaxing Bob Ross painting. Fantastic episode!
I feel for your heart in "Breaking them after". You really do care about your work. Don't you?
I saw Stewmac age a guitar, and to make more irregular dents, he used a rock and gave it a bit of a hammer from different angles to create different dents, unlike the regular dents a hammer makes. Not that what you were doing wasn't already great stuff, just thought it might add to the pool of ideas.
I'm beginning believe that Tod's was the best performance during the entire Witcher series.
Great vid Tod, thank you.
I have done a good bit of aging of weapons and have found out a lot. Ruined a few thing along the way. For making pitting i have pray glued a bit of sand paper on the face of a small hammer. Also pool chlorine powder will make a nice pitting effect. Hydrogen peroxide + salt or vinegar + salt will produce rust fast. Heating the metals just before blueing or patina. It seems to go deeper.
To kind of help protect one of my carbon steel Mora knives, I gave it a mustard patina using large grain Dijon. It gave it a really interesting finish, and resharpening gave it a different edge color. Since mustard is a paste, it sticks pretty well to blades.
Probably mostly the vinegar in it.
Very informative video on "Antiquing" or "Weathering" for cosmetic applications.
Great video, as always Tod 👏👏👍👍💯
Love absolutely everything this man does. However... the position of his logo being offset on the shed triggers me.
Would be awesome to know what weapons etc you have actually made for productions.
Thanks and there is a very specific reason that I did that, but now can't remember why....
@@tods_workshop Can we just establish the lore that you were (19:12) Drunk and comatose to be able to do it that badly?
@@tods_workshop To hide the (cheap aluminium) door handle a bit with the yellow hammer head.
Don't mock the crooked logo, now he's gonna take it up a notch and rub vinegar and mud on it then blow torch the edges.
"Really hard life, a little more gentle...met a DRAGON."
Hey, some of us may assume, that the last one would not age very much after that event! :)
Tod adds realistic backstory to justify wear on items that most viewers will look at for 5 seconds and move on or wont even notice at all, let alone know what they are even looking at if they do
I really believe that people recognises what is right or wrong on a subconscious level even if they don't on a conscious level and this needs to right for everything to 'feel right'
@@tods_workshop yeah your probably right about that either way seeing you go the extra mile on the realism is awesome for pedants like me i hope more mainstream people gain a greater appreciation for realism aswell, thanks again for all the content Tod
They might not notice that it "looks right", but the second it looks "wrong" it is like a neon sign flashing through your bedroom window as you try to get to sleep after a 12 hour shift, it will drive you crazy.
You know he’s good with knives when he calls them “Tod Cutler pieces”
Someone tweet this at Adam Savage, I bet he'd love this.
Do try this at home
Back in 2002 a friend of mine was in a stage production of the Man of La Mancha. He came to me and asked if I would prepare the rapier he was going to be using for the stage. I used a trick I had been taught a few years earlier by a prop maker that worked out fantastically. I cross polished the edge so that when the stage lights hit it they glinted off at a different angle so the sword really looked like it was sharp, even though there was no sharp edge on it at all. That turned into quite the job, after the other people in the play saw his sword they all came to me for the same treatment on theirs. I polished a lot of swords and daggers in just a few days.
Thank you. Always great to see a good weathering video!
Wow! That certainly works Tod, you looked much older at the end.
Love that mace, simple brutal timeless.
I was disappointed by the lack of blood. Almost all my wooden tools has at least one splotch of blood from over the years.
Instant hot chocolate powder looks great as dried blood stains
@@tods_workshop Ooh, that's a good one.
One thing that is missed. The old steels if they were steel at all were much softer and didn't hold an edge as well. If you look at old trade knives you see butcher knives sharpened down to eventually look like boning knives. They had to sharpen daily use knives a lot more often than we do.
That is very true, but some things don't work visually. when a guy pulls out a cleaver and it has been sharpened so much that the blade is thin and concave and is actually really annoying to use as a leaver, but it is all he has - that was reality, but is hard to explain in a 2 second sequence
I found a great aging compound in a watery solution of potassium permanganate (not too weak!). Works great on unpainted wood, leather and paper (all organic materials really).
Thank you so much really enjoyed this one, I'm a re-enactor I've always distressed my kit but this takes it to the next leave thank
A smart material to use would be coal and soot. Things that medieval people would encounter a lot in their lives. Fun video to watch!
I've never felt so conflicted watching a craftsman work! The crafter/engineer in me can't believe what Tod's doing to these fabulous pieces that must have taken _a long time_ to make... but the artist/roleplayer in me is intrigued by the techniques & the aesthetic he's getting by destroying them! 😵
28:33
whilst destroying his dagger: "just a little bit of... love"
Wow! It's really great to see all the attention to detail you put into each piece.
I have two of your knives now, and I bust my hump to keep them clean.
It made me chuckle to see you deliberately doing the opposite!
One nice method i camne across was simply to wear the scabbard all day at work, but with no blade in, they get beautifully dinged up
Brother, your an artist of your craft! Well done!
these knives look like real life knives ! i like this!
Very cool and useful vide, I'm saving this one and will pass it on when I have the chance., I really like the methods that you mention and seem a lot better, more realistic than other techniques I've seen recommended, most notably using spray paint or a spray bottle. The reason I don't like the spray paint/spray bottle method of applying weathering is because they leave a distinct dapple pattern which, to me, screams artificial.
Tod....i salute your skill!
This is almost better than watching the shows!
Fascinating... Witcher series did a great job of duplicating the game experience.
I picked up the Bauernwehr dagger from Tod Cutler about a month ago and love it, considering the price point, and am extreeeeemely considering a custom commission one of these days, when I feel a bit more comfortable with dropping well over $1000 on a sword. I'm just so impressed by the work.
i watch tods workshop not because of for wepouns but becouse of todd :):)
Thanks Todd. This will help me with making ak's and other guns look like battlefield pick ups.
I had to chuckle at the string to mend the shrunken handle... I have an old hatchet at home with a leather handle. My grandfather mended a gap in it ages ago with a bit of string sealed with beeswax.
I'm a blacksmith and dabble in bladesmithing in Alaska. A good technique for us is to leave the entire weapon untreated outside for a week or two in the rain. It will rust the head and grow mold and moss in that short amount of time on the wood. A little bit of sanding and it looks like a used axe.
*shudders in prior military*
Spent four and a half years passively obsessing over rust and wear&tear, and 18 months specifically obsessing about rust and wear&tear as a shipboard steam plant bilge inspector. Watching this was both like watching an art form, and watching a reenactment of a train wreck that took off a part of your hand. Informative, beautiful, and #@&%ing painful all at once.
Same, my 11 years in the infantry made me hate the thought of deliberately adding rust to a weapon...
Very interesting topic! I have never tought how important it is to make equipment fit to character in a film. I would also make knife edges a little thinner- when you look at archeological findings many of them are so damaged by countless sharpening, that there are like 40% of original blade length left. Great film as always!
Six years ago a drop of paint fell on my scabbard, which is wood wrapped in suede. I hurriedly cleaned it off, and was left with a dark smear on my previously pristine scabbard. I was mortified.
Tonight I watched this video over dinner, and Jesus Christ man...To cheerfully violate your work in such a way. I couldn't look away. I HAD to see what you'd do next.
Terrifying stuff.
Great fun!!! Love the casual " I did the Witcher's" etc etc, looking forward to Season 2 even more now!
Todd you're the greatest
Leav it in some water for a couple says. Kick it through the dirt a few time. Sharpen it with a brick and then sharpen it properly.
Always interesting to see how other people do it! I make loads of stuff for cosplayers, but it's amazing how many things you stumble on to by accident or by watching someone else do it slightly differently.
Splendid job. Thanks for your excellent performance
Thank you for all these tips
When it comes to the work you do for movies or TV-shows, like The Witcher as an example, how much of that is of your own design, and how much of that is done according to their specifications, rather than what you yourself thinks looks good?
In the case of Witcher, little is an actual design, it is more collaboration between myself and the head armourer, bouncing ideas until we have something we both like
Positively brilliant!