Recently, we talked about basic raw materials and where they are extracted. Probably many of you wondered what can be done with them next. Therefore, today you’ll learn how to make a sword. As you could read in the previous devlogs (”Things that surprised me” - #4 & ”Raw materials part I" - #8), the first step is to get the bog iron. Thrall cuts out peat cubes from bog and then burns them to obtain pea-sized ore particles.
PeatMine
These go to Smelter, where they are melted into “bars” in clay kilns. The melting point of iron is ~1500 C, so charcoal was needed to reach the right temperature. The quantity of product obtained was significantly influenced by the capabilities of the smelter, from the correct design of the furnace to the correct ratio of fuel, ore and air supply.
Smelter
“Where did the charcoal come from all of a sudden”, you might ask? And then comes Charcoal Kiln. Here the lengthy process of producing charcoal takes place. Pieces of wood are carefully stacked into a pile, which is then covered with a ~30 cm layer of clay. Stack is ignited through the remaining holes, which are filled later. Charcoal Kiln requires constant monitoring. The combustion temperature is controlled by covering cracked spots or, conversely, by punching holes in order to supply air. Depending on the size of the pile and type of wood, burning may take several days.
Charcoal Kiln
Only now, with these two necessary resources, Smithy can begin production. The specific costs of an item vary, depending on the chosen product, but the basis for each of them is already known to us: iron and charcoal. In this case, we expect a typical Nordic sword. Maybe it would be better to choose tools to ensure a consistent quality of work, but with a sword we've access to every resource in the world, right? ;)
Smithy
And so the first iron object was created in your settlement. Ultimately, it needed five different resources, three of which we can extract and two of which we've to produce using the raw materials that we've previously taken from nature.
Thanks for watching! Stay tuned for more and don’t forget to join our Viking Discord!