This video documents the epic process of forging a pattern-welded sword using ataxite meteorite iron, railroad track steel, and C60 carbon steel. It starts with the raw, bumpy meteoritic chunk at 0:08 being heated and worked under a power hammer before being chiseled, carbonised, and stacked with rail and C60 steel layers at 5:50. The maker crafts a pattern-welded core by drawing out bars, breaking edges, and twisting them in a vise at 8:45, then welding high-carbon steel edges onto the core. The blade goes through extensive profiling, normalizing, oil hardening at 18:54, and tempering before reaching "the moment of truth" at 19:54, where an acid etch brings out the swirling Damascus patterns created by the meteoritic nickel content. The soundtrack opens fittingly with In Extremo's folk-metal anthem Sterneneisen—singing "Dieser Stern hat sieben Zacken, sieben Funken, sieben Marken"—before transitioning into heavy instrumental rock and dramatic orchestral themes that match the intensity of the shop work.
The craftsmanship on display here is remarkably thorough, especially considering the technical difficulty of working with meteoritic iron, which is notoriously prone to crumbling under the hammer due to its unique mineral composition. Seeing the historic Migration/Viking-style construction—combining twisted core rods with solid high-carbon edges for durability—executed with modern power hammers and precision temperature control makes for a fascinating process. The reveal of the final blade at 20:51 resting in the moss is a fantastic payoff after watching twenty minutes of intense heating, hammering, grinding, and etching.