This is a video about how Japanese swords are made – from the gathering of the iron sand, to the smelting of the steel, to the forging of the blade. Head over to and enter code ‘Veritasium’ for 100 free blades with the purchase of a razor. Make sure to add both the razor and the blades to your cart for the code to take effect.
If you’re looking for a molecular modeling kit, try Snatoms, a kit I invented where the atoms snap together magnetically –
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A massive thank you to John McBride for making this entire project happen. This would not have been possible without John. Please check out his japan walking tours
Massive thanks to Craig Mod, Inoue-san, everyone in the Tanabe family, and Takanashi-san. Also a massive thank you to Kevin Cashen –
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References:
Tanii, H., Inazumi, T., & Terashima, K. (2014). Mineralogical study of iron sand with different metallurgical characteristic to smelting with use of Japanese classic iron-making furnace “Tatara”. ISIJ international, 54(5), 1044-1050.
Tate, M. (2005). History of Iron and Steel Making Technology in Japan Mainly on the smelting of iron sand by Tatara. Tetsu-to-Hagane, 91(1), 2-10.
Krauss, G. (1999). Martensite in steel: strength and structure. Materials science and engineering: A, 273, 40-57.
Krauss, G., & Marder, A. R. (1971). The morphology of martensite in iron alloys. Metallurgical Transactions, 2, 2343-2357.
Yalçın, Ü. (1999). Early iron metallurgy in Anatolia. Anatolian Studies, 49, 177-187.
Kapp, L., Kapp, H., & Yoshihara, Y. (1987). The craft of the Japanese sword. Kodansha International.
Images & Video:
Great video from NHK –
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Directed by Petr Lebedev
Written by Petr Lebedev and Derek Muller
Edited by Trenton Oliver, Jack Saxon, Peter Nelson
Animated by Fabio Albertelli, Jakub Misiek, David Szakaly
Filmed by Petr Lebedev and Lui Kimishima
Produced by Petr Lebedev, Derek Muller, Han Evans, Giovanna Utichi, Emily Taylor
Thumbnail by Peter Sheppard
Additional video/photos supplied by Getty Images
Music from Epidemic Sound
world , How the Most Expensive Swords in the World Are Made , #Expensive #Swords #World
, veritasium,science,physics
Western swords were sorta mass produced pieces of crap
Ah yes demon slayer: swordsmith village arc live action
what a video 🙌🙌
veritasium is one of the best channels about science in YouTube
Keep up the good work 🤌🤌
I remember as a kid I had access to some educational DVDs produced by NHK. All the videos were live demos of physics and chemistry experiments. One of the experiments talking about redox was this kind of iron smelting procedure. It wasn't as high-tier like this one and the "kiln" was just a tower of cinder blocks. This videos just brought back my memories watching those quality contents.
OK, now do a video on the European longsword because while the katana is a beautiful and well sculpted piece of art, the longsword is by far a better fighting weapon and that's what matters.
Demon slayer vibes 😁
I just appreciate the fact that each step of the process takes as long as needed. sharpening a single sword for up to a month is dedication to perfection. To include the swordsman that would have been waiting on that blade to be complete. Most people today think 2 day shipping is outrageous.
This was amazing to watch. How wonderful that we actually get to see this.
Was there a reason the smelting process only happened once a year? Is that the time it takes to accumulate the special sand to use with the high concentration of iron?
I have been waiting for a vide like this ever since I discovered Youtube. That was excellent!
Thanks for great video! BTW in this channel even the ads at the end are interesting!
Sokka is taking notes here
They've consistently failed against European swords right? I saw a documentary once
This is so Japanese. An elaborate process requiring so much skill with a great tradition, mostly heavily outclassed by the blast furnace technology.
I don't like this mythologising. Japanese swords are definitely cool and they do a good job in their role of being a sidearm and a status symbol. I don't want to downplay their cultural significance, but if you want a good functional medieval sword, Europe simply had the advantages…
Adeptus Mechanicus
Cool. Maybe next another one about vikings and how the steel in The Ulfberht Swords was hundreds of years ahead of its time.
Excellent production and content. Keep up the excellent work.
My enemies would cower in fear as I unsheath this sword knowing that it makes the next few seconds their last!
Now i understand why Haganezuka gets so mad at Tanjiro for breaking the sword he crafted lol
I need to play Sekiro ASAP.
Too bad a gun is stronger
Veritasium Producer is buffed!
your producer is a moron and made this impossible to watch
Soooo cool
Shad is going to have a meltdown about this haha
Perfect timing: about to finish Blue Eye Samurai on Netflix
Fairytales for tourists good enough for the Kill Bill movie 🙂
I reckon Zoro's swords are probably worth more.
There is a very old documentary from french-german arte tv channel about the production of japanese swords (and some stories regarding them). It's nice to see, that this tradition of traditional steel production and sword making is still alive 20 years later, although with somewhat more modern tools and approaches. The tv team was very lucky back then to see a real master piece being forged by Sadatoshi Gassan.
Thanks for this production!
Don't bring knifes (even big ones) to a gunfight…
Amazing video
Why are we still making swords if we don't use them to fight any more?
You can make a blade just as good without All those labour intense steps if the forge temperature is high enough to actually melt the ore.