(Photo courtesy of Secrets Of The Ice, Norway)
This is an awesome story. Says I.
Because it was once upon a time, in the sixth century, to be quite exact, that a hunter ventured far out to stalk reindeer on a glacier near Trollsteinen in Norway.
A lot of you guys know how it is. Got your game, stalked it most of the day, get to skin and butcher it, while the light is getting dim. Cannot let it go to waste, too.
Where the actual what now did I just put that knife now?
Sliding down that slope into that crevice, that is where I put it, for whosesakeever.
That was in the sixth century AD.
Zoom in to March 2023, climate change killing us all, but also melting the ice of that glacier. A team of Norwegian archaologists discovered a knife that melted out of said ice and, no irony intended, lovingly and caringly secured that site. Shout out to Secrets Of The Ice archaeology team for literally doing that. Those guys are awesome. They deserve a whole lot of more support than they get, and that is a fact.
Enter uncle Fimbulmyrk, leisurely browsing the devil's own webs and getting sent arse over teacup into the next rabbit hole.
Fire lit, forge roaring.
Like that, see?
Smitey, smitey, little filey, no more work, become a knifey.
Fact is, I messed up, but actually I did not expect to succeed in the first. Because I really want to make this a real archaeological experiment, so making this knife will be just a test for the real one.
On the other hand, I already got an impression of the capabilities of the concept, and that knife will be a biter.
Actually the differences are not toooo bad, and the mistakes I made also have a lot to offer in terms of understanding the knife.
Blade is file steel, with a selective temper and a high convex bevel to almost zero, as on the original (as far as I can tell without having handled it.
I, for one, think I earned that cuppa tree.
The picture above is an X-ray of the original, courtesy of the Musem of Culture Norway, Vegard Vike (Copyright).
The Museum studio photo shows the original and why I have ways to go still. This knife is stunning. It is dated to the 6th century AD. It bears some striking similarities to the finds from Illerup Ådal, too, which is really fascinating.
I really do need to do more research on the topic and really look forward to putting this knife to use.
So, stay tuned and thanks for your patience and loyalty!
