The new blower produces more iron than the previous one. Using the same amount of ore and charcoal, a similar sized furnace and the same bloom processing method it makes 51g as opposed to 31 g of the previous design. The continuous blower is a big improvement over the intermittent spinning design (and this was only the first try). It's the most iron I've made in a single smelt yet. The attempt to form a forgeable bar was disappointing although it was a better than expected casting. In the past I had successfully made forgeable iron by melting the prills in front of a blast rather than making a casting first. I will probably follow this method of decarburization rather than low temperature annealing in future. The waste iron isn't lost however, I should be able to recycle it in future smelts as I've got a small pot of it. The waste iron from experiments could be re-smelted alone or added to future smelts to increase the yield.

Jesus, with all this work for not even a single decent Iron tool yet, No wonder why it took so long for us to reach the iron age. Mad respect for all that dedication.

The dramatic arc from "It crumbles" to "The iron can be recycled by adding it to future smelts" is phenomenal.

I have a fair ammount of blacksmithing experience under my belt and forge welding different steel types together and I can't help but think that when you placed the iron balls into the clay form that using a form of flux to keep the oxygen off of the iron balls could help it keep from braking apart after you puddled it. Sand works as a decent flux because it will melt down I to a crude form of glass and even with extreme heat, won't allow the oxygen to it causing iron oxides that basically make a layer between the iron balls that will make it break apart when heated again. I have used plain old creek sand to forge steel together before and it worked just as good as Borax in my humble opinion.

I subscribed to this channel six years ago when he was in the stone age and now he's in the iron age. He's going pretty fast.

Oh man, that first "clink" of the iron when it came out of the mold made it all worth it, it's been amazing watching this journey!

That moment 19:47 when iron hits the rock and you know, you just know, this isn't a sound nature makes, this is the sound of civilization

Two ideas for a hotter fire--- 1) Insulate the firebox by adding a second wall 10cm away from the existing furnace wall. Fill the gap with loosely dropped in ash (not packed). 2) Preheat the air before it goes into the furnace (or into the blower). Maybe have a longer pipe going from the blower to the furnace and have a secondary fire under it to preheat it. Best of luck, each video is super exciting!

The best part of every video is watching him start a friction fire with just his hands in under 30 sec. I’ve timed it, incredible and under appreciated. 🔥

Massive respect for all the unknown inventors of humanity, that developed many tools and methods before they could be eternized in books, stones or statues.

I will never tire of the unedited one-shot of him making fire by primitive means with such efficiency. Everyone else I see try to do something similar has to use a cut because it takes them so long.

You know you’re watching quality content when you don’t want it to end. Best channel on UKposts, hands down.

Some notes: more "modern" (meaning medieval) bloomeries were built a lot higher and torn down, while still hot. The bloom was then taken out of the bloomery while still hot and immediately compacted, so that the slag was driven out and an ingot was formed. Also during the smelting (although you don't really reach high enough temperatures to turn the iron liquid) the slag was allowed to flow out through holes on the base. That is why in German this type of furnace is called Rennofen (rennen/rinnen - Ofen = flowing - kiln/furnace). I would try to purify the ore a bit more (so no ash) and to seperate the slag from the iron during the smelting. Good luck experimenting further. Also one more thing: during a visit in Spain I was able to see a iberic smeltery where they also siffed through sand and water to seperate small ironore particles out, which they then smelted down in bloomeries.

My heart when it shattered 😭For a golden moment, he had the best looking ingot he's made yet. But alas, success is not monumental, it's incremental! Godspeed, mud man.

I appreciate that nothing he makes is so precious to him that he's not willing to break it and try again. After taking so much time to get that much iron, trying to forge it seems like a big next step. I think if something took that much work I wouldn't want to break it. But he builds and rebuilds forged trying to make them better.

I hope this channel continues through the ages. I hope to eventually see him create his own electrical system. It would be really cool for follow it that long.

As a metallurgy student this is really impressive. The blower has come a long way since your initial attempts. 2 improvements I could think of would be adding a flywheel to the axle and using the rope for a pulley drive with a crank handle. As an alternative you could also try Japanese style box bellows. Basically just a big square piston pump. For the smelt itself: the single biggest leap was hot blast. Basically just preheat the fresh air before putting it in the furnace. Ideally the preheat would be done by burning the exhaust gasses in a regenerative heat exchanger. For your stone age setup, you could simply run a clay pipe through a second fire between the blower and furnace. In ferrous metallurgy there is relatively little headroom temperature wise so even a few 100 °C of preheat should give you a significant improvement both in ore reduction and remelting. For your blast furnace you could also try adding a little limestone (snail houses/ egg shells) as flux. In principle all these processes benefit from upscaling but I doubt you want to do that.

I find it simply unbelievable that you've been delivering all this content in such quality for years. What I find even more incredible is the fact that despite having 11 million subscribers, you don't incorporate any advertising for a sponsor. I believe you are not only a rarity among UKpostsrs but the only one!

My dad and I have been watching your videos for years and have been excited for you to attempt forging the iron you have been collecting. This channel has been a highlight of UKposts for years. Thank you for continuing on and sharing your journey with us! It’s been amazing to watch unfold. ❤

I started watching this channel when I was a young teen, to this day, I still find this content extremely interesting. I'm extremely happy to have seen all of your progress throughout the years, and I can say you've honestly come a long way! Thank you for providing this very educational content! It is very interesting to watch and learn about more primitive methods. I can't wait to see your next video, and I hope you have a great journey going forward!

It's so strange (from our perspective) to know today that it took hundreds, if not thousands of years to create these iron tools because we have them in abundance nowadays. That's why I love these uploads. They remind you of how much effort it took to get to where we are today. We should never forget that. So thank you for your contribution!

Seeing that bar of iron, after all the work I've seen go into it over the years, is one of the most satisfying things I've ever seen.

One reason I'm in love with this channel is the respect and reverence he puts into his work.

It never ceases to amaze me how fast he does the hand drill fires. Like normal men could try for hours and still not get it, yet he does it in 30 seconds in real time for us. Every single video.

I'm not a metallurgy or mechanics of materials engineer by any means but i have studied it in classes associated with those subjects while getting a degree in mechanical engineering. These videos are a blast to watch and he's on the right track to making a forgeable iron if that's his goal. He's basically made pig iron which has a pretty high carbon content of typically around 4%. Carbon serves two purposes in this application. It allows the metal to reach a higher temperature for refining (which is how he was even able to get a solid bar of iron in a freaking charcoal furnace to begin with) but it doesn't allow the pig iron to be ductile and malleable for forging. The other issue with pig iron is it has a crap ton of impurities in it which are also messing with the composition of the iron being forgeable. Now if he is trying to forge this iron, he doesn't want a high carbon content and he wants the least amount of impurities as possible because what will happen is when he goes to hit it (to shape and form the iron bar), it will just crack and break. Which is exactly what happens in the video. He needs to essentially lower the carbon content of his iron that he has created and remove as many impurities as possible. This is where things get a little tricky. There are some pretty extensive and time consuming processes for lowering the carbon content so that might not be his next step. I think he needs to go through a purifying process. Without going too crazy into the material science and mechanics of materials aspect of things, i would say his best bet is to use a flux to help remove impurities. The impurities form slag that can then be removed from the iron that will become somewhat more "pure" then before. Getting the iron to a higher temperature (melting point is ideal) the flux will more easily remove impurities versus a white hot bar. shells are honestly not a very good flux material because of their chemical composition which is consistent in what he has seen in previous videos. But limestone (aka nature's "chalk") is actually kind of a perfect flux in this application for pig iron if he's trying to stay consistent with only what's in nature. The specific chemical composition of calcium carbonate (limestone) can be used in refining pig iron and extracting the impurities from the iron itself. I think if he is capable of getting his hands on limestone (which i don't see why not, its a pretty common sedimentary rock) and somehow getting his furnace hot enough to actually melt the iron (rerouting hot air possibly?) and maintain the heat, I think he can refine the iron to become more forgeable. Ideally if he had a larger crucible and more iron, with the flux, physically scooping out the slag (or impurities) that float to the top would be his best bet. But i don't know how feasible it would be to skim the top with the setup he has. I think coating the iron bar with crushed up limestone(as fine as he could possibly get it) and then letting it cool down to extract the slag and repeating the process maybe a couple of times could get the results he's looking for? The problem is, if the iron isn't molten the limestone could produce poor results. The idea is to get that limestone as incorporated as possible into the iron itself so it can react with and separate those impurities in the iron. Maybe instead of covering a bar with limestone, make a crucible that can increase the surface area so the limestone can be incorporated as homogenously as possible? I'm thinking a really thin iron plate? Maybe the bar is totally fine? Even agitating limestone into a semi-molten iron with a ceramic rod could be enough to get the results of processing the pig iron? Just a thought. Let me know what you all think?

The thing I love about this guy is the way he takes a scientific approach to primitive technologies. He uses modern experimental methods to test ancient engineering techniques; always interesting to watch.

I think it's amazing that you post the good and the bad together. In your earlier videos I thought you were showing or telling me a story, now I feel like we're on a discovery quest together. Please keep it up!

I confess I was very happy and surprised to see that you read your followers suggestions and put the best ones into practice.

Eight years on, and still one of the very best things on UKposts. The whole thing of you continually improving the process and refining the iron is fascinating. Thanks.

Loved the “trying viewer suggestions” segment of the video! We appreciate your interaction with your audience in the form of subtitles and comments. You’re an awesome person!

I absolutely love seeing metalworking using old techniques like this. Keep up the good work, and thanks for the upload!

These are the kind of videos I've been looking forward to, entering the iron age and metallurgy are huge steps I've been watching for years to get too this point I can't wait to see what you'll make of it

23 minutes of complete relaxation after work is exactly what I needed. Love the content, glad you’re back to uploading!

Don't take the final result as a failure. This process taught a lot of things, and identified an issue. That's the point to all of this -- running experiments, seeing what the issue is, and then finding ways to eliminate those issues. It takes time, and that's fine. This is just so wonderful to see.

I've been subscribed for a few years now I realise! Dear lord! You always impress me and I'm very glad to have discovered this channel back then. I'm a fan of primitive times since childhood and your channel is very dear to me because of that. Thank you for all your work! This must be truly tough sometimes! Very glad I've been following you long enough to see you go from Stone age to Iron age hahaha!

It is mind boggling how much the blower design improved the yield! Amazing episode, as always!

I am a blacksmith/farrier, and the best advice I can give is to close the casting mould. So no charcoal, slag and excess oxigen can get trough to the iron. I don't know about most of the other stuff, but I know that iron and steel hate open atmospheres when melting. Maybe a good place for research would be old crucible steel, I'm sure that could be recreated in a smaller scale.

Friendly reminder to everyone to turn captions on since he takes the time to explain everything he’s doing 🤗

No other primitive tech channel comes close to the content and effort you put in. Getting so close to forgeable iron!

I enjoy seeing the whole fire making process in real time. It's really impressive how fast you've gotten it!

It's good you show things, that did not quite work as you wanted. The honesty of your work, is one of the things that we all come back for.

Genuinely the only channel I have that notification bell on.

Love your content. Been watching since you first started. Original, authentic and hard working. You deserve all your success.

Glad we got some forging in this episode, even if it was unsuccessful. We've seen quite a bit of what comes before, so I'm always excited to see how the next step is coming along.

That single bar of iron feels so damn good to see. You've come far my dude. Can't wait to see it worked into something usable.

I’m looking at the cutlery in my kitchen in absolute awe. I’d never take metal for granted ever again.

The fact you tested our ideas out is awesome! Thank you

seeing you try and fail in consolidating is much more satisfying than watching fake forging and swimming pool primitive videos combined. Good work keep it up

Fantastic Simplicity! And... the Carbon Monoxide gas is what yanks the last Oxygen off of your iron... but those Oxygens need a strongly reducing atmosphere, and TIME - so... if you make a TALLER chimney, then you should have a longer residence-time, and thus, higher yields. I would love to see the labor and input -> output rates for each of your techniques!

20:13. That came from orange swamp sludge. How crazy man lmao that's so awesome. you're a legend.

Tank you so much for continuing your amazing job, showing for us how it is possible live in wilderness and flourishing with yours abbilities and knowlodge.

So much respect for what you do man. all the support you get from here is well earned

Jonh's ability to casually put his hands into the fire will never cease to amaze me !

14:24 "weighed with a modern scale for the sake of scientific accuracy", love PT's humor 😂

Thank you for making these videos…it is so cool to see what can be done with ingenuity and determination.

this is honestly the content i live for, thank you for making these videos, you inspire me

I’ve been keeping up with this journey as far back as when I was in school so many years ago. Seeing the progress and making it further towards iron technology is nothing short of incredible. Well done!

Insane. Those are the biggest prills we've seen yet. I'm super excited to see the process refined to make more tools.

i was honestly worried you'd be losing that iron from your experiments there. huge amount of relief with the last caption!

Man, the first time you make a good tool out of wrought iron that you forged yourself, is going to be epic! Keep it up man!

It never ceases to amaze me how much the invention of pottery helped propel human technological invention forward.

You'r emaking excellent progress. Very entertaining build, a tight edit and we all love a bit of crowd sourcing. Hope that QLD weather is being kind to you. Thanks!

Im 26, and yet im still get excited in this. Thank you Primitive tech! For hearing my request. Though if i may suggest i want to learn more also how to make a crucible out of nothing.

a suggestion. in the end when you tried to smelt a bar of Iron in an open mold. i would advise to close the mold and then put it in the fire. this way you get less oxidation and by putting small amounts of charcoal you can controll the carbonization of the Iron. more over this way if you heat the bar to a highrt temprature it will most likly come out smoother and more solid. if you have accees to a flux like tree resin which is crude but works to this day you can create a lower melting point and cleaner product. on a side note ive been watching this chanel since I was a little kid. i am now in college and Im happy my studies my be of assistance. hope this helps and good luck!

just brought food and refreshed UKposts.. Uploaded 1 minute ago, what a treat!

Hello, Mr. Plant. He became interested after seeing the video, and due to the coronavirus pandemic, he started a hobby of going out into nature, building bonfires, and pitching tents for camping. There were many factors, but your influence was huge. I'm thinking of starting a fire with a hand drill. This is a very precious and luxurious time for me. Your videos have brought richness to my life. thank you primitive technology channel.

Absolutely amazing as always John

Probably an under rated thing about this channel is the details of what he is doing in the description. its a way of telling how something is done in detail without talking, honestly pretty cool

No captions?! Is this the price of viewing 41s after publishing? Woe is me edit: hurray!

Thank you for providing such a wonderful experience

Surely one of the best UKposts channels ever made

Congratulations on the new record smelt! Been watching your videos for years. It's so good to have you back!

I always forget to turn on closed captions with your videos. But it’s such a treat when I remember! Love the way you lay everything out! Keep it up

I'm still super excited to watch your uploads after all the years being subscribed to your channel. I'm so excited to the fact that from getting higher iron prill yields, the next problem now is to consolidate the iron and make it malleable for forging.

one of my favorite channels. Thank you for great content

I'm sorry you have to spend so much of your time proving you're actually doing it. Thank you for all the years you've been doing this.

I don't have the plans but a nice idea would be a water powered fan design. You have already made one prototype in a water stream. Would be fun to see if you could develop it further. Always a "yesss" feeling when your videos come out. Keep up the good work 🎉

That was a big yield! That’s exciting! I think it’s really cool that this channel has kind of a goal now- iron tools. I know it’s incredibly difficult, but watching the progress of it is really enjoyable.

It's really cool to see how each improvement to the desing of the furnace and the blower results in more and more iron.

There is something very instinctively pleasing in your videos. Something about the act of working materials with your own hands, of experiencing the natural world. It's hard to fully articulate, but it feels like it scratches an itch. Like, playing around in the dirt and with sticks, is how things are supposed to be. Some primitive part of my brain is saying, "Yes, that's how it's done."

I really liked the pulley idea. It looked very efficient. Something I have seen some guys do on another channel to power a pedal operated wood lathe was to have a long(ish) board as a pedal to power the rotation and a rope attached to a sapling to provide the return stroke and raise the board.

I cannot wait to see you get a proper ingot together, it'll be so satisfying to see you finally achieve iron age tools, I'm so excited

This video will be starting the Iron Forging Arc. Nicely done!

A rope connected to a big wheel and wrapped around the stick could make for impressive crank wheel blower setup, but it may be more work than it is worth. Amazing tech development. You are becoming a metallurgist, inventor, primitive tech guru, and soon to be a blacksmith too!

It makes my day when I see one of these videos

From time to time i come back here, viewing all videos in sequence to understand whats going on, and, since i started to see your videos, (back in 2018), i love to see how you evolve to have that results. This is the iron age man!

Love to see it, keep up the good work Sir!

Here so fast there are no subtitles yet. Wow.

I like being here in the first few minutes of his posts and just watching the numbers climb

Keep up the fantastic work and experiments. You're making Hephaestus/Vulcan proud.

I've been longing for the video of the iron bar! I can tell you have too. Nice work! I have a feeling you found a new passion for metallurgy from this whole experience?? I cant wait to see what else you come up with.

No subtitles today???

Hi John. I eagerly wait for the begining of each month for your videos. You cant imagine how happy I was to hear the sound of that small iron bar against the stone, and how heartbroken I got after the bar crumbled. I was wondering two things: 1- have you tried to harness the creek's water flow and use it to rotate the rotor? That can release you from the blowing part. 2- have you tried to make some sort of crucible to avoid contamination in the iron melt?

Phenomenal episode John well done lad

It's comforting to know that if society ever fails, some of us can always go back to manual mode.

This next chapter is fixing to be AWESOME

I love your videos, the best survival and crafting from nothing channel i see so far. About your blower, you could make a flywheel, so it could spin with its momentum when you have to put charcoal on the forge, and give you a brake here and there. Besides, amazing work, thank you for all your effort

This is so exciting! I really hope for mor exploration of simple mechanics, gears, pulleys, water wheels, that sort of crazyness. And also the progress on iron is awesome! This man is my #1 pic in any type of crysis scenario, he can rebuild civilization

You're really impressive. Keep up the good work !

Hello,Primitive Technology I love all your videos since the very first one you uploaded and all the content you make (before you got your campfire logo or the book you made).You educate a lot of people around the world in all ages with your passion for this channel and what really was back then (trough the diffeent age - stone,iron age etc) for humanity to create all those equipment,house etc without having the knowladge we do today of chemistry or mathematics.(He does use chem. and math. , but it makes you really wonder about the people back then when they first made those things how many trials and errors they went trough before succeding.Meanwhile today we have science evolved and explored way more than back then.) Its honor and joy to watch every new video you upload ^-^ Reading your description of what got you into this and how you self-thought yourself is inspiring and your undying determination and passion is motivating. Wishing you health and happiness ^-^