The Mästermyr tool chest is one of the most extensive archaeological finds of Viking era tools made in Scandinavia. The blacksmithing tools are well known throughout the contemporary blacksmith community, not only for their subtle aesthetic features and practical use but for the fact that they appear almost identical to modern day forging tools. There are more than just blacksmith´s tools and a wooden chest in the find, quite a lot of woodworking tools and other tools where found at the site as well. This have been interpreted as if a blacksmith master of that time worked more than just one material, not to different from the stories of the Islandic sagas where blacksmiths seem to meddle with all sorts of magic making exceptional things appear out of seemingly prosaic materials.
In this series I will be that person. Throughout the previous videos I made tools out of sticks and stones, used the tools to forge other tools, and now I will use those to make a tool chest. It appears I will have to use more or less all the tools made and likely get to a point where a few more will have to be done. The chest will not be a museum copy of the Mästermyr chest, at least not as far as measurements goes. My intention is to focus on the techniques but also the material found or forged at the site I am at; a forest in mid-south Sweden, close to an old forge and a stream but also an old iron age stone circle, and the forest where I played children’s games far up my teenage years… still do it seems ; )
In this “first” tool-chest-episode I begin with a short recap of the tree, beam and boards making up the materials used. Then I focus on measurements. All the parts will have to fit in the end and without a ruler one piece will have to provide the size of another. Eventually when all the pieces fit together the chest can be assembled. But that is the theme of episode 2 for I do not want to miss a technique or approach in the 14 ½ minutes I´ve got. The wood I am working is still wet. I was repeatedly advices against that when I researched the project since the wood will crack, move and brake the chest as soon as it is finished, but I had little choice since I did not cut down a tree with off-grid tools two years ago… and the tools are still the focus here.