What We Know About the North East Blacksmiths' Viking Anchor

A pair of blacksmiths from England's North East spent time at the anvil this year building something few working smiths ever get asked to make: a functional, Viking-era-style anchor bound for a Danish longship. The Northern Echo reported the commission, describing it as an example of traditional forging methods applied to a piece meant to actually work at sea, not sit behind glass.

What did the blacksmiths actually forge?

The piece is a working anchor built to Viking-ship specifications for a longship project based in Denmark, according to the Northern Echo report. The outlet describes it as historically accurate and functional rather than a display replica — meaning it was built to hold under load, not just to look the part in a museum case.

Who made it, and where?

The Northern Echo identifies the makers as two blacksmiths working in the North East of England, a region with a long industrial forging tradition tied to its coal and iron history. The report does not name the smiths' individual workshop or give a completion date, so those details remain with the original story.

What techniques went into it?

Anchors of the Viking Age were built by hand from iron bar stock, shaped and joined at forge heat rather than cut and bolted with modern fasteners. Forge welding — heating two pieces of iron to a near-molten state and hammering them together so the grain structure fuses — is the traditional method for building a solid iron shank and flukes without arc or MIG equipment, and it is the discipline associated with this project. The process demands precise heat control, since iron that is underheated will not fuse and iron that is overheated burns and becomes brittle.

Why build to Viking specifications instead of using a modern anchor?

A longship built to sail, row or otherwise operate as a historically grounded vessel typically needs gear that matches the period, both for authenticity and because Viking hull construction and modern anchor hardware are not always compatible in form or weight distribution. Commissioning a hand-forged anchor keeps the ship's equipment consistent with the reconstruction rather than relying on a manufactured modern substitute.

What to watch

• Whether the Danish longship project publishes its own account of the anchor's sea trials once it is fitted to the vessel.
• Whether the North East smiths take on further Viking-era commissions following this project, a niche that blends heritage-craft demand with working blacksmithing.
• How forge-welding demonstrations tied to projects like this one continue to draw interest from smiths documenting traditional joinery methods, a theme also visible in coverage of blacksmithing's return to Gretna Green and in knife-forging instruction offered by a Portland, Oregon smith.

Full details on the commission, including any additional specifics on the smiths and the longship project, are available in the Northern Echo's original report.