EXPERIMENTING WITH DUTCH IRON
Supported by: Stichting Stokroos
December 2025
For the past few months we’ve been working on making iron and steel using a bloomery. Through this process, iron ore is transformed into metallic iron, using charcoal as a fuel and carbon source. The intermediate material, called a bloom, that comes out of the bloomery is very impure, with mixed compositions and slag inclusions.
To be refined, the bloom has to be hammered and pressed into flat pieces that are joined together, then hammered and cut again, over and over, until all the inclusions are gone and the metal becomes more homogenous. The work is hard and slow, but very rewarding. These images show some of our experiments, testing forged textures, ground and polished surfaces, acid etch and patina, and temperature oxidation.
BUILDING A PEDAL-POWERED GRINDING WHEEL
Supported by: Stimuleringsfonds Creatieve Industrie
December 2025
December 2025
A pedal-powered grinding wheel serves to remove half of the electricity needed for making a knife, which comes from the belt grinder. To build this prototype we used an old bicycle, scrap metal tubes and a grinding wheel that we found. This project is part of our ongoing research and experimentation into the development of human- and nature-powered machines.
BUILDING A CHARCOAL FORGE
Supported by: Stimuleringsfonds Creatieve Industrie
December 2025
December 2025
The basic charcoal forge is a simple and easy machine to build; however, it cannot fully meet the needs of a bladesmith, as it is nearly impossible to evenly heat an entire piece of steel. To address this limitation, we developed a prototype for an alternative forge design made exclusively from recycled and local natural materials. This project is part of our ongoing research and experimentation into the development of human- and nature-powered machines.
BUILDING A MODULAR SMELTER
Supported by: Stimuleringsfonds Creatieve Industrie
December 2025
Traditional bloomeries are typically built from clay and must be broken apart after each smelt to remove the iron bloom. Since constructing a new bloomery every time is both labor-intensive and resource-heavy, we wanted to upgrade to a more efficient, reusable alternative. This design is our approach at making a Japanese Tatara furnace, exclusively from recycled materials. This project is part of our ongoing research and experimentation into the development of human- and nature-powered machines.