Oakeshott Institute Lecture on Medieval Quenching Recipes

[Sean M]

"TEMPERA IN QUESTA AQUA": EXPERIMENTING WITH IMPACT OF MEDIEVAL QUENCHING RECIPES ON STEEL HARDNESS

https://www.youtube.com/watch?v=ufpOe4BnMQc (a 90 minute talk)

Text and slides at https://www.arms-n-armor.com/pages/temp ... -pt-1-text

The presenters are an Amanda Taylor, Ph.D.
Research Affiliate, Center for Premodern Studies
University of Minnesota
Research Fellow, Oakeshott Institute

and an Emily E. Beck, MA, Ph.D.
Assistant Curator, Wangensteen Historical Library https://hsl.lib.umn.edu/wangensteen
University of Minnesota | umn.edu

[losthelm]

Thanks, I'm passing this one around on FB.

[Sean M]

Jess Finley of Fühlen Designs did another talk for A&A on linen armour but I don't know if they have posted the video yet.

I have seen an argument that most of the quenching recipes are the same as the nonsense that fills health magazines, or sewing magazines ... the basics that work don't fill many pages so if you want to keep filling pages you have to make stuff up. Often the lists start with a basic water or oil quench and all the exotic mixtures come after for someone who does not want to hear 'this is all there is to it, you just have to practice'.