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Subscribe to RSSGet an inside look at the weapons created for the new season of HBO's "Game of Thrones" series.
All swords are not created equal, particularly when it comes to "Game of Thrones," the HBO series based on George R.R. Martin's character-rich sword-and-sorcery saga. When the series opens its second season on Sunday, some of the swords you'll see are made of cheap resin, others are metal blades just meant to look good — and a few of them have been custom-crafted using a technique reminiscent of the story's fictional, magic-laden Valyrian steel.
For Martin, swords are serious business.
"The one thing I can say is that he is very, very knowledgeable about history, including weaponry," said Chris Beasley, the proprietor of Valyrian Steel, the Michigan-based company that produces licensed replicas of "Game of Thrones" swords. "When designing the swords, and he is highly involved in the design process of our book replicas, he doesn't want something to look cool. He is more concerned with realism — who made it, why, and how?"
For example, let's talk about Valyrian steel. In the "Game of Thrones" TV series and Martin's "Song of Ice and Fire" book series, the Valyrian blades were created ages earlier by a vanished civilization, using a blend of alloys forged with magic spells. There's actually a real-life analog, minus the magic, known as Damascus steel. Damascus swords are famous for their resilience and the intricate, flowing patterns that are imprinted on the blades, but the secret of their forging has been lost for centuries.
A few years ago, researchers found that at the microscopic level, Damascus steel contains carbon nanotubes — structures that seem like 21st-century technological magic dropped into the 17th century. The super-strong nanostructures are mixed in with softer metal in the sword. That solves the classic dilemma of sword-making: how to make a blade that is hard enough to do damage, yet supple enough not to break.
HBO
Young King Joffrey (Jack Gleeson) sits on an Iron Throne made from the swords of enemies.
Modern-day Valyrian steel
Today, swordsmiths use a process known as "pattern welding" that produces results similar to the lost art of Damascus steel. Multiple layers of steel, with different amounts of carbon and other elements, are forge-welded together to create a blade that combines strength and suppleness. When all the layers of metal are flattened and folded together, over and over, it's like having two blades — or, more accurately, 200 blades — in one.
Some of the best-known Valyrian blades seen in the "Game of Thrones" TV series, such as the swords nicknamed Ice and Longclaw, were made using the pattern-welding technique.
"Ice was the main weapon to get right," Tommy Dunne, the weaponmaster for the series, said in a Westeros.org interview. "From the concept to the construction, it was about three weeks to make, as the blade was hand-forged by pattern welding, and the blade was drawn using machine hammers. But as with any good weapons, there's some other secrets that will remain secret!"
Beasley's business also sells some swords made with pattern-welded steel. "Those could technically be used, but we never recommend it," he told me. "Our swords are limited-edition collectibles, and no sword is impervious to damage. If used, they will get nicks, and chips, and scratches."
Beasley recalls that Valyrian Steel's Longclaw replica originally sold for $600, but after the swords were sold out, one customer reported receiving an offer of $3,000 to $4,000 for his sword. "I wouldn't recommend that anyone risk damage to something so valuable," Beasley told me.
Needle at work
If real fake Valyrian steel is too expensive for your taste, you can shell out $170 for Needle, the kid-sized sword that pre-teen Arya Stark learns to uses with deadly effect in "Game of Thrones." Beasley said Martin had a hand in designing the replica.
"Reading the books, I and many others thought, 'OK, this is a small rapier,'" Beasley recalled. "George very quickly put that notion to rest. He said that Mikken, the Winterfell smith who made it, would never have seen a rapier in his life, so how could he make one? That is why the book version of needle is more or less a small, slim longsword, and not a rapier."
Martin was so pleased with the result that he had one of Valyrian Steel's Needles sent to the actress who plays Arya so she could practice with it. And she's not the only one.
"One customer did tell us that they use Needle in their offhand to increase strength and coordination," Beasley told me. "They keep it in their office, and when on the phone or otherwise occupied they just jab and thrust with their left hand." (Remind me not to burst into that office unexpectedly.)
New twists in an old trade
Some of the secrets from the golden age of swordsmithing may have been lost over the past few centuries, but technology is adding new twists to the trade. There's been a lot of research into the use of alloying elements such as carbon, manganese, chromium, nickel, titanium and molybdenum. Materials scientists also are developing metallic materials infused with carbon nanotubes, just like in the good old days of Damascus steel.
"In more modern times, steel can be precisely made, and the overall material creation process can be more scientific so that you can get precisely the steel with the hardness and flexibility you desire," Beasley said. "So materials science has probably made modern swords stronger than older ones, but construction methods have not changed — though, obviously, power tools and other equipment have replaced arm power."
Ah, power tools — I'll bet the swordsmiths of King's Landing would have shelled out hundreds of silver stags for a good belt grinder. Are you in a mood to geek out over the science and technology of "Game of Thrones"? Feel free to indulge yourself in the comment section.
Update for 6 p.m. ET March 30: Veteran sword designer Kit Rae, who has created replicas for a variety of swords made famous by Hollywood, agrees with the parallel between the Valyrian steel of George R.R. Martin and the Damascus steel of real-life swordsmithing. "George Martin's universe is a parallel to what I would guess is the 12th to 14th century in our history," Rae told me. "Around the 10th century, that's when we were really starting to get into properly quenched and hardened steel."
There is a difference between the fictional and the factual universe, however. In "Game of Thrones," it's no longer possible to make brand-new swords with Valyrian steel. In the real world, there's a wide spectrum of swords and knives being made with the "Damascus steel" label — ranging in price from less than $200 to much more than $1,000.
"There are people who will argue that we don't have the technology to make something that compares with what the master swordmakers in Japan or Europe did. That's a bunch of bull," Rae said. "We're actually much farther along than that. But in that regard, you get what you pay for."
More angles on 'Game of Thrones':
- Teens rule in bloody 'Game of Thrones'
- 'Game of Thrones' headed to PS3, Xbox 360
- George R.R. Martin previews his next book
- All about 'Game of Thrones' on The Clicker
- Medieval knights may have had PTSD
Alan Boyle is msnbc.com's science editor. Connect with the Cosmic Log community by "liking" the log's Facebook page, following @b0yle on Twitter or adding Cosmic Log's Google+ page to your circle. You can also check out "The Case for Pluto," my book about the controversial dwarf planet and the search for other worlds.
Leave a Comment:
Just started Clash of Kings; I refuse to watch the next season without reading the book first! I don't care about spoilers; there's something about reading the story and then seeing it come to life on screen. The producers (and especially the casting agents) did one of the best book-to-screen translations I have ever seen; much better than even Peter Jackson did with LOTR. The dialogue from the books is almost taken word-for-word into the episodes. Masterfully done series; if you haven't checked out either the books or the television series, I strongly recommend both.
I agree with you, though I had never read the books. I just purchased the set and started reading Game of Thrones. I will just have to read after the show airs. But I am still enjoying the details in the books. I would prefer though, as you, to have read before seeing it on TV.
Great show and books indeed! BTW, the lates book Dance with Dragons is not getting good fan reviews.
FWIW - Stop reading after book 3. Martin goes off the rails in Feast for Crows and A Dance With Dragons. Exposition for exposition's sake, thousands of pages where the plot progresses at a snail's pace, characters that regress back several books in the way they're written and act, and wordiness feels like he's just trying to fill the pages.
Martin is in dire need of an editor who can stand up to him. Books 1-3 are superb.. 4-5 completely turned me off of the series. I feel bad for the screen writers who are going to have to convert the mess in the books to digestible TV versions.
Captiosus - Robert Jordan did the exact same thing in the Wheel of Time series. Books 6-9 of that series were almost unreadable, they got so tedious, but the last few books ramped everything up and it all ended better than it started. I have a feeling it's just a rut epic fantasy writers fall into when they have these giant casts of characters and literally dozens of plot lines to tie together.
I'm only on book two of A Song of Ice and Fire, but I've already bought the first four, so I think I'm in it for the long haul.
Chris - I agree about Wheel of Time. But I never really felt like Jordan stopped caring about writing, and Jordan didn't have HBO looming over his shoulder. Reading GRRM's blog, it feels like he's stopped caring about Westeros. He complains, a lot, about the difficulty of writing the books and then dismisses the books themselves and goes back to talking about the TV series.
It just feels like he's checked out and would rather focus on the TV conversions.
I think Jordan just got stuck and didn't know how to end it. The thing that really bothered me about it was that the guy knew he was living on borrowed time, and yet he STILL spent two whole books with Perrin chasing the Shaido around to rescue his wife, and the rest of the main characters dicking around in various cities angsting about romance like hormone-crazed middle school kids. And what happened? He died with the last three books unfinished and someone else had to take over.
I'll have to take your word about GRRM... I haven't gotten too far in the series yet, so I'll just have to wait and see.
Captiosus, I agree about the later books. Martin has turned this into the never ending story. I'm seriously wondering if he didn't have a stroke or something because they definitely don't live up to the first three. He brings in all these new characters and sub plots that do nothing to advance the story. In fact the story does not really advance at all in hundreds of pages and there is no end in sight. He bloats every scene with endless descriptions of what every character is wearing, their sigils, their backgrounds, etc... ad nausium. It literally becomes very boring to read and you will be skimming endless sentences just to find the few that actually have a bearing on the plot. And whole way that books 4 and 5 are basically parallel books with one covering half the characters and the other covering the other half is just truly bizarre. To have the series start out so brilliantly only to have to turn to sh1t is very, very disappointing.
Chris, I didn't realize he had died but that definitely explains the total mess we have been left with!
Oh, and my kindle edition only authors him and he wrote the foreword and it's dated April 2011. So if he died it was in the last year after this book was released? Guess I could research it but at this point I'm so disappointed that I really don't care. But I probably will just to get some closure on why it went so bad.
Are you talking about Martin or Jordan?
Martin is still alive. Jordan died in 2007 and I think it was Brian Sanderson who picked up the Wheel of Time series where he left off.
Which book are you on? I think the Knife of Dreams was the last book Jordan did all on his own.
I've read all the books, and while 4 and 5 were not as good as the first three, I really have enjoyed the series. What does concern me is that it takes so long for George Martin to actually finish writing a book, I could see him kicking the bucket before the series is done.
Chris I thought you were talking about Martin. Guess I have to go back to my having a stroke theory. Something definitely affected his writing ability. Or maybe I should say his plot conceiving ability.
I imagine keeping it closer to the books for GoT has more to do with the fact that this is a TV series where you have much more time than in a 3 hour theatrical film.
I haven't read the books but I will be glued to the TV this Sunday.
JRR: LoTR, FTW.
It always bothers me when I hear sword myths being presented as facts. Damascus steel isn't special its just poorly mixed metal. Two different grades of steel poorly mixed and you get a swirled pattern, the only reason they seemed so great is that the crusaders where using iron weapons.
What the heck are you talking about, Chris. Try looking up something called Wootz Steel, which is believe to be either the same as Damascus steel, or the primary metal in Damascus Steel
@Chris ... please at least read up on something like Wiki before you post.
While modern steel swords are vastly superior, Damascus steel and later Toledo steel were considered pinnacles of their respective time periods.
A Damascus steel sword for its time could be lighter and honed to a finer edge without breaking than basically anything contemporary (don't bring up the romanticized Japanese swords since those were later in time and were mostly highly folded iron with crazy labor overhead).
There is a reason why scientists took the time to study them and categorize their molecular structure.
Quit judging everything through a modern lens of high precision. Humanity only got to this point with lots of pain-staking work, trial and error, and accretion of knowledge. The achievements of the past should not be downgraded simply because of successes of modern times.
Chris is obviously all self-righteous in his anger, when he writes:
Then, he goes on:
Your ignorance on the subject is staggering. (And given your first sentence, you must make yourself very bothered, indeed.)
As David and Eric point out, Damascus steel is NOTHING like you say. And for that matter, the Crusaders -- and all medieval warriors -- used swords made of STEEL.
You really need to stay in school...
just a thought but look up damascus steel and you will find it patented.....it is a precise process and produces precise results....it is not a lost art to make damascus anymore and they are truly a wonder.
Much of the technology in these books, including the swords, are just our historical tech with different names. It's not very creative and way over used.
Actually, that's a modern company that decided to play off of the mystique of Damascus Steel over a century ago - however, they don't do "forging", they're a molding/casting and machining company.
Modern "damascus steel" is steel that mimics the look of original Damascus Steel, and is often crucible-forged or pattern welded.
Correct me if I'm wrong but know one really knows how real Damascus steel was made? So all modern versions are really just replicas who's process may or may not have anything to do with the original.
You know I know what hes talking about see this page proves it
sorry the link didn't show replace the ( with /
http:((alturl.com(h8jx6
I believe scientists were able to study an original Damascus blade and found out how it was made. It was made with a particular type of iron from India that had a precise amount of Carbon. It can be replicated with today's methonds.
I have a legitimate source that shows I am correct
www. dr47 .com
I used to be a top notch swordmaker myself a couple decades ago. Mostly I used the modern 5160 Spring Steel (Chevy uses 5160 for their leaf springs), which has almost the exact same alloy as was the famed Toledo Steel of days gone by; It has a tiny amount of vanadium added to it otherwise it is exactly the same as the old Toledo Steel. When I was building blades I built them to full, tool-quality functionality, and yes, even a properly built real sword will take nicks, dings and chips in actual sword to sword combat.
The Damascus Steel and Wootz that they talked about is not only the way that top Persian style blades were made, but the technique was fully realized in the Japanese Katana, where the metallurgy and construction techniques were the absolute epitome of the Swordmaking trade. The Japanese Katana is essentially built using the so-called Damascus technique of forge welding steeels of differing carbon levels to make a superior steel that had both the hardness of the higher carbon steel with the flexibility, toughness and durability of the lower carbon steel.
A LOT more goes into swordmaking than many would believe. One must have a good knowledge of the physics involved, the whole metallurgy and also a lot of engineering goes into a sword. Swords are not only 'balanced', but they also must be 'tuned'. Any bar-shaped object, like a sword, when struck makes a wave form as it vibrates, just like a chime or 'bell' in a band. Tuning is a matter of using exact mass distribution so that the nodal points formed ( the two points that do not vibrate, the vibration happens around them) from the vibrations match certain points in both the blade (the percussion point or "Sweet Spot") and the other must line up with the handle in such a way that the vibration happens around the hand so that the user is holding onto the Repercussion Point with the strongest fingers and part of the hand. This is so that even if the blade should chatter off the target's armor or the like, the user still has a firm hold of the blade and it will not vibrate out of their hand, rather the vibrations move in line with the wrist and one is left with a very firm grip.
I am disabled now, a rebuilt broken neck and severe back troubles, so I am unable to do the work that I so very much loved. It is good to see that other people have taken up the swordmaking and understand the real science levels that are involved. It is also good to see that the knowledge is being spread as well!
Damascus steel is called such because it was traded through Damascus. Given that in the modern day, Damascus steel refers to any pattern welded steel, it is highly improper to suggest that it is anything other than poorly mixed metal. A high quality modern damascus can be made of two steels with similar hardening characteristics that simply have different stain-resistant qualities so that an acid-etch reveals the pattern of the folding. It has no more carbon nanotubes than any other steel. Poor quality modern damascus can be made of anything.
Traditionally, pattern welded steel was used to homogenize the carbon content between two steels in an attempt to come up with a good steel. The more it was folded, the more it was homogenized. Thus, one could take a steel with 1.5% carbon (too much carbon in a simple steel for a good blade) and pattern weld it (forge weld, twist/fold, weld, fold, etc ad nauseum) with a very low-carbon steel (or even simple iron, neither of which have enough carbon to be hardenable) to create a very roughly-mixed piece of steel with a carbon content of, perhaps, .7-.8% overall carbon content, which is ideal for blade making. The process, while intricate, is a great way to get fatal inclusions (gaps where the metal did not weld completely, either due to insufficient heat or slag buildup) and weaknesses that will cause a blade to break - this is a problem in the modern world, and even more a problem in the ancient world where they did not have the benefit of gas forges, consistent fuels, constant electrical air-supplies, huge tanks of quality quenchants and consistent, machine made steels - while good swords CAN be made this way, it is worth noting that a modern steel (5160, EN45, even very simple carbon steels like 1060) has the potential to make a vastly superior sword, in the hands of a good smith. Back in the day, pattern welding was not a luxury, but a necessity for the most part. Some smiths did make swords of homogenous steel - Ulfberht and Ingelrii, both of the Rhine area, were notable examples, and their work is even thought to have been forged (no pun intended).
Wootz steel is, more than likely, the steel that is being referred to by the term 'Damascus' and is where the confusion comes from, between people who know about swords, and people who do not. Unfortunately, wootz being very uncommon even now that people are making it again, it will probably be a while before extensive tests determine its suitability over modern steels. And, for the record, the presence of carbon nanotubes has been disputed.
All that aside, B Honest is absolutely right about the construction of a sword - much more goes into making a good sword than good steel. A poorly made sword is a poorly made sword, and a good sword for one may be a bad sword for another.
Thanks again Alan Boyle ....
Sword science in film making ....
Such a cool way to see through science eyes ....
Can be applied to everything ....
I moved into a house about 20 years ago, and in cleaning out the attic, I found an old sword. It seems to be hand made, with a wooden handle and sheath. There are triangle like markings on it, but I can't seem to locate who's emblems they are. The closest I got in my research is an African maker, using a very similar symbol.
I sold that house and moved around for a bit.
Then, 5 years ago I moved into the home I am in today. I started cleaning the attic and I find... Yes another sword!! I had to ask myself if keeping a sword in an attic is a tradition I didn't know of. This one is also hand made, though no visible markings on the maker.
Anyone know is placing a sword in an attic is some custom I don't know of?
Did... did you find the Master Sword...?
Let me ask you this... when you picked it up, did a set of red, blue, and green pendants suddenly start glowing and rotating around you? Did all your hearts replenish, and you were suddenly able to project bursts of energy from the tip of your sword when you swung it?
For the love of Hyrule, go find Aghanim!
As much as I love Zelda, my story is true. I want to track who made this sword and how much its worth.
I would suggest abandoning the internet and going old-school on that. Hit up a reputable antiques dealer and see if they have any reference material you can check. I would bet the triangle markings are either a) the logo of the company that manufactured it, which would probably be long-defunct if it is indeed antique, or b) the mark of the bladesmith who forged it, if it is actually handmade.
Just on a hunch, (and assuming you're American), try to find some information on US military swords... it's the most likely origin for most antique swords found in the US (you're probably not going to find an authentic Scottish claymore longsword in your attic, you know?). You might have yourself an authentic Civil War officer's saber or something... never know.
I wouldn't give up on the internet. Use it to find some sword smiths and send them some photos of the details. Most would probably be willing to help just out of curiosity. First I'd try and make sure your not dealing with some modern replica POS.
Yes I'm American, and it is a saber style sword with wooden handle. Could be some sort of calvary sword, but I can't find an exact match anywhere on the handle or the symbols etched on the blade. I'd hate to have something valuable and get ripped off since I have no idea what I am looking at.
Brian, not a replica. The wooden handle is not in great condition, and the blade looks old. The sheath looks very much like the old calvary saber covers, but I can't find these markings anywhere. There are 3 wavy lines over each other on the blade close to the handle, with 2 more wavy lines next to each other. The wavy lines look very similar to the tilde key on the keyboard (the squigley key on the upper left)
Well it sounds like a military sword so I'd look on the web for military historians too. I'd think you would find a ton of those, particularly for US military history. And you might try a library while they still exist!
Those places with the books inside? That is so 1990's. lol
Yeah, that's them! Still love that smell though, and you just can't get that on a kindle.
These guys can help you. They charge $15 per sword to be identified/appraised, though:
http://www.internetsword.com/idservice.html
You might also post your descriptions and photos here for a crowd-sourced opinion:
http://www.swordforum.com/forums/
You might also try this tool-- you describe the maker's mark and it tries to match it up with their compendium:
http://www.marksandlibrary.com/home/searchMarks?q=
I wish they had an option to browse by category of item, but they don't...
TFNJ,
My friend, Paul, recommended you try
http://www.oldswords.com/.
You'd have to register to use it, but it's free.
Good Luck!
Learn something new every day, plus it ties in with one of the best shows on television. Too bad those replica's are limited edition. Thanks for the article.
Thanks Alan!
A friend of mine has a very good guide on his business site, sort of a 'Swords 101', with information on the various types of steel used, the advantages and disadvantages of each..., and if you scroll down a bit, a little video clip showing what can go wrong when you play with pointy things.
I'll post a link here for informative purposes only. It's a really good source of info for anyone who wants to learn a bit about the subject.
http://www.sword-buyers-guide.com/buy-swords-online.html
Thanks Solomon. As I posted above, I found a sword in a house long ago, and have been looking into who the maker was. I see the sword has markings on it, and there is an African maker with a very similar mark, but wasn't exactly the same.
TFNJ,
I'd take some good pictures of it and email Paul at that site. Even though he's based in Australia, he's got contacts the world over and can probably point you in the right direction for answers (just don't get your hopes up too much. Chances are it's not Excalibur).
Thanks, I will. I have had them for years, and know they just might be worthless. But hey what if I have something valuable? I just wish I could find a similar sword picture online so that I know what I am dealing with.
TFNJ, Found this sight: http://www.internetsword.com/idservice.html
They will attempt to ID it but it cost $15. But it sounds like they only charge you if they are able to ID. You send them photos, if they are able to ID they will tell you. Then you pay them and they send you the info. Sounds reasonable since they are probably worth way more then that anyway. Even something from the 20th century is probably worth more then $15 to a collector.
Cool, thanks I will do that. I have been racking my brain trying to look it up myself.
Bet my Hatori Hanzo katana will break your Valeryian letter opener any day of the week! Seriously, though, if you want a good sword for use in actual defense/combat, go to Japan or Toledo, Spain. And bring plenty of money.
Never bring a sword to a gun fight! Besides, until they pass a law that lets me bring it into a bar...
Amen, Brian! Reminds me of 'Army of Darkness': "Alright, you primitive screwheads! This is my BOOMSTICK!"
Names Ash, Housewares.
Good thing you didn't have the book or you would have unleash all manor of hell on us!
You must recite the three words exactly as the book says.
OK we're geeking out now but I though he unleashed everything because he didn't recite it correctly. Been a while since I've seen it.
I hate to admit that I've never read the books and didn't even know about the HBO series so I missed season one. I'll be looking forward to season two though. I checked and they're showing GoT in bits and pieces on hulu. They're also showing behind the scenes.
http://www.hulu.com/search?query=the+game+of+thrones&st=0&fs=null
Sword making and the swords themselves are beautiful works of art. I'm more fond of the crossbow, even though I don't hunt. The action of the crossbow is a work of art in itself. I would really like to take it up as a sport.
Does anybody go to Renaissance fairs? I've been to one and it was like traveling back in time.
I'll check out the suggested articles above, Alan.
Thanks as always.
If you already have HBO then you will have HBO Go or On demand to watch season 1, if you want. You will have to marathon watch at this point though.. :)
Thanks!
My favorite science site, io9 has a couple of articles regarding GoT. I didn't pay them any attention until now, so I'm beginning to read them. Better late than never, as they say. lol
Here's a good one.
The Dragons, Bitchslapping, and Warring of Game of Thrones Continues this Sunday.
Oh cool, I didn't know about that site. I will check it out.
If by traveling back in time you mean traveling to a place where you know that the actors aren't real medieval people but rather strange, lonely people that can't fit in to the modern world and thus resort to play-acting bit parts that are typically pretty historically inaccurate - then yes, that's exactly what it's like.
A rather harsh critique don't you think? Some of us will be happy with the fairs and Renaissance actors considering that we can't travel back in time, literally.
Unless you know something...
You can't use a belt grinder or any other kind of grinder on the steel; you will cause it to heat up and lose its tempering. This is why the sword must be polished with stones- slowly shaping the steel and then sharpening and polishing it. The emperor of Japan's sword polisher charges by the square centimeter, and has a significant backlog last I checked, but if you need it done right, he's your man.
Of course you can use a grinder. You just have to know what you are doing and not let the heat build up. Many many things that need to keep their temper are ground. There are also low speed wet grinders that make this much easier and many of these are specifically designed for shaping and sharpening knifes, etc... And of course many things are ground to shape and then tempered. Hand grinding without ruining the temper is one of the first things a machinist will learn how to do. A general rule is that if you are not changing the color of the steel then you are not effecting it. And many modern steels can be taken way beyond the oxidation point without affecting the metallurgy. If it wasn't for grinders and sanders many many many products would cost a lot more and many couldn't be produced at all.
Actually I used a very high speed belt grinder, at 8k surface feet/minute and for my primary grind I used a 60 grit ceramic belt. Part of the shaping is done before the heat treat and part after. When doing the finish grinding one ends up quenching the blade frequently to keep it from building up any heat. The high speed belt grinders actually take the metal off fast enough that there is not much actual contact time and so there is much less heat buildup for the amount of metal removed as opposed to a slower grinder.
Brian is very much right above too..you HAVE to know what you are doing, it requires VERY specific, picky parameters and having the right equipment is a big thing.
When reading about Valyrian steel, I thought about the parallels to Japanese folded steel and sword-forging techniques, as well, though the comparison to Damascus steel makes more sense given the framework of the story.