These are the required elements for making steel:
- Iron
- Carbon
- Manganese
- Chromium
- Phosphorus
- Sulphur
- Nickel
- Molybdenum
- Titanium
- Copper
- Boron
Source: https://www.cliftonsteel.com/education/11elementsfoundinsteel
So, iron is only step 1. Humans are carbon based lifeforms, so I'm guessing that carbon is also sorted, that's step 2.
There's plenty of other elements in the human body, like phosphorus and sulphur, but I'm guessing that it's going to take more than 300 adults.
Source: https://sciencenotes.org/elements-in-the-human-body-and-what-they-do/
Source: https://sciencenotes.org/wp-content/uploads/2019/02/PeriodicTableHumanBody.png
Yes
Someone else did the math, accounting for waste made during forging. https://www.wearethemighty.com/mighty-gaming/blood-iron-sword-myth-explored/
This is extremely helpful, and fits perfectly into my secret plan
Secret plan
I will use this info as background for a BBEG in my TTRPG game
This is the MVP-comment! Thank you for that source!
Fucking awesome, exactly the comment I was looking for in this thread
Steel requires only iron and up to about 2% carbon
Rest are minor alloying elements used mainly in modern steel alloys to improve the steel beyond what just carbon steel could do like for example stainless steels
- Your link says these are elements commonly found in steel, not that they are all required. In fact it says of phosphorus and sulphur that they are generally undesirable.
- We don't need to make a steel sword, an iron sword could do.
Either way you would definitely need carbon, but as you say that's pretty easy. I don't think any of the other elements are absolutely required.
You only need iron and carbon the rest is already alloyed steel. You can definitely make a good blade out of only iron and carbon, it won't be stainless, it might be difficult to harden just right, but it will be flexible and hold a keen edge if forged right. The smiths of ole dealt with nastier steels containing all kinds of things making it worse, not better (such as excessive amounts of sulphur and phosphorus) so I'd say they'd manage.
Well, the non-metals and Manganese are way more available than iron anyway (probably molybdenum too). But it will be really difficult to create high-quality steel.
Id love to see the math on the amount of iron in a person's blood, because I find it HIGHLY questionable that there's enough iron in only 300 people to make a full iron sword. I'm too lazy to do it myself though.
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Longsword
- https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Composition_of_the_human_body#Elemental_composition_list
The numbers roughly check out. Not sure how much one can extract by just draining the blood though.
You're both in luck! Someone else linked to an article that breaks down how it could work in reality: https://startrek.website/comment/9430643
Listen. If they used surplus blood to do this (blood that was expired) and then held a raffle at the end of each year where all blood donors were entered to win a knife or sword made from the expired human blood iron, I bet they'd see blood donations skyrocket.
I want The Red Cross to hire you for marketing asap so this can actually happen.
ok, but humans also regenerate blood, very slowly but it does happen. So theoretically, you could contract your family members to draw blood to be used to make a longsword out of your family's bloodline. And have it become an heirloom.
imagine, over the centuries of blood donation, the sword slowly grows from a knife, into an absolutely huge dragonslayer behemoth
the living sword
Is it slowly? I thought you replaced all the blood from a blood donation within a day or two
i don't think it's a day or two, the recommended regulation is i think a certain amount once per month? or so. You'd have to google it.
I think the body recovers from losing blood in about a day, but it doesn't replenish it.
Listen there's definitely enough carbon in the body to boost that into a steel sword.
If we can make diamonds out of corpses, we can make steel.
You could also get a big sword-shaped ice cube mold, a chest freezer and probably not even a whole enemy.
You would have to do battle in freezing climates too though in order for it to remain physically effective
Though I imagine the psychological effectiveness might persist a bit longer
I'd suggest a warhammer mold, just for stability.
But then you'd have to paint it.
Mythbusters did this on their first episode: ice bullet. I think a sword might also be too brittle unfortunately.
I was curious how long it would take to make a sword out of your own blood. If my math was correct(it probably isn't lol) the human body contains around 4.7 to 5.5 liters. And then you can apparently donate like 470 millileters every 8 weeks.
So take 4.7(assuming the smallest people) X 300 = 1410 L total blood
1410(total needed) / 0.47(donation amount) = 3000 donations X 8 weeks = 24,000 / 52 = 461.54 years
New mythology curse just dropped.
So about 3150 pints of blood (10.5 being average for an adult).
Sounds doable XD
Edit: New ethical dilemma just dropped - kill 300 to forge the sword, or deny 3150 people blood in an emergency to forge the sword...
You know there’s a writer reading this meme somewhere: here; where ever it came from; where ever it will be reposted; and adding it to the story they are working on. Wonder where we’ll come across it first?
Glory.
You could even use the carbon from their flesh to make the steel!
