Metal casting and blacksmithing are both ways of crafting useful objects from scratch for use about a homestead where buying them readymade may not be an option. The link below shows how it was done in the Viking era. Via Viking Metal Casting https://me401metalcasting.files.wor...rk-hanson_metal-casting-in-the-viking-age.pdf Note the cautionary tale in the following web article, about the purity of casting materials being used. Hammered Out Bits: Bronze Casting - Metals, Melts and other Mysteries
The man that they found buried in the ice had a knife cast that way. He also had arsenic and other heavy metals in hair so we know he was there when it was cast. Modern casting method using graphite mold is similar in principle as is casting lead bullets.
