Master Markus squatted in the corner, puffing vigorously on his long-stemmed pipe. Kevin squatted beside him, quietly gazing at the star-filled sky. After finishing a bowl of tobacco, Markus gently tapped the pipe bowl against the wall to knock out the ash.
Pointing to the stone equipment in the courtyard, the master said, "A blacksmith needs not only exceptional skill but also a robust physique. I believe you now possess the latter.
"Now, I'll teach you the basic classifications of ancient metalworkers. In ancient times, bronze craftsmen were divided into: Zhù (筑), Yě (冶), Fú (凫), Lì (栗), Duàn (段), and Táo (桃).
· Zhù (筑) made scraping/paring knives.
· Yě (冶) made arrowheads, dagger-axes, and halberds.
· Fú (凫) cast bells.
· Lì (栗) made measuring vessels.
· Duàn (段) made bó tools (a general term for farm implements).
· Táo (桃) cast swords.
However, these distinctions aren't so strict nowadays. Like me, I can basically craft knives, swords, arrowheads, farm tools... Doesn't this society value jacks-of-all-trades? But remember, breadth is not better than depth. Today's Master Artisan-level smelters typically specialize in only one thing. After all, energy and life are limited. Thanks to that Kindred, I specialize in sword-forging. Now, let me explain the basic process of sword-making."
The fundamental method for making bronze swords is casting, which generally involves five steps.
(一) Making the Mold (制范): Creating the mold for casting. Sword molds were often made of clay, fired in a kiln to dry and harden, then refined. Their texture resembled pottery, hence 'clay mold' or 'pottery mold.' The mold is based on the sword's design. Whether the final sword achieves the design—harmonious, balanced, and aesthetically pleasing—depends on the mold's precision. The mold also lays the groundwork for decoration. Patterns or inscriptions cast onto the blade must first be carved in reverse (yin-yang) on the mold's inner surface. In essence, sword decoration begins with the mold. You can make your own molds, but that requires learning the Potter skill. You can also buy generic ones from me. For special molds, it's best to commission a potter. Each mold can be used roughly ten times.
(二) Alloying / Proportioning (调剂): The material for casting swords is bronze—an alloy of copper and tin, or copper, tin, and lead. 'Proportioning' refers to the ratio of components in the bronze alloy. Before smelting, raw materials like copper, tin, or lead must be mixed according to a rational formula—this is 'alloying.' It's the key step determining the sword's properties. Within a certain range, increasing the tin content in bronze increases the alloy's hardness and strength. However, exceeding the optimal tin limit makes the alloy brittle and prone to snapping. Adding a small amount of lead adjusts the metal's castability and workability, but too much lead also reduces hardness and strength. Therefore, only by proportioning the components correctly can you obtain bronze that is both hard and tough, suitable for a sword. Additionally, special materials are needed to give the weapon unique attributes.
(三) Smelting (熔炼): After proportioning, the materials are placed in a crucible for smelting. The purpose is to melt the copper, tin, lead, etc., into liquid and further remove impurities—like charcoal attached to the raw materials, or oxides, sulfides, iron, and other metallic elements—purifying the alloy. Your Nine-Cycle Dragonforged Furnace is the crucible. It can remove impurities quite thoroughly. Moreover, because it uses not charcoal but fire drawn directly from the deepest depths of hell, it has unexpected effects. However, its full potential won't be realized until its seals are completely broken. For now, it's only somewhat better than a high-grade furnace. Patience, youngster.
(四) Casting (浇铸): Pouring the mature, molten bronze into the sword mold. After it cools and solidifies, the bronze sword takes shape. During casting, you can appropriately add blood from its future owner. This increases the weapon's affinity with the master, allowing it to unleash greater power.
(五) Post-Casting Processing (铸后加工): The cast bronze sword is merely a rough blank with a coarse surface. After removing the mold, the following refinements are needed:
· Scraping and Polishing: To make the surface smooth and even.
· Decoration: Such as inlaying glass or turquoise into the cast pattern grooves, or inlaying red copper, gold, or silver wires. Even further, engraving patterns on the surface. Inlaying was a common decorative technique—patterns were cast or engraved on the bronze surface, then inlaid with gold, silver, or copper wires (or sheets). Polishing with an abrasive stone revealed vivid, clear-lined designs.
· Attaching Fittings: Assembling the complete hilt, guard, and pommel.
· Sharpening (Grinding the Edge): Honing the blade to sharpness.
Post-casting processing is meticulous work that tests one's patience.
Those are the basic steps. But some important details: For alloy proportions, take the sword. Divide the bronze alloy into four parts: three parts copper (75%) and one part tin (25%). This ratio provides excellent hardness and strength—sharp enough yet not too brittle. Another key is observing the fire during smelting to judge readiness. "When casting metal, first the black turbid qi of the metal and tin is exhausted, then the yellow-white appears; when the yellow-white qi is exhausted, the blue-white appears—then it is ready for casting."
The above covers the basics. A more advanced technique is Composite Sword Casting. "The white [alloy] is for hardness, the yellow [alloy] is for韧性 (toughness). When yellow and white are combined, it is both hard and tough—a fine sword." This 'fine sword' is what we call a composite sword today. It involves casting the sword spine (core) and the cutting edges with bronze alloys of different compositions. The spine uses an alloy with lower tin content for greater toughness and resistance to breaking. The edges use an alloy with higher tin content for greater hardness and sharpness. Thus, it combines rigidity and flexibility—a masterpiece. Its casting method also differs from ordinary swords. An ordinary sword's body is cast in one pour. A composite sword is cast twice: first, the spine is cast using a special mold, with grooves left on both sides for joining. Then, the cast spine is placed in another mold to cast the edges, which interlock with the spine to form the complete sword. The spine's copper content is higher, and tin content lower, than a standard bronze sword. The edges are the opposite: lower copper, higher tin. Using only the spine or edge material for the whole sword would make it too soft or too brittle. But using them separately for the spine and edges yields a sword with superior performance.
A sword has three key elements: Length, Agility, and Structural Strength. Length aids in striking first and extending defense. Agility aids in adapting attacks and defenses. Structural strength determines the sword's resistance to bending.
The above discusses bronze weapons. Nowadays, iron ore is more abundant and cheaper than bronze. Let me also tell you about iron weapons.
The most crucial technique in wrought iron is Hundred-Fold Steel Refining (百炼钢). "Steel within iron is like gluten within dough. Wash away the soft flour, and the gluten remains. Refining steel is similar. Take refined iron and forge it over a hundred heats. Weigh it with each forging—each time it becomes lighter. Continue forging until the weight no longer decreases—then it is pure steel. Even after a hundred refinings, it will not diminish. This is the essence of iron, clear and bright in color. When polished, it becomes a deep, dark blue-black, distinctly different from ordinary iron. There is also iron that, refined to the end, yields no steel at all—all depends on the source." Here, 'refined iron' refers to the raw material for hundred-fold steel. 'Each time it becomes lighter' likely refers to continuously removing inclusions. 'Weight no longer decreases' is relative. 'Refined to the end... yields no steel'... 'Hundred refinings' means a hundred forgings. The core process is repeated hammering. 'Hundred-fold steel' is a type of 'pure steel' after impurity removal. Besides removing inclusions, repeated forging evens out composition, densifies the structure, and can refine the grain, drastically improving material quality. "Forging is minor metallurgy."
Regarding the specific operation of 'hundred-fold refining,' it includes three processes:
1. Multi-Layer Lamination and Forge-Welding: Stacking and forge-welding many pieces of material together. Their compositions can be the same or different. Can be folded again after lamination.
2. Single-Material Repeated Folding and Forge-Welding: If the material is a single layer before folding, after n folds, there will be 2^n layers. Legendary Longquan swords were said to undergo 'nine refinings'—'nine' also implies 'prolonged.' Actual forging times depend on raw material quality and desired product performance, often taking months.
3. Spiral Winding and Forge-Welding (Spiral-Welded Hundred-Fold Steel 镟焊百炼钢): "Using iron rods, heated and refined a hundred times, gradually wound into a ball. Five pounds may refine into one." This forging technique is the legendary spiral-welded hundred-fold steel. It adds special forging techniques like spiral winding upon the hundred-fold process, making the blade's grain pattern finer and more绚丽 (brilliant). Folding and forging while continuously carburizing pushes the blade's elasticity and hardness to the extreme. The drawback is the highly complex process and相当高 (considerably high) failure rate, making production costs very high. It was rarely used in common blades, seen only in weapons of royalty and nobility in ancient times.
However, average craftsmen don't need such advanced methods. For ordinary weapons, follow this basic procedure: First, source the material. Form the main iron raw material into balls, heat them intensely with charcoal in a furnace to create sponge iron, then forge into bars. Divide the bars, visually inspecting for quality. Good sections are used for blades; poor ones for farm tools. The good material is tamahagane (玉钢).
With the basic material, proceed with repeated forging, mostly fold forging. Fold forging creates countless layers in the blade, enhancing its power. The edge section can be folded up to 16 times at most. Since folding itself is a decarburization process, too many folds is detrimental. Usually around 10 times, max 16. The number of layers is 2^16, reaching tens of thousands.
After forging the edge, forge the other parts. Then, sandwich the layers: Back + Edge + Back, heat intensely, and forge. A special clay/sand mixture—a craftsman's secret formula—may be added between the steel layers to strengthen the bond.
The basic form is now achieved. Before quenching, let the blade cool naturally. Then, apply clay slurry to the blade, mainly on the back, leaving the edge exposed. This gives the blade flexibility and creates the wave-like pattern (hamon) on the edge—precisely by applying the clay in a wave pattern. Some even carve patterns into the clay on the back. Then, heat to a specific temperature and quench.
You'll need to experience all this slowly. In the coming days, I'll gradually teach you how to make other weapons. Of course, you don't need to learn everything. Obscure weapons? No need at all. Remember, breadth is not better than depth. You can use my forge freely, but you must pay a usage fee. Same for ore. With money, everything's negotiable. You can go practice now, but I'm going to eat. Want to join? For NPCs, players are just passersby. We have our own lives.