Iron striking requires extremely high temperatures!

If there is no high temperature of more than 1,000 degrees, it will not be able to shake the iron stone at all, let alone divide it.

I don't know how the old blacksmith used to deal with this problem.

Is it coal or charcoal?

It stands to reason that both should be fine.

Anyway, we have ready-made coal here, and if we need charcoal, where will I find it for a while?

It wasn't something that could be made by starting a fire, and charcoal like that was useless. It has to be the kind of kiln burning, the charcoal that is directly charred from raw wood, and that's the top thing.

So I asked my cousin, "What...... What is the temperature of coal? Can it be used to strike iron?"

My cousin thought for a moment and said, "It's very high, coal can melt iron, if it's good quality raw coal." Our coal, for sure, can be burned. ”

I said, "That's good, it can be melted, and it's not a matter of burning soft." ”

My cousin pondered, "However, it seems that tools made of coal are far less good than charcoal, because coal contains sulfur, and what is beaten out is very brittle." It's a pity that we don't have the conditions to make raw coal into coke now, otherwise we can remove impurities such as sulfur in it. ”

My face darkened when I heard this: "Then I want to hit the axe kitchen knife, what's the use if it's too brittle? Don't cut a bone, the bone is not broken, but my knife is broken first!"

My cousin smiled: "Then you still honestly burn a kiln of charcoal to come out, this kind of long-term use of tools, don't be greedy for a while, the kiln has been dug ready-made, and it won't take a few days to burn a kiln of charcoal out." ”

I totaled it, and finally listened to my cousin's advice, spent five or six days, first burned a kiln of charcoal and said, now there is still half a month before the New Year, it is estimated that in a hurry, I can also cast my tools before Chinese New Year's Eve.

After all, my piece of iron is extremely rare, and if it is scrapped, there is nowhere to find it. On this broken island, where can I pick up another piece of meteorite iron of such a texture? Even if I can find iron ore, how can I have the conditions and technology to smelt it?

So he immediately went up the mountain to chop raw wood, picked some hard wood, cut it into pieces, and stuffed it into the big kiln pit that was used to burn ceramics before.

We don't want a lot, we cut more than 2,000 catties of raw firewood, and it is estimated that we can burn a few hundred catties of charcoal. The mouth of the kiln is sealed, and then the coal is directly used to smelt and roast.

The charcoal burning period is relatively idle, as long as you put on the fuel and watch the fire.

So I worked with my cousin to make a hearth out of mud and bricks, and made a bellows out of bamboo, which was barely usable, so as to prepare for the charcoal to be put into the ironwork after it came out of the kiln.

I went to the beach and got a few big hard and flat stones to use as a casting platform. I made a makeshift stone hammer and repaired a few wooden wedges for punching. There are also a few bamboo clips for clamping iron.

I thought about it for a while, and planned to hit a hammer first, although this thing is not as useful as a kitchen knife, axe, and iron pot, but it is the most important tool for striking iron. The stone hammer was only temporary, and it probably broke after two strikes. Therefore, it is necessary to have a strong and durable hammer before the work can continue.

All the preparations continued, and the charcoal, which had been burning day and night for five days, finally came out of the kiln.

My iron-striking work has officially begun.

The first furnace of charcoal was burned, the hearth was warmed, and when the second furnace was piled up, the large iron stone was thrown into it.

My cousin watched the fire in front of the furnace door, and I, a coolie, struggled to pull the bellows in the back.

"Okay, stinky boy, I feel like I'm going to do it!" After a long time, my cousin finally called out to me.

I hurriedly got off the bellows, ran over, and hurriedly clamped out the iron with a bamboo clip.

The whole iron stone was burned red and white, and my raw bamboo clips, as soon as they were clamped, they were smoking, and it seemed that they would not be used a few times, but fortunately we had prepared for several clips.

"Get out of the way, don't get in the way of me here!" This thing, I was terrified when I saw it, this is going to touch the human flesh, and it can melt the meat directly.

My cousin ducked aside and shouted to me, "Be careful, put the stone platform up!"

"Hurry up, my sapper shovel, send my sapper shovel!" I put down the iron block, and instructed my cousin again.

Taking the shovel, I held it high and weighed the hammer-sized piece of material that I had cut first.

When my cousin saw it, he smiled and said, "You don't need to lift it so high, this iron is very soft now, just cut it directly." ”

I said, "Really?" I put the shovel next to the iron, weighed out more than two catties of material, and cut it with a knife.

Hey!

It's really that soft!

It's the same as cutting tofu!

This is a bit exaggerated, in fact, it is similar to cutting a piece of frozen pork, it is still somewhat hard, but not as soft as tofu. Of course, it is also because the temperature is not high enough, if the temperature is higher, not to mention soft like tofu, it can be soft into soy milk.

It seems that everything is afraid of high temperatures, and the iron that is extremely hard at room temperature has to be soft at high temperatures.

Fortunately, my shovel made of high-carbon steel is relatively resistant to high temperatures, and it is not directly charred, so I was worried that the edge would be melted off.

When my cousin saw that I felt sorry for the shovel, she explained that the temperature is the thermal movement of molecules, which increases little by little, and that it is not a matter of cutting a red-hot piece of iron with a shovel, just like putting it in the furnace for a few tens of seconds to melt the shovel?

This stinky old nine likes to say things that I don't understand.

I first cut out a piece of material for a hammer, and then I cut out a piece of material for a kitchen knife of more than a pound, and then for an axe of more than a pound.

How many ingredients should be needed for this iron pot?

I couldn't figure it out for a while.

So I begged my cousin: "Intellectual, tell me quickly, how many catties of material do you need for the iron pot?"

My cousin wasn't quite sure, and said, "Five pounds...... Ten catties, we have a lot of people, a lot of cooking, take a big mouthful, and you can't beat how thin it is, forget it, you better put it back and burn it first, it's cold, and you must not move. ”

I tried it, and sure enough, it was hard to cut into, so I put it back in the furnace and burned it a second time.

Then I discussed it for a while, compromised my cousin's opinion, and decided to cut it into seven or eight catties.

Of course, we don't have a scale, so we can only guess roughly, and it is estimated that it will be cut into ten catties.

Once I had cut out all the pieces, I started hitting my first tool: the hammer!

The lump is still burned red first, burned until yellow and white, and then taken out for forging.

At this time, the texture is soft and easy to change shape.

Make the block into the shape of a hammer, and then nail a wooden wedge into the middle and make a hole for the handle.

(End of chapter)