Chapter 13: First Sight of Casting

There was a large stove in the center of the room, and a sturdy man shirtless, holding a long-handled iron tong in his hand, gathered around the stove to observe the color of the iron in the furnace. There was a large bellows set up by the stove www.biquge.info the pen "Fun" pavilion, and a guy was pulling back and forth hard, the wind was blowing into the stove, and the flames in the hearth were rushing out. When the iron ingot is burned from bright red to white, which is the so-called white-hot degree, the sturdy man uses long tongs to move the iron ingot to the big iron pier. Another man began to forge with a sledgehammer, the strong man held the pliers in his left hand and the small hammer in his right hand, while striking from time to time, while observing the situation of the iron, constantly turning the iron to make it into the desired shape.

Zhang Taiji and the boys watched it with relish, the whirring sound of the bellows; the clanging sound of hammers striking iron; There is also the sound of the horn in the mouth of the iron man, intertwined like a symphony. Striking iron is a man's business. This is because you can't strike iron without strength, you don't dare to strike iron without courage, and you don't want to strike iron without the spirit of hardship. Every time the red furnace is lit up, the temperature is high, pull a bellows, sweat all over the head, pick a hammer, will sweat. The dozens of pounds of sledgehammer up and down, how much strength and bearing are needed.

Ling'er and her two twin sisters stood far away, as if they were afraid that the flames would burn their brand-new flowers. They won't understand what is so beautiful about that little iron. As for standing here and watching for an afternoon!!

Zhang Taiji and a few people came to Wang Meng's blacksmith shop today to see if they could let Wang Meng's father Wang Tiehammer make a few weapons for a few people. The current imperial court strictly forbade the Han people to possess weapons, and all the iron rulers, iron bones, and iron posts with knives owned by the Han people and the southern people were confiscated. Even the whips, barrels, guns, knives, bows and arrows, gongs and drums, axes, and axes used in temples to worship the gods are also prohibited. Agricultural equipment and aggressive ones are also prohibited. As for the legend that the Mongols are afraid of the Han rebellion, the ten Han households share a kitchen knife, and the kitchen knife has to be tied up with an iron chain!! Zhang Taiji has not seen this situation yet.

In fact, due to the vast territory of the Mengyuan Dynasty and the inconvenience of transportation and communication, the government's control over the entire society was often inadequate. Most of the time, the laws on arms control are greatly compromised, and the government can at best enforce such prohibitions in the towns. In martial arts novels, most of the heroes walking on the thoroughfare with big knives are not credible. However, outside the cities effectively controlled by the empire, the people still had considerable freedom to bear arms, and at least the government could not timely and effectively restrict the possession or even casting of weapons by the people.

Wang Meng is in his teens, and his body is developing rapidly. is no longer satisfied with the practice of fist and foot kung fu, but also wants to have his own weapons. Look at those heroes in history, which one doesn't have its own exclusive weapon, Fang Tian's painting halberd, Qinglong Yanyue knife, Zhangba snake spear gun, how majestic it is! At least have a three-foot Longquan sword to defend yourself! How can a man who punches and kicks become a big hero who is a 10,000-strong enemy?

Several people told Wang Tiehammer about their intentions, and Wang Tiehammer's head shook like a rattle, and he resolutely disagreed to build weapons for several people. Not to mention Fang Tian's painting halberd, Qinglong Yanyue knife, ordinary swords are not given to them. Wang Tiehammer also has his point. It is forbidden by the government, and if you are denounced, you will be responsible. If a few children are still young, if they have swords and weapons, they will hurt people. So a few kids were disappointed. Zhang Taiji doesn't care, he is six years old. He couldn't play with a weapon. Ling'er and the twin sisters didn't like long weapons at all, preferring small daggers instead. It is convenient for concealment and carrying, too. Speaking of this dagger, Zhang Taiji gave a few people an idea and said, if the weapon is not built, a dagger is stronger than an empty hand!

Unable to withstand the soft grinding and hard bubbles of several people, Wang Tiehammer finally agreed to build a dagger for no one to defend himself. Although they couldn't use a sword, it also made several people extremely excited. The great poet Li Bai of the Tang Dynasty said in his poem: "The young man learns swordsmanship, and Ling Yi is a white ape." The beaded robe dragged the brocade belt, and the dagger was inserted into Wu Hong. Originated from the hundred brave, and carried the heroic wind in this life. It can be seen that the dagger and the sword are often mentioned together. The dagger is not as powerful as the sword, but it is very practical. In the future, you don't have to go to the kitchen to steal kitchen knives!

In the past few days, a few people ran to the blacksmith shop when they were fine, urging the men to speed up the progress. I got my first weapon a day early. Men have a natural love for weapons! However, in ancient times, making a weapon, even a small dagger, was very cumbersome. Zhang Taiji carefully observed almost every step, which was very new to him. The dagger is also a short sword. A sword, from raw materials to finished products, must go through many processes such as blanking, hot forging, shoveling, filing, engraving, copper inlay, polishing, decoration and so on. One of the most important is to train this process. Approximate steps:

1. Hammering: The iron is melted in the furnace and made into a sword blank by carburizing process, repeated many times, and its degree depends on the quality of the sword (hard sword, soft sword or martial arts sword). A crucial step in determining whether a sword is good or bad.

2. Planing file: use a steel knife to sharpen the file, so that the thickness of the sword body is moderate, and the sword spine (hence the name; The spine of the sword is the protruding part of the center of the sword body, like the vertebrae) and the blade of the sword, and the spine of the sword must be in the middle of the sword body and form a straight line.

3. Polishing: Place the filed sword on the stone and polish it. Wrap an iron ruler in a diamond cloth and rub evenly. Coarsely ground with a coarse sand cloth first, and then finely ground with a fine sand cloth. Polishing is twice as good as hammering and filing.

Fourth, inlay: after polishing, on the sword body with a steel needle engraved pattern, sword name, shop number and the customizer's inscription; The craftsman carves the pattern, without drawing, and only uses a steel needle to move the needle freely on both sides of the sword body, which is only an inch wide.

5. Quenching: Using the traditional quenching method, after "strong forging", a special quenching agent is used for "softening" treatment, so that the sword body is rigid and soft, and can be bent and stretched. Pay attention to the grasp of temperature and time. It is a high-precision process, which is not handy for ordinary craftsmen.

6. Steel grinding: sharpen the elastic sword with steel blocks; Or use a steel ruler to tighten the body of the sword and place it on the stone to grind. The kung fu of sharpening a sword is very high, and the master's craftsmanship is high. Coarse grinding, fine grinding, fine grinding, glazing and so on more than a dozen processes, the tools used are also different. Therefore, there is a saying that "ten years to sharpen a sword", although it is an exaggeration, but you can imagine the importance of sharpening the sword.

Half a month later, Zhang Taiji finally got his baby. The dagger was less than half a foot long, and the outer sheath of shark skin and the handle were wrapped around silver thread and it was very comfortable to hold. Pulling out the dagger, I saw that the dagger body was more than a long one, the whole body was black and shiny, thick in the middle and thin on both sides, and the double edges were sharp. Near the handle is engraved a small Tai Chi pattern, which is the mark of Zhang Tai Chi. The shapes of the daggers are similar, but the patterns of several people are different to distinguish them. Zhang Taiji held the dagger in his hand and did a few movements, stabbing, stabbing, and slashing, which felt very comfortable. The dagger is very light, which is suitable for him to use now, and if he has more strength in the future, he can also be thrown as a dart to hurt the enemy!! Several others also fiddled with their precious daggers. Wang Tiezhu repeatedly told them to "keep it carefully, don't hurt yourself and don't hurt others." Don't take it out for others to see if it's okay, just use it for self-defense when it's critical. "Looking at his mother-in-law's strength, he is not as rough as he used to be!

Ling'er and the two twin sisters also shared, and they were even happier. Because what they learned from their wife Han Yue'e was short weapons. The dagger was exactly the weapon they wanted. Twin sisters, the elder sister is called Fan Bing, and the younger sister is called Fan Xue. The two are now accepted as daughters by Mrs. Han Yue'e and live with Ling'er on Xiangyangpo. Here's the thing, that day Zhang Taiji saw that his father Fan Changhe was sick, and recommended him to go to Dr. Li of Leshantang for treatment. Fan Chang and Yiyan found Dr. Li of Leshantang, and the two met and chatted with each other, and they immediately felt cordial.

Dr. Li saw that Fan Changhe's illness was due to anxiety. After careful inquiry, it turned out that Fan Changhe's wife had a difficult birth when she gave birth to two sisters and died. It was not easy for him to take his two sisters, there was a flood in his hometown, and the land was gone. can only go out to find a way to live, and after the money is exhausted, he can only rely on performing arts to make a living. Life is miserable!! Dr. Li sees that his character is good, and he knows a few martial arts. I was introduced to Zhang Baili to do things there.

After Ling'er saw the two sisters, she liked them very much, and told her mother how powerful they were. Han Yue'e found the two sisters to take a look, but they were in good physical condition, and after grooming and dressing, they looked beautiful. I learned that they had no mother since they were children, and they couldn't speak!! Suddenly motherhood is a righteous daughter!! And he gave everything he had learned to the two sisters.