They soon arrived at the blacksmith shop and came to Virick's forge, lit a fire, and prepared various tools. At this time, everyone began to arrive slowly. Dolai greeted them one by one, and then passed the message behind them to prepare for breakfast.
Dolai was used to coming early, which made some other people complain that this little guy came too early. On the way there, he was kicked several times and heard a few laughs, but Dolai also knew that these people were just talking about him verbally with smiles on their faces, just playing around. The whole blacksmith shop was like a big family, very warm.
After being here for a few days, he also got to know the true details of this blacksmith shop.
Supervisor Harley is responsible for all management matters and staffing of Lao Ke's Blacksmith Shop.
There was one level three blacksmith, who sat in the lobby at the back and seldom took action. There were three level two blacksmiths, Verrick, Santis, and Molay. There were five level one blacksmiths, and Dolai could only remember a few of their names, Ike, Batty, etc. Every blacksmith had helpers and apprentices. Altogether, there were more than thirty people in the entire blacksmith shop. In the city of Domon, the Lao Ke blacksmith shop was considered medium-sized, and it had an official background. When the level two blacksmiths were free, they were making and repairing various military products, and the same was true for Verrick. As a result, Dolai saw many standard weapons.
After dinner, Virak sat on an iron stool, picking his teeth while watching Dole busying himself. It had been a long time since he had seen such a diligent young man.
"Dole, I have nothing to do this morning. I want to test your basic hammering skills." He said with a smile.
Dolai turned around, his eyes suddenly lit up, and said, "I've only practiced for a few days, but I'm getting the feel for it. Can I show you how?"
Virak nodded and said, "Try making a hoe first."
Dole nodded.
There are only a few steps in casting, and Dolai completed them meticulously. Soon, he opened the mold and took out a piece of iron plate.
Holding the pliers in his left hand, he took out the red-hot iron plate that was emitting scorching heat and placed it on the iron felt. After fixing it, Dole turned around, took out the No. 2 hammer from the tool bench next to him, weighed it in his hand, and began to hammer the iron plate.
At the beginning, he could only lift the smallest hammer, No. 1, which weighed only 2.5 kilograms. Now he can lift hammer No. 2, a 5-kilogram hammer, and his strength has greatly increased.
I used hammer number 2 all yesterday, so I just used it today.
I don’t know what’s wrong with me recently, but as soon as I wake up from a good sleep, my whole body is full of strength and energy. I can even use Hammer No. 2 with ease.
Bang.
With each blow of the hammer, a dent was made on the iron plate. Dolai lowered his head, looked at the depth, and continued forging.
There is no fixed movement in the basic hammering technique. There are only a few types that are used over and over again to adapt to different scenarios. Duolai has already mastered it in the past few days, and the only thing left is to be familiar with the materials in his hands.
Ding-dang-dang, the iron plate cooled and heated up again. Dolai quickly flattened the iron plate, preparing to fold it and forge it again.
Ordinary farm tools are usually forged twice or thrice, depending on the material itself. If it is waste, three forgings are enough.
Verek was watching from the side without giving any instructions. When he saw Dolai preparing for the second forging, he smiled and said, "Not bad, not bad, you've gotten started so quickly. There's nothing special about ordinary farm tools. Just beat the materials evenly and shape them into shape. It doesn't matter if you forge them twice or three times. It's up to you. If it's waste material, it's best to forge it three times or more."
He raised his head, took Dorae's tongs, took out the iron plate and looked at it, pointed at a few places, then put it down and said, "These places have flaws and uneven thickness. Use a small force and hit them in multiple layers, starting from the surrounding areas."
Dolai nodded without saying anything. He had learned a lot in the past two days and knew what he meant.
Starting from the second forging, the hardness of the material begins to increase. This is the time to test strength. Dolai has two years of experience in the mine, so he has strength. In addition, he has been training as a warrior, so he has no shortage of strength.
Virak watched Dole forging and gave instructions, and soon a hoe blank was ready.
After quenching, the hoe was formed. Although it had some minor flaws, it was good enough for Dolai.
This hoe was also the first time that Dolai had completed a farm tool. He carefully recalled the process and had a clearer understanding of forging.
When he was about to play the second time, Supervisor Harley walked in from outside with vigorous steps. Behind him were five soldiers in military uniforms, each holding a number of iron tools in their hands.
Supervisor Harley said a few words to the soldiers, and they each took the things in their hands and walked towards several second-level blacksmiths, including Virick.
Virak seemed to be used to it. When he saw the man approaching, he greeted him respectfully, took the weapon from them, bowed his head and said, "Virik is at your service."
The soldier nodded and said politely, "As soon as possible."
Verek nodded.
He lowered his head and saw the weapons in their hands, all swords, two broadswords, two war swords, and a rapier.
There were many nicks, scratches and breaks on these swords, and it was obvious that they were no longer usable.
He carefully drew it out, then turned to Dolai and said, "Go to the back and apply for some fine steel, about ten kilograms."
Dolai nodded and went to the back to prepare the ingredients.
Repairing a weapon is different from reforging a weapon. Dolai already has experience with this. As soon as Virak explained it, he understood what was going on.
In addition to Virak, Santis and Molay also received the task at this time. For a while, the whole blacksmith shop was filled with clanging sounds.
Dolai is Virak's apprentice. He is only responsible for this side. He follows Virak, helping and learning at the same time. He looks meticulous and serious because he knows that this is his job, at least temporarily. As long as he becomes a first-level blacksmith, he will be able to survive independently without having to look at other people's faces. This is the foundation of survival.
No matter what he can do in the future, at least his task now is to concentrate on studying.
Virak was holding a No. 3 hammer, which weighed a full ten kilograms and was a whole size larger than the one in Dolay's hand. When the hammer came down, sparks flew everywhere, but in Virak's hand, the twenty-jin hammer seemed to be as light as a feather.
Ding ding dong, whirring.
The morning passed quickly, and Virak only repaired one rapier. After dinner, he continued repairing.
Dole was learning on the side, and occasionally when Virak needed him, he would let him use a small hammer to assist in forging. Sometimes he would hit hard, sometimes he would hit lightly, and sometimes he would let him hit more lightly like raindrops. These changes allowed Dole to learn a lot.
After just one day, he felt that he had grown a lot.
He didn't know what was going on recently, but he felt that his ears and eyes were sharp, and his strength had no limit, as if as long as he could eat enough, he would have endless energy.
Forging weapons is also a process of getting to know weapons. It took two full days to repair the five swords. When Dolai took the last repaired broadsword in his hand, he thought of the basic swordsmanship, took it in his hand, and began to swing it in the blacksmith shop.
The broadsword was very heavy, and Dolai couldn't hold it steadily. He just played with it casually, as if he was drunk, which made Virak laugh.