Basic Blacksmithing [Aradin|Private]

[Aesha]

As promised, the next day Gauf was sitting in the forge waiting for Aradin to attend his first lesson in Blacksmithing. Gauf had already got the fire hot, and the small forge of Cross Swords was warm and cosy in the winter weather. The walls and floor were stone, but the heat was trapped well into the room. A large anvil stood next to the open forge, and two others, smaller sized, were positioned nearby. A few barrels were settled in a corner full of liquid, and a thick but chipped wooden table held some basic tools. Tool racks were also fixed to the wall, holding various different sizes of hammer were held.

Gauf was sitting a small way away from the forge, at the other end of the room where two chairs and a small round table had been positioned. The room was a perfect place to sit in the winter months, and often friends came into chat while her was at work. The dwarf had already donned his leather apron, and a smalled-sized iron hammer twisted absently in his hands as he waited for Aradin to enter.

[Aradin Lastra]

Aradin's heart raced at the prospect of beginning his first lesson in blacksmithing, although most would not think it that valuable of an art or a skill Aradin knew better. Every skill was valuable, every skill brought new opportunities, every skill could be made to promise for something better. More than that it also would help Aradin satisfy his curiosity, he didn't simply want the weapons, he wanted to know how they were made, he wanted to know their intricacies and secrets. It was thus with all things in life for him, he didn't simply want to have and use it, he wanted to know it, he wanted to be able to understand it. Not only that, the idea of creation was a magnificent and beautiful thing to Aradin, despite all of his arrogance he still managed to appreciate such things.

Stepping into the forge he was immediately greeted with the feeling of warmth, something which he welcomed after the cold outside of the Cross Swords. Looking around he saw many new and interesting things. A large anvil stood close to the forge along with two smaller ones, Aradin suspected that they were for more delicate work on smaller items such as daggers. The barrels of liquid were of complete intrigue to him, he had no idea what they would be used for in the forge. An array of tools and hammers were set upon a thick table and tool racks upon the walls, all of them new to Aradin. The vast pools of knowledge to be found within this small forge was stunning to Aradin, it was an Orodites dream in a way.

Gauf was sitting at a small round table with a leather apron, idly twisting a small hammer in his hands as he waited. Aradin beamed at the little forge master. In a hearty voice he spoke, "Serale Gauf, I hope you haven't been waiting too long for me. If so then I apologize." Aradin walked towards Gauf and offered his hand to him, even though it was completely unnecessary. He liked the little fellow and was excited about his first lesson in blacksmithing. His spirits were high for the day, they said that there was nothing like having an enthusiastic student to teach.

[Aesha]

Gauf looked up as Aradin entered, pleased to see his new student. It had been quite a while since the dwarf had taught anyone, and was looking forward to it possibly as much as Aradin was. He got up out of the chair as his student approached and held out a hand for Aradin to shake in a friendly greeting.

"Serale, Aradin! Nay, I don't mind sitting in here on a winter day anyhow, that's for sure."

Standing up, the dwarf continued, "So, eager to get started? Here's a couple of things you'll need..."

Wandering over to a storage chest near the table, Gauf opened it and pulled out two pairs of leather gloves, and an apron. He chucked one pair and the apron at Aradin, and proceeded to place the extra pair on his own hands.

While he waited for Aradin to don his equipment Gauf explained what the order of the day would be. "First, before we do anything practical, I'll explain about some of the tools, and how they're used, and the other equipment in the forge. Any questions before we start?"

[Aradin Lastra]

Aradin caught the gloves and apron when Gauf threw them. It seemed to him that there was a possibility of Aradin burning himself or he wouldn't need the leather gloves and apron. His eyebrows twitched once without the smile disappearing from his face. He reconciled himself thinking that he knew there was a possibility of injury in this job, after all by the very nature of it injury was only to be expected at some point or another. As the famous saying went, no pain, no gain. Aradin wasn't sure he liked that saying.

He pulled the leather gloves over his hands and donned his leather apron, making sure that it was secure to his body. He looked up a Gauf, the smile still on his face, Aradin's eagerness obviously not wanning one bit. He hoped that his enthusiasm would help fuel him through the entire procedure of his training, it was physically exhausting to be a blacksmith but eventually he had heard that a man becomes used to it and finds it to be no hinderance at all upon them. He hoped he would be able to match the skill and stamina of the masters of the past and present.

He wondered what Gauf meant by 'practical' for Aradin considered it quite practical to learn about the tools he was to use in his smithing. "No sir, I've no questions as of yet." There was a spark of something odd in aradin's eyes when he used the word sir. He hadn't called anybody sir in a long time, his father had been the only person that he had ever called sir. Aradin dismissed such thoughts from his mind and focused on the 'lecture' he was about to receive.

[Aesha]

"Good" said Gauf, appriciating the fact that Aradin had no beginning questions. The dwarf seemed to be more excited about the whole affair than Aradin did. Adjusting the fingers of his gloves slightly, Gauf stood up and led his pupil over to what was probably the most important pieces of equipment in the forge - the anvil.

"Okay, this, as I'm sure you already know, is an anvil. It's where the actual work on the metal is done. The two smaller anvils..." he paused and gestured a meaty hand towards them, "Are for more delicate work. It really all depends on what sort of thing your intending to make."

Since it was mostly self-explanitory, Gauf walked over to the thick wooden table and picked up a large pair of tongs. The table also held two smaller varieties of the same tool. "The are tongs. Naturally, they are used to hold metal in the forge to heat it up. They as also used to hold the metal in place whilst it is being worked on, but I have other equipment for doing that as well."

Placing the tongs back on the table, he picked up a large, rasp-like object. "A file. Used for the smoothing and well, filing of metal." Gauf also seemed to have several sizes of file, too. He handed the one he was holding, the largest one, to Aradin for a better look. "If you want to have a closer look at any of the tongs too, feel free. Any questions so far?" Gauf wanted to make sure Aradin didn't have any queries before barraging him with more information.

[Aradin Lastra]

It seemed that Aradin's theory about the anvils had been true, which in all reality didn't really surprise him as he was an intelligent man. Well, that and the fact that it was more or less common sense. Either way he was glad that he'd gotten it right, so far things didn't seem too complicated to him. Of course, that could all change, it was still to be seen whether or not Aradin could actually handle the work of black smithing.

He took the file and examined it carefully, running his index finger along the ridges, it seemed to be a tool in very good condition. His roamed over the tongs and the other files with his eyes. Only one question could come to Aradins mind as to what he might want to know. He presumed that Gauf would get to it anyways but there was never any harm in asking just incase. If you wanted to know something than you had to find out, not wait for the answer to come to you.

"Just one question. You were probably going to get to it anyways but I'll ask just incase. What is the other equipment used to hold down the metal as it's worked on?" Aradin placed the file back on the table and watched Gauf as he waited for the answer. He felt bad about interrupting the flow of the master smith, but he had asked him if he had any questions.

[Aesha]

Gauf nodded, he had half expected the question. "It's simple enough. A vice, or clamp. As you can see, there's one built into my largest anvil."

The dward walked over to it and pointed out a metal object with a handle that was used to tighten or loosen a clamp-like object that could be used to hold metal that was being worked on. "It's handy for bigger things occasionally, but I have to say I much prefer using tongs. You get more control, and I just prefer to be in control of exactly what I'm doing."

Assuming Aradin had no more questions on the subject, the dwarf led his student over to the three big barrels that stood in the corner of the room. One was empty. One contained water, and the other contained something that looked very much like oil. "These are used for quenching. Quenching produces harder products, but also makes them very brittle. It's usually practice to quench and reheat repeatedly to get the best balance."

[Aradin Lastra]

OOC: Err...I guess I'll just blunder through this as I try to self-mod it, please I'm begging you, send me advice whenever you think it's needed.

IC:

Aradin nodded his head at Gauf's wise words of smithing. He didn't know what the empty barrel was used for, probably just storing weapons or some such thing. If it was of relevance Gauf would have already mentioned it to Aradin. The Dwarf knew his profession like the back of his hand, of that Aradin was sure. He would know how to teach it better than Aradin could, thus he felt slightly foolish asking the Dwarf questions. The young Human imagined that he must seem so naive to the forge master. Of course, Gauf had most probably once seemed and felt that way as well back when he was first learning the craft. That thought brought a wisp of a smile to his face.

According to Gauf, the vice and the clamp weren't the best options but they could still be used efficiently. The tongs apparently offered more control, in Aradin's mind he thought it would be harder to control as a persons arm could be forcibly moved if the blow of a hammer was too firm. He supposed as with all things it took time and practice to get a true handle of what you were doing, no body could be expected to be perfect, no body could expected to know everything their first time around.

The quenching practice seemed simple enough to Aradin, different substances for different ways of quenching. He understood the logic of doing it to create a harder item but to do it and have the weapon more brittle seemed insane to him. Perhaps there was some way that was circumvented, Aradin wouldn't ask now, he would simply hope that his question would be answered further along in the lesson.

Nodding his head he said, "I understand, please go on." The young man flashed Gauf a quick smile as he refocused on what the Dwarf was teaching him. He didn't want to miss one sliver of information.

Gauf grinned, rubbing his hands together. He loved teaching and he loved a student who wanted to be taught. Just standing in the forge was an obvious enough pleasure for him, he lived to create things of beauty within this small room. It didn't matter whether they were used for harvesting crops, killing a man, or even looking pretty on a wall. This was a craft, a skill, an art to be honoured and he had a student who would.

"There are a few different ways to let a weapon cool, you can just leave in the furnace to cool among the ambers, which can take hours. Another way is to let it cool in the air by simply putting it down somewhere, or the most obvious and quickest way is to quench it and leave it to cool for a bit then proceeding with reheating and forging. You get the drift of it I'm sure." Guaf waved a hand as if to say that it was all self-evident. In all reality once a person had the foundation stones put in place, it really was self-evident as to what you were meant to do.

Moving on with Aradin staying close behind him Gauf stoped in front of several large and small rectangular stone's that seemed to have distinguishable shapes in them. "Do you know what these are?" Gauf's voice seemed to betray that he didn't expect Aradin to know the answer, which in truth he didn't.

The young Human ran his gloved left hand back through his curly brown hair. With a bit of uncertainty he said, "They seem to be some sort of...molds for different objects." His eyes told that he wasn't used to not knowing things. Aradin was very uneasy about being unsure of anything. It was a weakness he hated to exhibit.

Gauf's eyebrows raised before a broad grin made it's way onto his face. The joy and excitement was thick in his voice, "Yes! Yes! That's right m'boy! These are molds, used for pouring liquid metals into them to get the desired shape. To get the liquid metal though, you have to get the furnace hot enough to melt the stuff." The Dwarf was practically jumping up and down with the simple pleasure of his student being able to guess correctly about something to do with blacksmithing. "There are various molds, ones for weapons, ones for tools. It all depends on what you want, they're useful though. Not easy to make all the time though as they're made of solid stone."

He was about to move on before he asked Aradin, "Got any questions for me lad?" The broad grin was still plastered on the stout Dwarf's face.

[Aradin Lastra]

OOC: Umm...anyone know how to make the blade less brittle after all of the quenching?

IC:

Aradin thought for a moment as to whether he had any questions which he wanted to ask at that moment. He could think of none except for the one on how to make an object being forged less brittle, he didn't want to disturb the flow of the lesson however, so he decided to refrain from asking the question at that moment. He was certain that Gauf would get around to it when he saw fit, the little Dwarf was after all, a master blacksmith. Who was Aradin, simply a beginner in the art of smithing, to question the judgement of a Master? That fact aside, he was still becoming impatient waiting for the answer. Novice or not, it was still obviously an important thing to know if you were to be able to create a dependable weapon or even a tool for that matter.

He made sure that he had completely absorbed all of the new information just presented to him. It would be useless for him to hear it but not bother to actually listen to it and be able to reuse that knowledge. Most in life were simply content hearing but very few ever bothered to actually listened. Aradin was a man who listened, who watched, who learned. He wouldn't sit and watch idly as life passed by, he wouldn't die without knowing that he hadn't had a worthwhile effect on the future. If learning to be a blacksmith helped him achieve this goal, then that was how it would be. If nothing else, Aradin would be granted the simple joy of being a creator, he would give life to something new each and everyday if he was able to hone his skills in this craft. At least that's what he hoped.

The information about the molds had seemed much more important to him than the information about the ways to let an object cool after being in the forge. The ways that he could use to cool an object were open enough, each dependant upon how fast he wanted a job done. It was also fairly simple information to remember, it wouldn't take an alchemist to remember such things. The molds were perhaps one of the more important steps in the creation of a weapon or a tool. They allowed the proper shape to be held, from there the rest of the process could be worked on. Aradin wondered though, was there perhaps another way to do it then to use a mold each time?

A question which he wanted to ask at that moment finally came to him, "Yes, I do have one question. Is there another way to acquire the shape of a weapon or a tool without using the molds each time?" Through the tone in Aradin's voice it was obvious that it wasn't simply just a question but an honest inquiry in the pursuit of knowledge and hopeful perfection. The young Human was a follower of Orod, no less was to be expected from him but to find the truth of all knowledge.

Gauf rubbed his chin, he didn't necessarily like having a lot of questions asked of him while he was trying to teach but the one presented to him was a good one. He was glad at least to have a student who knew how to think and wanted to learn more about the craft. Aradin was obviously happy about the situation although not quite as zealous as before. He now seemed more eager to learn, more eager to discover than to embrace a life long dream. Gauf believed that while Aradin would do a great honour to the craft and be an excellent practitioner of it, he would in no ways find an overbearing love for it and become a true master.

"Aye, there is another way to do it, although more difficult, of that you can be sure." Gauf took a file out of a pocket in his leather apron and held it up for Aradin to see, "The other way is to simply bring the metal being used to such a temperature that it becomes a white colour from being so hot, then you know it's ready to be forged. Once that's done you use a tong or a clamp if you wish and hold the heated metal to the anvil and take a hammer. With the hammer you begin to strike, bend, or 'punch' the metal until you start to get the desired shape of your object. You then quench the object at exactly the right time. You may have to reheat it several times before you can actually get the shape you want, sometimes you'll even have to weld more of the same metal together in order to get the right size. You file and sharpen the object several times until you can be sure that you have it right, then you might have to plate the object either for aethetic purposes or to protect the base metal from corrosion. This is by far harder but at times can give you a much better product." Gauf hoped that explained the question well enough, there was still one that he was waiting for from his student. It was about how to make the objects being forged less brittle after all of the quenching. He wanted to Aradin to ask the question first, if he never asked it, he'd simply tell his student but that would be more than disappointing for Gauf.


The Dwarf smiled and moved over to the furnace with Aradin in tow. As they walked Gauf said over his shoulder, "I'll let you forge without using a mold if you go onto your intermediate training." The Dwarf stopped abruptly and Aradin almost ran straight into the little fellow. A wave of embarrassment passed over the young Human before quickly disappearing. Gauf didn't mention anything about it simply because he didn't want to further embarrass his student but internally he was chuckling about it. Hopefully the young man, really just a boy who had stumbled into manhood from Gauf's point of view, wouldn't be so clumsy when working in the forge.

"Now you see that stone bowl in there with the long wooden handle? That's what you place the metal in as it melts into a liquid form. We don't want to loose any of the metal after all, it's usually pretty expensive to buy." Gauf wanted Aradin to know that metal, while abundant, wasn't always cheap to purchase so a smith should never waste any of it. The tinniest scrap could mean the difference between going out of business or staying in business. "You see how there's a little lip in the bowl? Like the ones in kettles and such? That's where you pour the liquid metal from to get it into the molds, it's much more efficient that way." Gauf pointed a finger at the lip in the stone bowl, it was large enough to get the liquid metal out quickly but not quite so large as to spill and waste the contents of the bowl.

The Dwarf bent down and picked up something that was leaning against the furnace, there were two other things exactly like it but of different sizes leaning against the furnace as well. Holding it out to Aradin he began explaining what the device was, "Now that is called a bellow. It's very important in the forging process. You press the handle's towards each other then let them move away and continue that process. It blows air into the furnace and increases the heat and flames but you have to aim it at the fuel. That device there is what allows us to forge high quality steel and other strong metals." Indeed, it was perhaps the most important item in the creation of a metal object.

Gauf cleared his throat and said, "Got any question m'boy?" He seemed pleased so far with the overall ongoings of the training.

[Aradin Lastra]

OOC: I have no idea what the iron to coal ratio needs to be to create steel so I'm just going to say that Gauf tells Aradin.

IC:

Aradin soaked in all of the information that had just been provided to him. It was definitely a large amount that most common people wouldn't be able to cope with. They would either forget or be so overwhelmed as to force themselves into confusion. Aradin wasn't a common man though, at least not in his own mind. He believed his intellect far superior, behind his built up ego and arrogance there was still some truth to the belief for he was most definitely no dim wit. He was an intellectual and he was intent on proving it. He wanted to be recognized across the Empire, not for one thing though, for many. He wanted to be known as a great warrior, a scholar, a devout religious man, a cunning businessman, a powerful political figure, and also an artisan. Blacksmithing would deliver him a few of these titles and he did not doubt that possessing the skill would contribute to others. Aradin, or rather Aradin's more corrupt side wished for power and smithing gave him the power of creation. His more pure side simply viewed it as a beautiful art that must be kept alive in the embers of the hearts of men and the memories of the artisans. He planned on teaching this craft one day if he ever had the chance.

Word for word Aradin mentally wrote down each of the things that Gauf told him about the forging process without using a mold. As a matter of fact Aradin was mentally writing down everything that Gauf was saying, setting it into his permanent memory. It wouldn't serve him well to forget such valuable information. His thoughts turned to the process of forging without using a mold, it was much more difficult and complex to be certain but he believed it would also be much more fulfilling. He thought to himself that in the future he would be a smith who forged without the use of molds, that is unless he had a large order to fill, then and only then would he use the molds. Forging by putting the hammer to steel seemed to be the true form of creation in the art. The thought of using the molds almost seemed a mockery to Aradin, simply a way of quickly making a cheap copy. Perhaps the molds still gave quality weapons but to Aradin it seemed that somehow it would have to be different, there wouldn't be as much heart, sweat, and effort put into a molded object.

The ideas of the bellows and the stone bowl used for holding and pouring liquid metal seemed simple enough to Aradin but once again he knew they were still important just like everything else he had been told about in the forge. There was a wealth of information laid before his fancy, what he would do with it was left up to himself. He had been provided the way; all he had to do was take the steps to following the path already spread before his feet. There was so much still for him to learn, so much to do, to be told, to be taught. He absently wondered how much more he would need to know before Gauf would let him try to forge even the most basic of implements. He wondered where he would start, would it be with a weapon, or simply pumping the bellows to heat the hearth for Gauf. He did not know the answers to those questions, only time would tell.

Gauf once again asked Aradin if he had any questions, like he did every time. Aradin though, could no longer hold his tongue on the question he had waited so long to ask, or at least it had seemed a long time to him. There were perhaps other questions to ask but the one he had been holding back finally managed to worm its way out of his mouth. "Yes, I do have a question yet again." He smiled sheepishly as if to apologize for being so inquisitive, yet in the end it only served to please Gauf that his student would go forward in pursuit of the knowledge of black smithing. "You said that quenching makes the metal harder but can also make it more brittle. How do you counteract the brittleness while keeping the same hardness? Also what is the oil used for that the water is not?" Aradin felt as if a mounted had been lifted off of his chest when he finally got the question out, or rather the questions out. It was unlike him to not ask what was on the forefront of his mind; he wanted knowledge and knew that he wouldn't gain it by sitting back like an old buffoon.

The Dwarf's grin grew considerably and he began to turn slightly red from his pure joy and ecstasy at finally having his student ask the question he'd wanted him to ask. Gauf clapped his hands together three times in excitement before saying, "Excellent! Excellent question! I've been waiting for you to ask me that!" He gave Aradin a sturdy clap on the back, almost driving the wind out of the young man. "You see m'boy, it's all in the timing of when you quench the object really. If you do it too soon and the metal is too hot then it becomes very brittle which is obviously a bad thing. If you do it too late then the metal will become too soft to sharpen into an edge. Sometimes you'll have to reheat the metal before quenching it to get it at just the right temperature. The hottest the metal gets is when it's a near-white colour, then it goes down to bright red, after that cherry red, then dark red, and finally it's normal colour. As you can guess white-hot would make it very brittle, bright red has the same effect. It's normal colour and dark red will make it too soft, thus I have found that when the blade is a cherry red colour it is the best to be quenched. It all depends on the purpose of what you want though. For weapons or armour cherry red is really the best way to go in terms of heat." A large grin was still spread across his face, his arms had gestured around wildly while he spoke, and he seemed to love such technicalities as he had just explained.

His enthusiasm did not diminish one bit as he went on to Aradin's second question, one that most would assume by far the least interesting, although for Gauf it all seemed to be the same. "Now to answer your second question. The water is for the normal quenching process. The oil is for specially quenching steel, this is unique process is called tempering. It makes the steel slightly springy so that it can bend in ways that would easily shatter iron or untempered steel. Obviously you use this for steel weapons, or if you want you could do it for armour...helps it absorb some more shock from weapons. I'd only suggest doing it for armour plates though, not ring armour." He shrugged as if to say it's self-evident and also a personal choice.

Aradin nodded his head in appreciation for what he thought to be an excellent answer, one that peaked his interest, he loved intricate things. He might have grown into a man but he still possessed his boyhood curiosity. "Thank-you for such an excellent answer. You have no idea how much I appreciate it, I have been wanting to ask those questions for some time. I could no longer bring myself to hold them back. Please go on with the lesson. Where do we go from here with the lesson?" Aradin silently hoped that they would quickly be moving on to the actual forging part of the training. He couldn't wait to begin the process of creation; the ecstasy of the idea overwhelmed him. It was bliss. It would be perfect.

Gauf smiled as he noted the obvious enthusiasm and hope in his students eyes, "Well I've just a few things to add on then we'll be ready to move on to the actual forging. I'll have you doing a few different things when we move on to that but for now we need to focus on two things very important in the entire process of weapon and armour forging, that is successful weapon and armour forging." Gauf's voice had taken a serious tone and it was obvious that whatever he was about to say was direly important, or at least part of it was. Aradin although serious about remembering and learning everything he could throughout the entire training thus far, was now much more grave and serious in appearance than he had ever been before from when he first entered the forge.

Gauf moved closer to the hearth and pointed at the coals within the still hot furnace. "Now do you see those coals? They are the fuel used to help burn the fires in the hearth so that we can use that fire in it to heat the metals to our needs. We will always be starting off with iron, for some objects, tools mainly, it is fine to use iron. That however doesn't work everywhere, if we are going to make weapons or armour we need at the very least to use steel. Steel is produced from iron mixed with carbon. Carbon is in coal. Thus coals are not only useful in fueling the fire but in the iron to steel process." Gauf paused slightly and looked at Aradin to make sure that he was paying attention, "At times we will simply purchase steel from the ore foundries, at other times we'll have to make it from our own iron. To do this you have to have the correct coal to iron ratio." Gauf went on to explain exactly what the ratio was, he went over it several times to explain it thoroughly and make sure that Aradin would remember.

The little Dwarfs brow drew together and he raised a single finger towards Aradin and began shaking it as he spoke, one hand on his hip, "Now to the most important thing about all of this, heart and soul. You can be a smith but you can't be a good one, a real one unless you put your heart and soul into every single object you create, whether it's a tool, a horse shoe or a sword for a king. It all has to be given equal commitment and love or else it will inevitably fail to be a true creation and piece of art. Do you understand that, do you agree to that stipulation? If you don't then I absolutely refuse to go any further with this training and you can forget about being a clerk here and just leave. Do you understand and agree?" Gauf was deadly serious about what he was saying; he would never forgive Aradin if he lied about this matter.

Gulping in a public show of fear which Aradin had never presented since he was a mere child he said, "Yes Gauf sir. I completely understand and agree, I wouldn't be here otherwise sir." Gauf was the first man besides the young Human's father whom Aradin had ever addressed as sir. The title was given out of both fear and shear respect.

Gauf grinned, "Excellent then! Any questions?" The Dwarf seemed to ignore Aradin's fear and simply gave him a friendly clap on the back. Aradin was bluntly relieved that he had been able to honestly commit himself to Gauf's 'terms of agreement'.

[Aradin Lastra]

OOC: TTT

[Aesha]

OOC: Hmm, the way this was left off... sort of needs Aradin to speak before Gauf, I think. If you could just answer yay or nay as to whether you did have any questions I'll be able to get on with it