Another World Metal Factory

Chapter 3

“Hey! Popper! Are you there?”

“What is it, Black Hair? Finally decided to become my apprentice?”

“Don’t be ridiculous. I’d rather live on the streets than work under you.”

The Factory Manager entered the blacksmith’s workshop, grumbling with the dwarf Popper. Seeing the Factory Manager, Popper put down his hammer and wiped the sweat off his forehead with a towel hanging around his neck.

“Still old-fashioned, I see.”

“Get lost, you foreigner with no respect for tradition.” So, why are you here?”

The Factory Manager presented the blade and parts of a longsword.

“A longsword? You’re making longswords now?”

“Some young guy complained that the sword you made was useless, so he asked me to fix it.”

“Bullshit! You probably took the order for a pittance again. You lack the spirit of a craftsman, that’s your problem.”

“Damn you. Anyway, just finish the handle. It looks like it needs to be wrapped with wire and leather, and that’s not my specialty.”

Popper picked up the blade and started examining it.

“Not bad, kid. You made it well. This is a strange kind of steel. It is steel, but…”

“Don’t ask me how I made it. I don’t know.”

“I’m not asking, damn it! Your elf apprentice must have carved the handle. It’s really crude. Hey! Kelper!”

“Yes!”

“Finish this handle. Shape it a bit more, wrap it with wire, and finish it with leather. Got it?”

The young dwarf called Kelper nodded and took the wooden handle.

“So, how much will you pay me?”

“Six bottles of soju.”

Popper’s eyes widened at the Factory Manager’s words.

“No funny business, right?”

“Ah! Why would I joke about soju? I’ll give you another drink when you bring the six bottles.”

“Hey! Kelper! You better do a good job on that!”

Popper shouted, and Kelper nodded, starting to polish the wooden handle with sandpaper.

“Here he goes again, eyes sparkling at the mention of alcohol.”

“Forget it, I’m in a good mood! I’ll even heat treat the blade for you. You weren’t even planning on doing that, were you?”

“Why bother?”

“Knew it.”

Popper grabbed the blade, placed it in the furnace, and started pumping the bellows. As the flames rose, the blade began to heat up.

“How’s that Kelper kid doing?”

“Of course he’s good. Whose son is he? I think he’ll be ready to take over soon. How about your elf?”

“Channing’s doing well too. He’s a useful guy.”

While they were talking, the blade became red hot, and Popper quickly lifted it with tongs and plunged it into a long tube.

Smoke rose with the hissing sound of the hot metal cooling.

“Heating it up and then quenching it in oil. Classic.”

“If you know that, then you do it. Don’t you have any pride as a craftsman?”

“Craftsman, my ass. As long as it’s usable and sturdy, that’s all that matters.”

“Sigh. If you didn’t have the skills, I wouldn’t even be mad at you for saying that.”

Grumbling, Popper took out the heat-treated blade and wiped it with a cloth. Then, he put it back into the furnace, heated it to a moderate temperature, and then took it out and placed it on the workbench.

Metal that has been hardened by rapid cooling after heating increases in hardness, but it becomes too brittle and breaks easily.

Therefore, the basic principle of heat treatment is to heat it to a moderate temperature, cool it slowly in the air, and give it some ductility.

The Factory Manager thought that Popper didn’t know the principle but seemed to know it through experience. In that respect, the Factory Manager acknowledged Popper as a reliable craftsman.

“There. Heat treatment is done.”

“Thanks. You’re the only one I can rely on.”

“Damn. All talk. Kelper! Are you done?”

Kelper shook his head.

“It’ll take a little longer.”

“Bring it to me when it’s done. Ah. Should I leave the blade here?”

The Factory Manager asked, and Popper looked at the longsword blade and handed it over.

“If you wanted me to attach the handle here, I could, but you’re going to finish it, right? Take it.”

“Alright. Let me know when it’s done.”

The Factory Manager wrapped the longsword blade and parts in a cloth again and returned to the factory.

******

“I’m back.”

“Welcome back. What about the handle?”

“It’ll take a while. Kelper will bring it when it’s done. Did you finish all the rings?”

“Yes. I’m done.”

The Factory Manager entered the factory, talking with Channing, put down the longsword blade, walked to the locker where hazardous materials were stored, entered the password, and opened the door.

“When you’re done, tell the barrel maker to come and get them.”

“Yes, sir. I’ll be back.”

Channing took off his gloves and went outside, and the Factory Manager rummaged through the hazardous materials locker and found the bluing solution.

Bluing was a post-treatment process to prevent metal from rusting.

It was a process that intentionally created rust on the surface to prevent further rusting, and although there were various methods, using a bluing solution was the most convenient.

The Factory Manager took the solution and placed the blade and parts on the table, then poured a small amount of the bluing solution onto a separate metal plate.

“Damn. It’s been a while since I’ve done this, so I don’t know if this amount will be enough.”

The Factory Manager grumbled and took out a cigarette. After cleaning the blade thoroughly, the Factory Manager dipped a cloth in the bluing solution and rubbed the blade vigorously.

The blade started to turn a dark, bluish-black color where the cloth passed. The Factory Manager carefully applied the solution to every nook and cranny of the blade, repeatedly dipping the cloth in the solution.

“Factory Manager-nim. Mr. Kruter said he’ll be here tomorrow morning to pick up the barrels. Um… what are you doing?”

Channing, who had returned at some point, showed interest in the Factory Manager’s work.

“It’s called bluing. It’s a surface treatment. It prevents rust.”

“Wow… It’s like magic. I’ve never seen silver turn into a bluish-black color so quickly.”

The Factory Manager glanced at Channing, who was looking on in amazement, and finished the bluing process by applying the solution from the tip of the blade to the end of the tang.

“Channing, you do the rest of the parts.”

“Do I just apply it like this?”

“Yeah. Just apply it until the color changes. Ah. Wear rubber gloves, it’s a strong chemical.”

“Yes, sir.”

After handing over the bluing task, the Factory Manager threw away his cigarette butt and went outside.

4.

The next morning, Kruter, the barrel maker, arrived at the factory with his apprentices and a wagon.

“Check them and take them with you.”

“Oh! They’re wonderful! I’ve never seen such beautiful rings.”

Kruter praised the rings to the smoking Factory Manager and started loading them onto the wagon with his apprentices.

Meanwhile, Channing was cleaning scrap metal, looking for usable pieces. He was doing it to practice welding.

“Ah! Today will be a bit easier.”

The Factory Manager stretched and yawned widely.

He thought he could take it easy today and teach Channing since he had finished the urgent tasks.

“Hello.”

Just then, the dwarf Kelper approached and greeted him politely.

“Oh. If it isn’t the blacksmith’s son.”

“I brought the finished handle.”

Kelper politely offered the handle.

“Well made. You’re better than your foul-mouthed father.”

“No! My father would have made it even better!”

The Factory Manager laughed loudly at Kelper’s vehement denial and shouted.

“Hey! Channing! Go make some coffee. Three cups.”

“Yes, sir!”

Channing quickly ran to the water purifier and took out paper cups, and the Factory Manager took out the longsword parts that he had put down next to him.

He inserted the guard, then the handle, and finally the pommel, and they fit perfectly.

“Oh. Nice. It looks great.”

“Um… but why are the parts so black? Did you paint them?”

“No. It’s a post-treatment.”

The Factory Manager answered Kelper’s question and held the blade up to the sunlight. The blade sparkled with a blue hue in the light.

“Wow! Amazing!”

“Right? It also prevents rust.”

“How do you do it?”

The Factory Manager thought for a moment and then spoke.

“When you heat the metal, you don’t heat it red hot like you do for heat treatment. Well, this is just a feeling, but you heat it to a moderately hot temperature and then dip it in oil. That creates a film. Your father probably knows about this, so ask him.”

The Factory Manager, thinking he couldn’t teach him how to use the bluing solution, explained the most basic method.

“Well then, I’ll be going.”

“Yeah. Go quickly.”

Meanwhile, Kruter said goodbye and started his wagon, and Channing came back with the coffee.

“Oh. Mr. Kruter is gone. Did I make three cups for nothing?”

“You drink it. I wasn’t planning on giving any to Kruter anyway. He hasn’t paid the balance yet.”

Channing pulled up a chair and sat down.

“Wow! This tastes really strange.”

Kelper exclaimed in surprise after taking a sip of the coffee.

“It’s called coffee. It’s good for you, and it keeps you awake.”

Channing explained, and Kelper, his eyes wide, looked at the Factory Manager curiously.

“What are you looking at? Drink it quickly and go. Your father will be angry.”

“Ah. Yes, sir!”

At the Factory Manager’s shout, Kelper quickly blew on the coffee and drank it.

After finishing his hot coffee in one gulp, the Factory Manager stood up, took the longsword, and went to the table.

He clamped the longsword in a vice and connected the welding machine to the pommel. He was going to weld the end of the tang that protruded from the bottom of the pommel to finish it.

Kelper watched with fascination as the Factory Manager put on his protective mask and started welding.

“I’m a blacksmith’s son, so I’ve learned all kinds of blacksmithing techniques, but that’s really amazing.”

“Hey. Don’t look directly at it. You’ll hurt your eyes.”

Channing warned, and Kelper finally looked away.

“He suddenly appeared six months ago, and back then, people even called him a witch. It’s amazing how quickly he’s become a part of this city.”

“He’s a respectable person.”

While Kelper and Channing were talking, the Factory Manager, who couldn’t hear them properly, put down the welding machine and picked up the grinder.

He ground the welded pommel and tang area with the grinder to smooth it out. With that, the longsword was complete.

******

After lunch, Channing started learning how to use the milling machine again.

“You idiot! How many times do I have to tell you to do it slowly! You’ll break the machine! Shave it off little by little! Don’t try to cut it all at once!”

“I… I’m sorry…”

Channing replied dejectedly after being bombarded with insults and carefully turned the milling handle again.

“Is anyone there?”

Someone shouted, and the Factory Manager turned off the milling machine.

“Ah. Is it the person who came yesterday?”

“Yes!”

The young man who had visited the day before entered the factory with a bright smile, followed by another man in the same uniform.

“You mean you entrusted your sword to this strange place? My sword is made in Brelia.”

“W-Well, I heard he’s skilled.”

“So, this is the sword I asked you to replicate yesterday…”

The Factory Manager handed over the sample longsword, and the man, who seemed to be the young man’s senior, took it and put it on his waist.

“Is my sword finished?”

The young man looked at the Factory Manager with hopeful eyes.

“Even if it’s your family tradition, it’s too much that your parents didn’t give you a proper sword when you joined the Knights.”

“Haha… Well… It’s our family tradition, you see.”

The young man scratched his head in response to his senior’s words.

The Factory Manager picked up the sword that had been placed to one side and handed it to the young man.

“Here you go. It was difficult to make, so I won’t be making it again. Use it well.”

“Whoa? I-It’s black?”

The young man was surprised when he received the sword. The blade was black.

“What is this? He painted the sword black!”

The senior complained, and the young man became even more discouraged.

Seeing this, the Factory Manager quietly took the sword to where the sunlight was shining, and the young man and his senior gasped.

“What?! How is it shining like that?”

“It’s not painted. It’s a post-treatment. It prevents rust and is very good. I’ll guarantee it for a year, so bring it back if it breaks.”

When the sword was handed back to him, the young man’s eyes sparkled as he examined it.

“Now that I look at it, it’s a clean and beautiful sword without a single flaw. This is the best sword I’ve seen since my father’s.”

“Ah. Excuse me. Craftsman. Can you make me the same one? I’ll pay you…”

While the young man was admiring the sword, his senior asked the Factory Manager. The Factory Manager shook his head.

“It takes too much work. I won’t make it, so don’t ask.”

“But… Can’t you…”

The senior pleaded, but the Factory Manager shook his head resolutely and took out a cigarette.

The young man was fascinated by the beautiful sword and examined it from all angles. The handle, the octagonal pommel, and the balance were better than he had expected, and it felt perfect in his hand.

There was an unknown inscription on the blade. It was a character he had never seen before and had no idea what it meant.

“Excuse me… What are the characters engraved on the blade?”

“That? It’s the name of our factory.”

“I see… How do you read it?”

“Jinwoo Metal. It doesn’t have a special meaning, so don’t worry about it.”

The young man engraved the name in his heart.