Another World Metal Factory

Chapter 4

Polchis, one of the most famous cities on the continent.

It was a city known for its diverse shops where all the goods of the continent were traded.

Among them, on the outskirts of the city, there was an alley where small workshops were gathered.

It was a street of crafts, where blacksmiths who worked with metal, jewelers who crafted gems, and other workshops that handled leather and cloth gathered to create unique and imaginative items.

One of the most peculiar shops located there is the subject of this story.

Jinwoo Metal.

The factory, bearing a sign that the locals couldn’t even read, was a metal workshop.

******

In front of the factory, basking in the warm afternoon sunlight, the factory manager was dozing off with a cigarette in his mouth.

And behind him, a single employee diligently operated the noisy machinery.

While most workshops would use terms like disciple or apprentice, to the factory manager, he was just an employee.

A young elf with refreshing blonde hair. His name was Channing.

He was diligently cutting metal while applying cutting oil.

“Factory Manager-nim! Factory Manager-nim!”

“What? Are you done?”

Channing, who had been running the machine for a while, stopped it and called out to the factory manager.

The factory manager, who had been dozing off in his chair, yawned and got up, lighting the cigarette he had in his mouth. Then he approached the milling machine that Channing had been diligently operating.

“I think I’m done, please take a look. By the way, this was ordered by a noble. Is it okay for me to just cut it like this?”

“Noble or whatever. Does he even know if it’s done properly or not? Even if there’s an error in centimeters, not millimeters, that guy won’t know. I can’t even tell what the heck he drew in the first place.”

The factory manager picked up the object that Channing had cut.

It was a long, intricately shaped object, elongated vertically, with a symmetrical design. There were holes and patterns engraved here and there for decoration.

The factory manager nodded, stroking the neatly cut shape with his hand.

“Hmm. Well cut. Looks like you’re getting used to the milling machine.”

“Ah! Thank you.”

“Don’t get too excited, you punk. You still have a long way to go. Make three more of the same.”

At the factory manager’s words, Channing, who had been smiling, let out a sigh and attached another piece of metal to the milling machine.

The object they were currently making was a door ornament requested by a nobleman. It was a request to make a doorknob out of brass.

The factory manager had initially intended to refuse, but since they offered a considerable sum of money, he accepted it as an opportunity for Channing to practice.

Normally, they would create a wax model and replicate it to make a plaster mold for casting, but the factory manager had Channing cut each piece by hand for practice.

“That kid has really improved. It wasn’t an easy item to make.”

The factory manager commented, examining the finished ornament Channing had made, and then polished the surface of the ornament with a belt sander. The ornament gleamed more gold.

After roughly finishing the surface, the factory manager flipped the ornament over, secured it in a vise, and drilled holes into the ornament with a drill. This was to create screw threads.

After drilling the holes, the factory manager brought a screw tap tool and manually tapped the ornament.

“This is such a pain.”

“After that, we have to make the butcher knife blades.”

“I know, you punk.”

The factory manager grumbled, putting down the finished handle and looked at Channing who was making the handles.

“Channing. Stop taking so many orders.”

“Hey. I have to work hard to get orders so I can get paid.”

“It’s a pain for me, you punk.”

The factory manager took out a cigarette and lit it.

The butcher knife blades were an order Channing had received from the butcher, Karutz.

To be precise, the order had come to the blacksmith, Popper, but Channing, who was visiting Popper’s workshop, had boasted,”The knives Factory Manager-nim makes don’t rust and are great!”which led to him getting the job.

They had to make 12 different types of knives, from large butcher knives to boning knives and various other kinds, and the fact that they all had different shapes only bothered the factory manager.

It was more difficult and time-consuming to make 12 different shapes than to make 12 of the same shape.

“Argh. Whatever! We just have to make the blades, right?”

“Yes. We just make the blades and roughly sharpen them, then Popper’s workshop will finish them and deliver them.”

“If that’s the case, that guy Popper should do it all… Sigh… Alright. Hey, Channing. You finish this doorknob. I taught you how to tap threads last time, so just do it. I’ll make the knives.”

“Huh?! You don’t need to use the milling machine?”

“No need.”

The factory manager walked over to where the steel plates were stored and brought a large stainless steel plate.

Then, he attached a paper with the blade shapes drawn on it to the stainless steel plate and sprayed it with lacquer spray to mark the shapes.

After roughly cutting the shapes with a hydraulic cutting machine, the factory manager lifted the cut pieces and examined them.

“Are you sure you don’t need the milling machine?”

Channing asked as he secured the brass in the machine, and the factory manager nodded and cut another steel plate with the cutting machine.

“If you roughly cut them like this and grind them well, that’s it.”

Just like precisely cutting the outline before cutting paper, the factory manager cut the steel plates and placed the cut blades in a plastic container.

“Just in case, this is something only someone like me can do. If you try it, use the milling machine properly. Don’t waste precious steel plates by making mistakes.”

“Don’t worry. I can’t do what you do, Factory Manager-nim, even if you told me to.”

The factory manager turned on the belt sander and immediately started grinding the blades.

First, he placed the blade on the belt sander table and ground it into the shape of a knife. From large knives to small knives, curved knives, pointed knives…

“What kind of butcher shop uses so many knives?”

“You need a lot of different types of knives to butcher meat. Skinning, separating meat from bones, and all sorts of things. They carefully maintain and use a variety of knives. They also make handles that fit their hands perfectly. They’re craftsmen too, you know.”

“Shut up!”

The factory manager yelled out of the blue.

The factory manager knew very well how many knives were used in butchering. He just felt irritated when Channing pointed it out while he was grumbling.

Channing, sensing the factory manager’s true feelings, ignored his grumbling and resumed his work.

The factory manager grumbled again and pulled out a cigarette pack from his pocket, putting one in his mouth.

“I don’t know what that cigarette thing is, but since you’re inhaling smoke, it seems bad for your health. Why do you smoke so much?”

“Oh, come on! Nagging already! Are you my wife? I don’t have much time left to live anyway. I’m going to die after smoking and drinking all I want, so mind your own business!”

“Geez. I’m just worried about you.”

After scolding Channing, the factory manager picked up the next piece and started grinding. Sparks flew everywhere, but the factory manager continued grinding without a care.

His movements were swift, but he didn’t grind past the marked lines. That was the factory manager’s skill and experience.

Watching the factory manager’s handiwork, Channing smiled and focused on his own work again.

******

After grinding 12 pieces into the marked shapes, the factory manager brought a marker and marked the areas where the blades needed to be sharpened.

He took out a drill chuck the same thickness as the steel plate and placed it on the table, scratching the side of the piece to make a mark. This was to mark the exact center where the blade needed to be sharpened.

Since it wasn’t like a sashimi knife where only one side was sharpened, it was important to make both sides the same thickness.

After finishing the marking, the factory manager threw the cigarette butt, burnt down to the filter, into a can and straightened his back.

“Making knives is the most annoying.”

“You said the same thing when you made that longsword last time, but you made an amazing longsword. That sword is the talk of the Knights Order now. They say it’s a magnificent black-shining sword.”

“Bullshit. It’s just a roughly made sword. The knights only use crappy swords hammered out by blacksmiths, so they think it’s amazing. How strong can a sturdy sword made by a useless blacksmith who just hammers away based on feeling be?”

“Popper would be furious if he heard you say that.”

“Let him be furious. Did I say anything wrong? Well, still, that guy’s skill with hammering metal is top-notch. Honestly, when it comes to things like butcher knives, he makes better ones. He’s a guy who makes knives for cooks.”

Channing nodded and opened his mouth.

“I still think the knives you make are good, Factory Manager-nim.”

“Nonsense. The only reason my butcher knives are decent is because of the homogeneous rolled steel plate. I’m a technician, not a craftsman. Blacksmiths are better at making those kinds of knives. In that sense, Popper makes knives for cooks.”

“Hmm. Then what about the knives you make, Factory Manager-nim?”

“The knives I make? Those are housewife’s knives. Those are the knives I make. Though I’m not just a knife maker now.”

Channing made a slightly awkward expression.

Channing found it difficult to understand the factory manager’s words. He was curious about what the difference between a cook’s knife and a housewife’s knife was.

Reading Channing’s expression, the factory manager blurted out.

“Don’t get it? What I’m saying?”

“No… Honestly, I don’t really…”

“You still haven’t eaten enough metal shavings. Stop getting distracted and get back to work, you punk!”

At the factory manager’s shout, Channing quickly turned back to the milling machine and started working again.

Watching Channing diligently operating the milling machine, the factory manager nodded.

The factory manager recalled his old senior who had taught him the trade.

He wasn’t a very respectable figure, with a bad temper and a tendency to kick and punch, but what he had learned from him was the difference between a cook’s knife and a housewife’s knife.

That topic had been the driving force that kept him working in the metal workshop until now.

“Damn. Am I getting old? Thinking about the old days and all.”

The factory manager muttered to himself and prepared to sharpen the blades.

He fixed the blade in a pre-made jig and adjusted the screws to set the angle.

The jig wasn’t anything fancy.

It was a simple contraption made by tightening L-shaped angles and flat bars with bolts and nuts to secure the blade. By adjusting the screws at the bottom of the L-shaped angle, the blade would be at a specific angle when placed on the belt sander table.

This way, when grinding against the belt sander, the blade could be sharpened evenly at that angle.

After sharpening one side of the blade to the marked line, he flipped it over and did the same on the other side, resulting in a neatly balanced blade.

The factory manager sharpened the blades silently.

“Argh, this one has such a weird shape, I have to do it by hand…”

The factory manager, almost finished, picked up the most oddly shaped knife.

It was a knife with a blade that curved sharply near the handle. With that shape, he couldn’t use the jig to sharpen it.

The factory manager sighed and approached the bench grinder.

The bench grinder, with its thick, round grinding wheels on both sides, was a useful tool for grinding oddly shaped objects.

Turning on the bench grinder, the factory manager carefully began to sharpen the blade.

“Factory Manager-nim. Can I use the belt sander now?”

“Huh? Are you done cutting? If so, go ahead. Pack them carefully when you’re done. It’ll be a pain if they complain about scratches.”

“Yes, sir.”

Channing removed the piece from the milling machine and walked over to the belt sander.

Meanwhile, the factory manager, who had finished making the last blade, put the blades in a box and lifted it.

“Alright. I’m going to Popper’s. Clean up when you’re done.”

“Yes, sir. See you later.”

Channing replied to the factory manager’s words.