Another World Metal Factory

Chapter 6

After seeing Richel off, Channing stretched and rotated his waist, taking a moment to catch his breath.

While thinking that a broken sword could be fixed with welding, Channing wasn’t sure if it was truly possible.

Meanwhile, seeing the Factory Manager approaching from afar, Channing smiled brightly and went to meet him.

“Ah! Factory Manager-nim!”

Seeing Channing greet him so enthusiastically, the Factory Manager slightly frowned.

“What? What’s up? Why the warm welcome?”

“Ah, it’s nothing much, but a customer came…”

“A customer?”

At Channing’s words, the Factory Manager entered the workshop.

A young boy was standing in front of the workbench. He looked to be a little over 10 years old.

The Factory Manager scratched his head and looked at the boy.

“So, what brings you here?”

“Um… I was hoping you could fix this.”

The boy pointed to the sword placed on the workbench.

A completely broken longsword was lying on the workbench.

“Oh dear. It’s completely broken.”

“Yes. Please put it back together.”

At the boy’s request, the Factory Manager lifted the blade and examined it. It seemed to have broken due to metal fatigue after being used for a long time.

Confirming that it was a sword made of reasonably good steel, the Factory Manager tried joining the broken parts together. They touched each other cleanly without any missing pieces.

“Hmm… Even if I fix this, you won’t be able to use it for combat again… Why don’t you go to another blacksmith and have them melt it down and make a new one?”

The Factory Manager spoke his mind frankly.

A sword was a tool. When a broken object is fixed, that part inevitably weakens. It becomes unusable as an actual sword.

Knowing this, the Factory Manager suggested a better option, but the boy shook his head.

“It seems like this sword has a story.”

“It’s the sword my grandfather used on the battlefield when he was young. He cherished it ever since, but he dropped it while cleaning it a while ago, and it broke.”

Hearing the story, the Factory Manager stroked his chin.

“I guess its luck ran out.”

“My grandfather laughed and said, ‘Looks like this fella got old too,’ but he’s been lacking energy ever since. My grandfather is a hero, and seeing him like that makes me so sad… So I thought if I fix this sword, he might regain his strength. I even brought money!”

The boy took out a pouch from his waist and offered it to the Factory Manager. Inside were small silver and copper coins.

“Hmm…”

“Is it possible, Factory Manager-nim?”

As the Factory Manager pondered, Channing cautiously asked, and the Factory Manager placed the sword on the table.

Both the boy and Channing focused on the Factory Manager.

It was the Factory Manager’s turn to make a decision. And after making up his mind, he opened his mouth.

“Alright. This old man will give it a try!”

“Wow! Thank you! Thank you!”

At the Factory Manager’s words, the boy bowed repeatedly with a bright smile, and the Factory Manager, seemingly embarrassed, scratched his head and began preparing for work.

******

The Factory Manager first secured the blade in a vise and brought a hand grinder. Then he started grinding the broken parts.

“Huh? Why are you grinding there?”

“There needs to be a groove for the welding material to melt and flow in. That way, the welding material will melt in and create a clean finish.”

The Factory Manager said so in response to Channing’s question and ground the cut surface. He ground the broken parts so that when they were joined together, a V-shaped groove could be seen on the cross-section.

After grinding one side, the Factory Manager lifted the other piece and repeated the same grinding process.

“Alright. That’s done.”

As the Factory Manager removed the ground blade from the vise, the boy uncovered his ears.

“Wow… That was really loud.”

“Ah, I should have warned you beforehand.”

While Channing replied to the boy, the Factory Manager cleaned the workbench and prepared for the next step.

The Factory Manager placed a wooden block on the workbench and aligned the blade perfectly against it. Then he secured the workbench and the wooden block with a clamping vise.

After that, he aligned the broken piece against the wooden block, matching the distance, and then secured another wooden block underneath to fix the blade in place.

Thanks to the wooden blocks, the broken blade was fixed on the workbench, perfectly aligned and interlocked.

Even after that, the Factory Manager carefully examined it and tapped the wooden blocks with a hammer, making minute adjustments to ensure perfect alignment.

After completing the fixing process, the Factory Manager looked at Channing and spoke.

“For this kind of work, we can’t apply too much heat, so we need to use TIG (Tungsten Inert Gas) welding.”

“TIG welding?”

“Yeah. It’s a little different from electric welding. Channing, bring that over.”

Following the Factory Manager’s gesture, Channing ran over, looked at the machine, and said to the Factory Manager.

“Um… Factory Manager-nim, this is a plasma cutter.”

“It’s a multi-purpose machine. You can also do TIG welding with it.”

The Factory Manager connected the TIG welding equipment to the machine and opened the argon tank.

After adjusting the dial, the Factory Manager spoke to Channing.

“Go get the protective mask. Put it on the kid too.”

“Yes!”

Channing brought the protective mask, handed it to the Factory Manager, and placed it on the boy’s head, adjusting the size.

The Factory Manager lowered his protective mask, pressed the welding machine button, and brought it close to a steel plate.

A bright light flashed out instantly.

The boy was startled and almost fell, but Channing quickly caught him.

Channing himself was also surprised when he first saw the welding process. He hadn’t expected such a bright light to suddenly flash, so he was quite startled.

“It’s roughly set. Alright, let’s start. First, I’ll make three tack welds. Here’s a question. Why did I choose TIG welding instead of regular electric welding?”

“Um… I don’t know. What’s the difference?”

In response to Channing’s question, the Factory Manager welded the top part and answered.

“First, TIG welding has less distortion. After electric welding, the metal sometimes bends, and you have to straighten it with a torch and a hammer, right?”

“Ah, yes! That’s right.”

“TIG welding has less of that. Plus, even if it’s a bit slower, it creates a strong weld. You can cleanly weld most metals with it. That’s its strength. However, it takes some time to get used to, and it’s difficult, but that’s the issue. If you understand, watch carefully. You need to learn this too.”

The Factory Manager welded the last tack and then lifted his protective mask and removed the wooden blocks.

Since he had tack welded it in three spots, the broken sword was now joined together. Then, the Factory Manager brought the welder again and started welding.

From top to bottom, carefully drawing figure-eights, he fed the welding wire and continued welding. After finishing the last part, he lifted his protective mask.

A neat wave pattern had formed on the welded area.

“Is it done?”

“One side is. We need to weld the back as well. That’s how it becomes strong. Of course, even after welding like this, it won’t be strong enough to use in a fight again.”

The Factory Manager flipped the sword over and lowered his protective mask again to start welding. With a bright light, the welding machine held in the Factory Manager’s right hand moved slowly.

The boy and Channing stared blankly at the scene. The Factory Manager’s skillful technique was enough to captivate even the boy who was seeing it for the first time.

After filling the last part with welding material and finishing the weld, the Factory Manager lifted his protective mask.

“Now, the welding is done for now…”

The Factory Manager turned off the machine and lifted the sword, examining it carefully. The welding material was neatly filled in, forming a wave pattern like fish scales.

Since the blade was slightly bent, the Factory Manager turned on the torch and applied heat little by little to straighten the bent areas.

“Wow! It’s well-attached.”

“You actually fixed the broken sword!”

At Channing and the boy’s admiration, the Factory Manager coughed and placed the sword on the workbench, and the boy stood on tiptoe to look at it.

“That’s amazing! The broken sword is fixed!”

“It’s not over yet. I need to finish it, so wait a little longer.”

Lifting the sword, the Factory Manager moved to the belt sander. It was to grind the welded area.

The welded area inevitably stood out, and the surrounding color had also changed slightly due to the heat.

The Factory Manager carefully ground the welded area on the belt sander. As he ground, checked, and ground repeatedly, the welded area began to blend in with the surroundings.

Gradually changing to finer sandpaper, the Factory Manager once again carefully examined the sword. The welded area was still visible, but it was perfectly blended in, only noticeable upon close inspection.

The Factory Manager sighed and turned off the belt sander.

“Phew! That’s it. I can’t do any more than this.”

When the Factory Manager handed the completed sword to the boy, the boy received it with a bright face.

“I also polished off some rust while I was at it, so your grandfather will be happy. It would be better to have it properly sharpened somewhere else, though.”

“Thank you! Thank you so much!”

As the boy repeatedly expressed his gratitude and looked at the sword, the Factory Manager smiled and patted the boy’s head.

Watching the boy repeatedly bowing, the Factory Manager took out a cigarette and put it in his mouth.

“Be careful on your way home. Don’t fall.”

“Yes! Thank you.”

After the boy left, the Factory Manager lit his cigarette.

Watching the smoke rise, Channing approached and spoke.

“You usually don’t do such bothersome tasks, so why did you do it this time?”

At Channing’s question, the Factory Manager grinned and ruffled Channing’s hair vigorously.

“Whoa!”

“Well, a kid like that asked me to fix it, and as long as I can fix it, it’s only right to do it. No other blacksmith could fix that anyway.”

“Ah?!”

Channing suddenly shouted after hearing the Factory Manager’s words.

Slightly startled, the Factory Manager glared at Channing.

“What? Suddenly!”

“No… I’m sorry… I just remembered what you said earlier today, Factory Manager-nim.”

“What did I say?”

“About the chef’s knife and the housewife’s knife.”

At Channing’s words, the Factory Manager took a deep drag of his cigarette, exhaled, and looked at Channing.

“Yeah. What did you realize?”

“So it’s like this. To make a single knife, blacksmith Popper has to hammer and shape the metal one by one. But in our workshop, we can make several identical ones simultaneously using the milling machine.”

“That’s right. And if we use the laser cutter (plasma cutter) that’s not being used over there, we can do it even faster than with the milling machine.”

“Huh? We have such a tool? Ah, that’s not important right now. So the point is this.”

Channing lifted a piece of metal.

“Even if they’re made of the same metal, blacksmith Popper, who makes each knife by hand, can customize them to the user. Things like the length and angle of the blade, the shape of the handle, and so on. That’s what a chef’s knife is.”

Channing then lifted another piece of metal.

“On the other hand, we don’t need to put in that much effort. Of course, if we put in the effort, we can also make a perfectly fitted knife. However, that’s not cost-effective. Instead, we can make many usable knives quickly and cheaply. That’s what a housewife’s knife is. Easy to buy and easy to use. In the end, the chef’s knife and the housewife’s knife are like that. Do what you can do!”

At Channing’s explanation, the Factory Manager smiled and tossed his cigarette butt away.

“You’re using your head a little now.”

“Wow, hahaha! I guess I was right.”

“You idiot. You’re only half right!”

“Huh?!”

At the Factory Manager’s words, Channing’s eyes widened, and he looked at the Factory Manager. The Factory Manager took one of the metal pieces from Channing’s hand and replied.

“It means don’t try to do everything yourself and share the work appropriately with other workshops. That’s how everyone can make a living. ‘You make chef’s knives, I’ll make housewife’s knives, and you over there, make farming tools.'”

“Ah?!”

Channing seemed to realize something and sighed at the Factory Manager’s explanation. The Factory Manager laughed, tossed the metal piece away, and said.

“Alright then. Get the doorknob we made earlier. We need to go install it.”

“Oh… Alright. I’ll get it right away.”

Channing hurriedly went inside the workshop, and the Factory Manager watched him with a grin.