122 – Iron Age (3)
For mankind, fire was the light of civilization. It is by no means a story that mankind has been able to cook and eat meat by making fire.
Humans were able to overcome the cold thanks to the existence of fire, and unlike other animals, they were able to move and live without stopping even in winter. It is now possible to extend its footsteps even to the desert of frozen snow forever.
And above all, mankind with fire was able to melt metal.
One day, the moment they accidentally discovered ‘molten metal’ remaining in the place where they were burning a bonfire, mankind got a ‘weapon’ to replace fragile teeth and nails.
Of course, the metal melted at the temperature of a campfire without any work was not very powerful because it was soft.
However, it was only natural that mankind, who had no knowledge of smelting at the time, gave special meaning to the ‘mysterious and shining material’ that suddenly appeared from the ground where the fire was lit.
The first humans to discover it lit fire to melt and shape the mysterious substance.
I don’t know what shape it was in the first place.
It could have been a bumpy and ugly stick, or it could have been shaped like a hand ax that mankind often used.
However, that wasn’t the point.
It was important that the idea that the human was ‘specially selected’ was born, and people naturally gathered under the human’s feet and formed a tribe, a group, a civilization, and a society.
By setting up a special symbol, a clear leadership class was created, power was inherited, and greed arose for other humans who looked at power.
Someone equally wanting power would have tried to kill the leader, and the group would have split.
Or, another group watching the process of forming a group from the outside may have tried to take it away.
If not, he might have burned a bonfire and searched for metal in order to get out of the group and become a ‘special being’.
Human society was formed in front of fire and metal, developed with the power of fire and metal, and is supported by fire and metal.
Having the power to handle fire and metal had a special meaning to that extent.
And, having just such fire and metal, Chester grabbed the wooden stick that was on top of the mud board.
When I pulled it with force, the wooden stick was pulled out, and the end was charred black as if it had been burned.
“Where can we see how well it is made?”
Pulling out a wooden stick, Chester opened the clay slab and looked inside.
As a result of pouring molten iron with a wooden stick inserted, a hardened metal sculpture was seen with a hole in the middle.
‘… … It’s quite heavy.’
As a result of not removing the impurities properly, there are traces of black impurities sticking to them here and there, but it was not enough to pay much attention.
Chester fumbled with the hammer head, saw the hole in the hammer head, took a piece of wood, and rounded it with a claw knife.
After roughly inserting the handle made like that into the head of the hammer, hit it a few times and give it an impact so that it is properly inserted all the way to the inside and fixed. Then I took the string and wrapped it around the handle and the hammer head and tied it tight.
“done.”
The hammer is complete.
“It went better than I thought. I could make an ax blade similar to this one.”
“Finally, even an ax made of metal?!”
Monia, feeling the excitement of civilization through the machete, imagined how comfortable it would be if the ax was made of metal.
As long as an object that is handled ignorantly like an ax is made with basic shape and durability, its performance is guaranteed to some extent.
Even now, when stone knives are replaced with claw knives and fires made with a hand drill are replaced with lighters, along with ropes and strings, it has been a tool that has been used well since the beginning of the wandering island until now.
While handling various tools, Monia also vaguely realized that… … .
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Likewise, the machete, a ‘tool to use casually’, is well made of metal and has been treated like a treasure between Chester and Monia from the moment it was luckily discovered.
“Hmm.”
Chester, who played around with the finished hammer by throwing it, catching it, spinning it around, and spinning it in his hand, suddenly grabbed the handle of the hammer firmly.
“Let’s see how strong it is?”
The wooden handle creaked and screamed as Chester applied enough force that the veins bulged in his forearm.
And the moment he swung the hammer at the rock in that state, a loud sound hit Monia’s eardrums.
“Kyaa!”
If you lock a person in a small space and knock on metal blocks from all sides, will it sound like this? The moment the rock and the hammer collided, the clear and sharp sound of metal colliding lingered in Monia’s ears for a long time, causing her to shake her head.
And at the same time, the wooden handle that could not withstand the impact was smashed, and the hammer head flew through the air and fell to the ground.
Chester threw away the broken wooden handle and examined the hammer head. It hit the rock hard enough to give goosebumps, but the hammer head was slightly distorted, but no major deformation was seen.
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Looking at the rock next, the tip of the rock had split and was rolling on the ground.
“Oh, that’s pretty sturdy.”
“Hey, talk to me! Something like that!”
“yes? surprised? sorry.”
Untying the string around the hammer head, Chester scratched and split the remains of the wooden handle inside with a claw-knife, then fashioned a new handle and attached it to the hammer head.
“Okay, shall we start in earnest now?”
As he said that, Chester sat down, where a metal plate made by melting molten iron to make it as flat as possible lay flat on a rock.
This will serve as the anvil for the downstairs branch of this Wandering Island Forge.
Even for the lower branch, there is only one smithy on this island, and if the people at the top don’t pay attention to it, it won’t grow any further.
Chester first made a fire in the kiln, and then pressed only one of the four presses installed to inject an appropriate amount of air to increase the firepower.
The firepower is maintained at the level at which the ore is heated, and a knife shaped by pouring molten iron into a mold is hung over the kiln entrance.
“But what kind of ore is this after all? Just iron?”
“Well. I don’t think it’s just iron.”
This metal, which seemed to be a common mineral when it was a rough stone, was melted, removed impurities once, and then hardened again, giving off a mysterious atmosphere with a soft silver light.
Even though it was only crudely shaped with crude hands, the color of the mineral itself and this silvery color made it look like a mysterious ancient artifact.
“You don’t think you’re that strong, do you?”
“yes. But it will be much more useful than the stone tools we used to use.”
When the knife was properly heated, he moved it onto the iron plate with a wooden stick, and Chester, holding a stone in his hand, pressed the knife handle with the stone to secure it.
Then, swing the hammer towards the sword part.
kang!
The moment he hit the hot knife with a strong hammer, the oxygen inside the knife escaped and sparks erupted loudly.
kang! kang! kang!
Chester continued hammering as he watched the sparks fly.
‘Well, I’m pretending to be a blacksmith for now… I don’t know how much I should do with this.’
The town of Chester was a poor place, so jobs like blacksmithing did not exist.
The blacksmith makes a living by making all sorts of tools for people. Of course, unless they had an accident or some unavoidable circumstances, they couldn’t live in a poor village where people didn’t have enough money.
Blacksmiths are craftsmen, and craftsmen are needed everywhere.
Still, it’s not like he doesn’t have a relationship with the blacksmith at all. Chester, who was very interested in knives, would find a knife he liked by wandering around the smithy during the rare break from his job as a butler.
I also heard from a blacksmith with whom I had a connection in the process that I knew that the work of beating iron was to remove impurities and air from the iron to make it harder.
‘Should I knock until there are no sparks first?’
After the knife sets, reheat it and talk to Monia. Monia was practicing whistling commands to Ant while Chester banged his knife.
“Whoa! Whoops!”
Since she still couldn’t whistle, it wasn’t training or practice, which meant nothing, but more like play, but Monia still tried hard to whistle.
“Hey! ah! There was a sound! finally!”
“That’s not a whistle.”
Chester could say no to the woman he thought of as his first love, and at the same time his wife.
“Hey.”
Monia also knew that calling it a whistle was far-fetched, so she gave up and talked to Chester again.
“What are you going to make next?”
“Well. Anyway, I don’t know why the black wind friends don’t come like this.”
“The grace of the top? Wouldn’t that take time because it’s so important?”
“Well. It could be. What to make next… Doesn’t Monia want anything?”
“I want to have it… … . May I choose?”
“I also made what I wanted to make first, so pick something for Monia too.”
“Well.”
Monia recalled the machete carefully kept in the house and said.
“Then I want to have my own machete.”
“Machetes? Shall we do that? I don’t know if I can make it well.”
“I like anything Chester makes.”
Chester laughed a little shyly at Monia’s answer and proceeded to tap the knife again.
From the blade to the handle, the whole thing is evenly pounded, then a whetstone is brought in and the blade of the knife is sharpened.
The knife, which was smooth at first, was hit with a hammer several times and was dented here and there, giving it a bumpy appearance.
Grab such a knife and sharpen it on a whetstone for a long time to make it as sharp as possible.
After setting everything up to the blade, Chester put the knife back into the kiln and heated it up.
As the red-hot knife enters the cold waterfall that has been dragged into the waterway, thick white smoke billows at once.
Taking out the knife that had cooled in cold water, Chester took a slightly thicker piece of string and began wrapping it around the knife handle.
After completing the handle by tying it one by one and meticulously wrapping the handle with string, Chester performed various tricks with the finished knife in his hand.
The knife moves around in Chester’s hand, occasionally reflecting sunlight and making it glow.
After grabbing the knife one last time and driving it into the block of wood, Chester nodded in satisfaction.
“yes. nice.”
Starting with this knife, Chester and Monia began transforming their tools from stone to iron using the ore brought by the top people.
Things from this island will certainly not be out of the ordinary. Maybe it was ‘mithril’ that appeared in fantasy?