Studying at Western University starts with a knife-forging competition

Chapter 116

Nelson reached out and picked up the acid-washed rough blank, flipping it over under the light. His fingers slowly traced the grain, feeling the subtle differences in texture between the dark and light layers.

"We can achieve this level when we get back." He put the rough blank back on the workbench, glanced at Lin Yuan, and said, "As for the effects beyond that, we won't ask about your family's ancestral craftsmanship, especially those flowing cloud patterns and the golden luster of the silver-iron alloy."

Lin Yuan nodded but did not reply.

Jason took out his phone from his pocket, took a few photos of the acid-washed rough blank, and recorded a video from different angles.

As he put his phone away, he smiled at Lin Yuan. "Go back and review this. These photos are more useful than any tutorial."

Nelson placed the rough blank back on the workbench, picked up the knife case again from under his arm, and held out his hand to Lin Yuan. "You've made the right choice. If you need anything in the future, feel free to contact me."

Lin Yuan squeezed his hand, with just the right amount of pressure.

Jason came over and shook hands, then bent down and picked up his insulated box, which still contained a few smoked sausages. "I can have a bite if I get hungry on the way."

The two men walked out of the forge. Before opening the car door, Nelson glanced back at the unmarked brick wall at the workshop entrance: "You should put up a sign."

"I'll make one later," Lin Yuan said.

The pickup truck started up, and the two vehicles drove out of the parking lot one after the other, turned onto the highway, and disappeared behind the roadside trees.

Matt walked out of the workshop, holding the Sony FX30 in his hand. He had been filming the entire process, from Nelson's initial knife test to Lin Yuan's demonstration of forging.

He filmed close-ups of the technical demonstration, capturing Lin Yuan's actions of sprinkling borax, water forging, and hammering in the viewfinder.

"This footage is enough to edit into a tutorial video." Matt held up the camera to show Lin Yuan the playback. In the viewfinder, the moment the steam exploded from the anvil was slowed down four times, and every frame was clear. "Didn't you always say you didn't want to talk about key technologies in free videos? Paid tutorial videos, pay if you want to watch, don't watch if you don't want to. Filter out the freeloaders, and what's left are those who genuinely want to learn."

Lin Yuan glanced at the playback and didn't object. "Cut out a version first, and I'll watch it first."

Matt nodded and put the camera back into its case. The two stood at the entrance of the forge for a while. The afternoon sun in South Carolina in March was already starting to warm up, and the wind blew in from the hickory grove across the parking lot, carrying the scent of pine needles and hay.

"Regarding what Nelson said about hanging up the sign," Matt suddenly spoke up, "what do you think should be hung up?"

"LinyuanForge. White background, black lettering." Lin Yuan turned and walked back to the workshop. "Don't make it fancy."

Matt chuckled and followed him inside.

Zhang Yue's message came on Tuesday afternoon.

"A female college student wants you to make a Game of Thrones sewing needle. She watched your videos and really liked them. Will you accept the job?"

Lin Yuan was giving the handle of the California hunting knife a final polish. He stopped the belt sander, took off his gloves, and glanced at his phone. A sewing needle—he recognized the sword.

Arya's sword in Game of Thrones is slender, simple, and suitable for stabbing.

When the series was airing, he was in Longquan, and the factory received several orders for Game of Thrones merchandise. Xiao Li should have some ready-made models.

"What are your requirements?" he typed.

Zhang Yue replied quickly: "She said she wanted to recreate the original design, with a slender blade and a cross-shaped pommel and guard. As for the craftsmanship, she wanted to use your cloud-patterned steel, the kind with flowing patterns you showed in the video. She didn't mention a budget, but said she could add more money."

Lin Yuan leaned against the materials shelf and thought for a moment. The sewing needle sword had an extremely thin blade, about twenty to twenty-five inches long, and less than an inch wide.

Cloud-patterned steel requires multiple folds, and the billet is repeatedly stretched during the forging process.

With such a narrow blade, the interlayer interfaces would be excessively compressed during stretching, and the patterns would become a mess before acid washing could even begin.

It's not that it can't be done, it's that the results would be very poor, a waste of effort.

He called Zhang Yue.

"Cloud-patterned steel isn't suitable for a fine sword like a sewing needle. The pattern will be blurred." As he spoke, he walked to the workbench and drew a thin, elongated shape on the surface with his finger. "It's too narrow; no matter how many layers are forged, the effect won't be visible. Explain to her that it's not that I'm unwilling to make it, but the craftsmanship and the blade shape don't match."

"What technique should we use?" Zhang Yue asked. "She really values ​​the effect of the pattern."

"Twisted Damascus steel," Lin Yuan said. "After heating the material, it's twisted, then forged flat, and after acid washing, the pattern is spiral-shaped, rotating along the blade. It has a distinctive visual effect and is suitable for slender structures. Send her a few reference pictures of twisted patterns and see if she accepts them."

Zhang Yue paused for two seconds. "Okay. I'll find some pictures and send them to her. Do you have any sample photos ready?"

"No. But you can find it online. Just search for 'Ten Transformations of Malaysian Wood,' the effects are about the same. I explained the difference in the process to her." Lin Yuan hung up the phone, put it on the worktable, put his gloves back on, and continued polishing.

The handle of the California hunting knife gleamed with an amber luster against the reddish-brown background of desert ironwood. He gave the blade a final wipe with a soft cloth, placed it on the workbench, then opened his laptop, searched for several pictures of finished twisted damascus steel pieces, and saved them to his phone.

The pattern is indeed spiral-shaped, rotating and extending from the base of the sword to the tip. Unlike the flowing cloud pattern, it has a regular, mechanical sense of order.

Half an hour later, Zhang Yue replied to the message.

"She agreed. She said the twisted texture looks pretty good, and she trusts you if you say it suits her. She also wants to ask about the price and delivery time."

Lin Yuan did the math. The sewing needle blade was slender and long, making it more difficult to forge than a regular hunting knife, but the material cost was not high. The process of twisting Damascus steel was simpler than folding and forging—it didn't require repeated folding; the square steel was twisted and then forged flat, and the heat treatment was the same as for ordinary high-carbon steel.

The fittings are readily available in a model; all that's needed is to 3D print the brass. The total production time is less than that of Nelson's Bowie hunting knife.

"Twenty thousand RMB. Three to four weeks to complete." He sent it, then added, "This is a friend's price. It's for your junior, I won't make too much money off her."

The following afternoon, Zhang Yue sent the client's contact information to Lin Yuan, saying she had already forwarded Lin Yuan's WeChat contact information so he could directly contact her.

Communicate details with the client.

When the client added him, he used a still from Game of Thrones as his profile picture, showing Arya holding a sword and standing in the snow.

The verification message reads "Custom sewing needles - Junior Zhang Yue".

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