Studying at Western University starts with a knife-forging competition

Lin Yuan didn't rush to start working on the divine leather sewing needle that Matt wanted.

The next afternoon, he pulled Matt off the sofa, made him open the game, and equipped the weapon.

Matt didn't realize what Lin Yuan was doing at first, thinking Lin Yuan just wanted to see the screenshots again. It wasn't until Lin Yuan asked him to turn the character to different angles—side view, front view, sword-wielding position, and sword-drawing action—that he understood what Lin Yuan wanted to do.

"Didn't you say you could do it?"

"Being able to do something and doing it well are two different things." Lin Yuan stood in front of the TV, pointing his phone camera at the screen, taking a picture every time he turned the camera to a different angle. "Screenshots only show a fixed angle, so I can't see the thickness transition of the spine of the sword, nor can I see the proportional relationship between the handle and the blade."

"You walk around in the game, let me see what it looks like when it moves."

Matt did as he was told.

He found an open space in the game and posed his character holding a sword.

Lin Yuan had him perform several movements—a horizontal thrust, an upward flick, and a charged thrust—and took several photos of each movement from the side and the front.

In the game, the Divine Leather Stitch is classified as a heavy rapier, with a length far exceeding that of a regular rapier, approaching the specifications of a two-handed greatsword.

The sword is extremely slender with a rhomboid cross-section and a very narrow tip.

Its attack moves are mainly thrusting, and its charged thrusts are completely different from those of ordinary straight swords.

"Alright." Lin Yuan flipped through the dozens of screenshots he had taken on his phone, making sure that he had captured them from all angles. "The way to use this sword in the game is to stab, not slash. The thickness of the spine can't be too thick, otherwise the resistance to stabbing will be too great."

But it can't be too thin either—if the blade is too thin at this size, it will bend under lateral stress. The angles of the rhomboid cross-section need to be recalculated.

"As long as you can make a prototype, why worry about all this?"

"The weapon in the screenshot was drawn by the game designers; they don't need to consider the yield strength of the metal." Lin Yuan drew a few lines on his notebook, marking the approximate angle of the blade's cross-section. "I need to consider that. Even if the sword you make isn't sharpened, at least structurally it has to be a real sword."

Matt leaned back on the sofa armrest, watching Lin Yuan sketch in his notebook: "So you're planning to make this a real weapon?"

"Treat it as a custom-made piece. When you show it to someone in the know, they won't say, 'This is just a game accessory,' but 'This is a fine sword.' That's how I'll conduct myself, and how I'll conduct myself."

Over the next few days, Lin Yuan carefully went through the geometric structure of the divine skin stitches.

He first had Matt use characters and scene props in the game as a proportional reference—he had the character stand in front of a wall with brick seams, took a screenshot, and then counted the brick seams to estimate the length of the sword.

After comparing it several times, he estimated that the heavy rapier was about five to six feet long, which was beyond the scope of a regular one-handed weapon and belonged to the size of a two-handed greatsword.

The blade accounts for about three-fifths of the total length, while the handle and counterweight each account for one-fifth, with each section being about a foot long.

The blade with a diamond-shaped cross-section is thickest at the guard and tapers evenly towards the tip, with the curve of the thickness transition being longer than that of a short cross-blade.

The structure of the guard is much more complex than that of a regular rapier.

The design in the game is not a bowl-shaped handguard, but a tight, hollow truncated cone, wider at the top and narrower at the bottom, with stepped converging patterns on the inner wall.

What's even more unique is that an arc-shaped handguard extends from one side of the guard, curving from the bottom of the guard towards the counterweight ball, parallel to the handle but maintaining a distance, with the end ending below the counterweight ball.

The purpose of this handguard is to protect the outside of the sword-wielding hand. It is slender and curved with an oval cross-section.

The handle itself is not a smooth cylinder.

The grip in the game has segmented decorative rings on its surface, with fine patterns embedded between each segment, making it look like it's wrapped with some kind of woven material, but with an embossed effect on the metal surface.

The counterweight ball is a spiral cone shape with six spiral grooves that extend from the top to the tip in a spiral motion. The bottom of the grooves has a recurved arc, and the end tapers to a pointed cone.

To accurately reproduce these details, it would be almost impossible to rely solely on hand carving.

The stepped patterns on the sword guard, the curved cross-section of the handguard, the segmented decorative rings on the hilt, and the spiral grooves of the counterweight ball—each of these requires modeling.

He compiled these requirements into a detailed modeling specification, attached dimensional sketches and game screenshots, and sent it to Xiao Li via email. Then he made a phone call.

When Xiao Li answered the phone, it was a little after nine in the morning, and the machines in the factory in Longquan were already running.

Lin Yuan briefly explained the situation—his roommate wanted a heavy rapier from the game, and the equipment needed to be 3D modeled with a design that was as close to the original as possible, with a higher precision than the mass-produced anime merchandise.

"A divine leather sewing needle?" Xiao Li's voice carried a hint of surprise. "Brother Yuan, your roommate has good taste. I've seen this sword before; it's from the Elden Ring. The spiral counterweight and the design of the hilt are quite unique."

However, the structure in the game differs somewhat from reality. I need to check the original artwork; there are some details you'd like to confirm with me.

"you say."

"The curved handguard design is a complete shape in the game, but making it a single piece in reality would be very heavy. Have you considered making it in sections?"

"Segmented. The guard, handguard, and counterweight are separate, connected by a screw in the middle."

"That makes things easier. And that curved handguard—in the game, the cross-section is elliptical, and the curvature gradually changes from the guard to the bottom. This can't be bent by hand; it can only be forged."

The counterweight ball has six spiral grooves with a curved bottom. It's difficult to carve by hand, so I made it printable directly in the modeling interface.

"Okay. I'll also give you the segmented decorative rings for the handle. You'll need to make the width, spacing, and pattern of each segment by referring to the original artwork and screenshots. I'll send you those screenshots."

"Okay. What precision do you require?"

"The tolerance is controlled within half a millimeter. This is not a mass-produced anime knife; it's a custom-made item."

Xiao Li was silent for a moment on the other end of the phone, then said in a tone of reaffirmation, "Then let's go with the highest standard. I'll achieve a modeling precision of 0.1 millimeters, and we'll leave the surface details for post-processing."

Regarding the production timeline—modeling and adjustments—it will take about a week. Are you handling the printing and casting yourself?

"Yes. Send me the documents, and I'll do the casting myself."

"Okay. I'll give you the first draft of the model within a week."

"There's one more thing," Lin Yuan said, switching the phone to his other hand. "If you do this job well, I'll give you a thousand dollars as a bonus."

There was a moment of silence on the other end of the phone. Then, Xiao Li's voice rose half an octave. "A thousand dollars? US dollars?"

"Yes. This is a big job, with much higher requirements than usual. We won't let you work for free."

"Don't worry, I'll definitely make this model the best it can be. It'll be even more detailed than the ones I make for those animation companies." After saying that, Xiao Li added, "I'll send you the first draft later. Take a look at the structure and details, and I'll revise anything you're not satisfied with."

Lin Yuan hung up the phone and carefully archived the previous sketches and email records. Matt poked his head out from the other end of the living room and asked if he had arranged the modeling work.

Lin Yuan said everything was arranged, then added, "This sword has a rather complex structure. The guard, hilt, and counterweight all need to be made separately. I'll order the materials after Xiao Li sends over the model."