Studying at Western University starts with a knife-forging competition

Chapter 86

Assembly took the entire afternoon.

He first slipped the tsuba (handguard) onto the blade, pushing it to the hilt and locking it in place. The front of the tsuba featured a spiral, stepped pattern that radiated outwards from the blade, the height difference between each step creating subtle alternations of light and shadow under the lamplight. The guard extended from one side of the blade, curving to fit the grip, ending below the counterweight. Its cross-section was elliptical, with the curvature gradually decreasing from the hilt to the tip.

The segmented decorative rings on the hilt are printed separately, each segment being an independent part. Lin Yuan first used epoxy resin to fix the wooden core to the hilt. After the resin had partially cured, he began to glue the decorative rings one by one. Each segment was fixed with a clamp for a few minutes after being glued, and the next segment was glued only after the resin had completely cured. The spacing between the decorative rings was accurate to the millimeter, and the woven relief embedded in the ring grooves showed a fine, concave-convex texture under the light.

The counterweight ball was installed last. Six spiral grooves extend from the top of the ball towards the tip, with a concave curve at the bottom, ending in a pointed cone. Lin Yuan fitted the counterweight ball onto the screw at the end of the sword hilt and tightened it until the six spiral grooves and the decorative ring on the grip were axially aligned.

The moment the sword was fully assembled, he placed it horizontally on the worktable and took two steps back.

The slender blade extends forward from the knife, its four ridges of a diamond-shaped cross-section drawing sharp edges against a cool white background. Cloud patterns flow along the blade, with pale gold subtly appearing against the white backdrop. A very faint blue hue is almost invisible under light, but a hint peeks through the gaps in the patterns when the blade is turned at a certain angle. The stepped patterns on the knife, the curved guard, the segmented decorative rings on the hilt, the spiral grooves of the counterweight—every detail maintains a unified visual language against the backdrop of silver-gray aluminum alloy.

Matt stepped out from behind the camera and stood beside the worktable, looking down at the sword. He picked it up from the worktable, holding the hilt with one hand, his wrist momentarily sinking down before stabilizing. He made two mock slashes in the air, the blade cutting through the air with a slight, crisp sound, not deep.

"Lighter than I expected." Matt flipped the sword over to examine it, then gripped the hilt with both hands and tried a few thrusting motions. "The sword in the game looked like a solid iron rod, but this feels completely different in my hand. Is it because of the material ratio?"

"The aluminum alloy fittings have reduced the weight, and the alloy composition of the sword has also been adjusted." Lin Yuan leaned against the materials rack, arms crossed, watching him. "Without these adjustments, the entire sword would weigh about seven or eight pounds, and you couldn't lift it with one hand for even a minute. Now it's about five pounds, still heavy, but at least it's usable."

Matt danced a few more times, this time with larger movements. He gripped his sword with both hands, assuming a ready-to-thrust stance, the blade pointing horizontally forward, then pulled back and executed a sideways slash. After completing the entire sequence, his breathing rhythm noticeably changed, and his shoulders rose and fell more rapidly than before.

"I can't take it anymore." Matt put the sword back on the workbench, shook his wrist, and said, "I can wield this sword in the game all afternoon without getting tired, but in real life, my arm aches after just half a minute. You'll have to do this."

Lin Yuan straightened up from the materials shelf, walked to the worktable, and picked up the sword. He gripped the hilt with one hand, holding the blade horizontally without his wrist sinking. Given the size and material of this sword, without adjusting the alloy ratio, holding it horizontally with one hand would require much more wrist strength, but at this moment, his forearm muscles only felt a slight tension.

He switched to a two-handed grip, raised the sword overhead, and slashed it down into a wooden post beside the workbench. The blade cut into the post about two inches deep, and he pulled it out without any resistance. He flipped it over to check the blade; it was intact.

He then stepped back a few paces, aimed the tip of his sword at the wooden stake, and thrust it forward.

The moment the sword tip pierced the wooden stake, he felt a subtle inertia—not the sword itself propelling forward, but the thrusting motion itself becoming smoother, as if the sword knew where to go, requiring no extra effort from him to correct the angle. This feeling hadn't appeared in the previous test version of the sword blank; it must be due to the two special materials. He couldn't explain this phenomenon with conventional metallurgical theories, but the feel didn't lie.

He pulled the sword from the stake and ran his fingers through the wood fibers around the point of penetration. The cut was clean, without any tearing, and the diamond-shaped section of the sword tip left a clean, square hole in the stake.

Matt leaned closer to examine the thorn marks on the wooden stake. "This sword is too dangerous."

"Is it for the user or the person who was stabbed?"

"Yes, they are." Matt took the sword from Lin Yuan's hand, examined it again, then wiped the blade clean with the velvet cloth on the workbench and laid it horizontally on the black velvet cloth. "I'll take a picture of the finished product first. Can you adjust the angle of the fill light for me?"

Lin Yuan went over and adjusted the positions of the two LED fill lights, one as the main light from the upper side and the other as the fill light from the front side, so that the cool white background of the sword and the layered texture of the cloud patterns could be presented in the photos. Matt took dozens of photos with his phone, from different angles and lighting positions, shooting both distant and close-up views, as well as shots of the sword as a whole and details of the equipment. After taking the photos, he connected his phone to his laptop, exported the photos, and reviewed them.

"The sword's accuracy is at least 99% similar to the one in the game, if not exactly the same." Matt leaned back in his chair, a rare sense of satisfaction in his voice. "Don't you think Li's character model deserves more money?"

He smiled and said, "I've already given him his bonus. If you want another one, that's your business; I won't stop you."

"Once the video is released, I'll credit him in the description: 3D Modeling: Li Moumou. That way, he can use it as part of his portfolio when he takes on freelance projects." Matt closed his laptop, put it in his backpack, stood up, and dusted off his pants. "Tonight, I'll send the photos to Zhang Yue so she can do some pre-release hype. The video will be released after editing."

Lin Yuan walked to the wall and turned off the main fan of the exhaust pipe. The buzzing stopped, and the workshop became much quieter.

He picked up a velvet cloth and wiped the sword one last time, then put it into the makeshift protective case and leaned it against the corner of the office area.

Daniel has already left. Before he left, he swept the floor, checked the oil level in the quenching tank, and even emptied the trash.

Matt stood at the door waiting for him, carrying his equipment case and backpack. Lin Yuan locked the gate and got into the car. The car drove out of the forge's parking lot and turned onto the road leading to the school. The streetlights were already on, their orange glow streaking across the windshield.

Matt played music today, that same classical rock album, the lead singer's voice carried by the sound of the wind outside the car window, humming softly.

Lin Yuan leaned back on the headrest and closed his eyes. Tonight, he would organize and archive the photos of the sword. He still needed to continue working on Nelson and Jason's orders. The finished product of the divine leather sewing needle was complete, and he could start preparing for the next project.

The light from the streetlights brushed past his eyelids, flashing on and off. He slowly relaxed his shoulders to that rhythm, his fingers resting on the car door handle, his arm swaying gently with the car's swaying.