The Zeltivan Monument Series Part 4: The Tools

[Minerva Agatha Zipporah]

Next Tock set to work on a set of picks. They were a rather simple design, just a length of iron with a pointed tip. She just needed to make several of different lengths and widths, some with sharper points, some narrower. She was able to do most of this task without much guidance from Harold. A couple of the thicker picks required a bit of upsetting, shortening the length while thickening the width similar to how she had done with the hammers. Then she set each one at a different angle on the anvil, depending on how fine of a point it needed to have. Steady pounding on the iron while rotating the piece in place allowed her to shape the tip to a fine point. As each pick was shaped, she used a chisel to cut the excess iron off the end, then stuck the back end of the iron back into the heat. Once only the back end was heated, she pulled the pick out and laid it horizontally onto the anvil, with the heated end hanging just off the edge. Then she pounded the small heated length of the metal from the side, flattening it and widening it into a metal cap. This would be the part she pounded on when driving the picks into the stone. Next she began work on the chisels. In between his own continuing work, she checked with Harold for some advice on these here and there, to be sure she got the technique right. For each one she began by drawing out the iron to create the flat blade for each. Some were only an inch or so wide, and this was a fairly simple process. Some needed a rather wide blade, however, and she had to upset the metal to thicken it, before flattening it out into the wide shape of the blade. She then added beveled edges the same way she had with the knives. One of the differences here was that the chisels would have all metal handles, unlike her current set of chisels that had wooden handles. Cutting through stone required firmer strikes, and a wooden handle would most likely crack under the force used. So she added a flat end cap to the handle just as she had with the picks, giving a wide, solid place to strike when she was driving the chisels into the stone. She made eight chisels in this way, two identical sets of four with blades of varying widths. To deal with thicker pieces of stone, one of the two sets needed to have teeth like a saw blade. After consulting with Harold, she began cutting out the teeth by heating the metal and punching through it with a thin blade, slicing out triangular pieces in a row across the bottom of each of the second set of blades.

[Minerva Agatha Zipporah]

She returned the next day, and spent the morning helping Harold stoke the furnace and finish a few more simple tasks for his customers. After putting in a few more hours of work for the blacksmith, she returned to her own project, starting on her files and riffles. Shaping the heads of the files was much like the chisels, except that they were longer and more uniform in shape. She forged a couple of flat ones, one with a slight curve, and a couple that were round like a spike. The long and complex part here was adding the ridges that would allow the file to do its job, a long series of rough lines down the entire length of each file. This turned out to be a steady but tedious process, heating the iron and then using a cutting blade to slide a thin slice across the hot metal. She had to work with a steady hand to keep the marks straight and even, adding the ridges down the whole length then up the other side. The iron had to be returned to the heat regularly to make sure it was soft enough to be workable, and she had to take care to use the same amount of pressure on each slice, lest some of the ridges be deeper or shallower than the other. Each time she made a mistake, she had to pound the incorrect patch of metal flat again with a hammer, then start that section over again. On the back of each file she forged a narrow tang, flattening it out and shaping it so it could be inserted into a wooden handle later. The last set of tools was the riffles. These were special tools with a head on each end, connected by a thin rod of metal. She flattened each metal bar on each side until it was reduced down to about the width of her pinky, stretching out the length and then cutting it into sections. At either end of each piece she left a thicker section of metal, which she pounded and shaped into different shapes on each one. Some she left flat. Some she added a curve by angling the iron against the anvil as she struck it, bending the metal along one edge while keeping the other edge flat. Some she bent each end in opposite directions as an S shape, adding a sharp curve to the head which would help for getting the tool into grooves of the stone. Some she narrowed to a very fine tip that could be inserted between narrow gaps. By the end she had a set of eight, each small and light, the heads on either end slightly different in shape. She added ridges to these similar to those on the files, cutting the grooves into the heated metal.

[Minerva Agatha Zipporah]

With the full set of tools completed, she worked on finishing. She filed down all the spots where she had cut the tools off from the metal rods, removed the burrs and rough patches that had remained behind. She used a wire brush to clean and smooth out the iron, scraping off any filth and filings. Then she took the chisels to a grindstone, sharpening their edges until they were ready to cut stone. When all was done, she packed everything up to head home. "Thanks, mate," she said, clapping Harold on the shoulder. She enjoyed working with him. It was quiet, except for the crackling of the fire and the pounding of metal on metal. Just the way she liked to work. No talking, no questions, no annoying socializing. Just two craftsmen, creating. "Any time," he said. "I might have another big order coming in next week. Maybe I'll call on you?" She gave him a nod and a smile. "Sure thing, mate!" She'd always be up for more work. It had been a great learning experience. All that was left was to head home and carve out handles, and her new tools would be complete. Secret : I'm handwaving the carving of the handles simply because at Tock's current carving level, such a simple task won't net her any Exp and is too simple a process to be worth writing out. Tools made: Rockhammer, one-handed (5 lbs) Sledgehammer, two-handed (10 lbs) Iron Picks (set of 5 x 1 lb each) Stonecarving Chisels (four flat blade, four with teeth, x 1 lb each) Stonecarving Riffles (set of eight x 1/2 lb each) Stonecarving Files (set of 5 x 1 lb each) Total iron weight: 37 pounds x 5 sm/pound = 18.5 gm (marked off Ledger)

[Cascade]

Adventurer's Loot Tock's Loot : Skill XP Reward Blacksmithing +4 Metalsmithing +3 Weaponsmithing +3 Bodybuilding +2 Lore: Lores for techniques used Metalsmithing: Making Metal Strips Metalsmithing: Making Rings Weaponsmithing: Forging a Blade Forging Tools: Rockhammer Forging Tools: Sledgehammer Forging Tools: Chisels Forging Tools: Riffles Forging Tools: Files Items or Consequences: + Rockhammer, one-handed (5 lbs) + Sledgehammer, two-handed (10 lbs) + Iron Picks (set of 5 x 1 lb each) + Stonecarving Chisels (four flat blade, four with teeth, x 1 lb each) + Stonecarving Riffles (set of eight x 1/2 lb each) + Stonecarving Files (set of 5 x 1 lb each) -18.5gm Well-detailed thread, as per usual. I love how Tock is actually forging her own tools... such a self-sufficient girl. It's also kind of cute since her own tools were made by her, so they're more of an extension to her than those bought in any market. If you have any questions or concerns, feel free to PM me!