Axes, the art of creating and engraving [Marcus Braeden]

[Boindil Armorcaster]

Boïndil nodded at Marcus' statement. Having to get more metal was probably necessary for the hook that had to be attached to the axe itself, were her thoughts. So the isurian walked to the chest containing multiple blocks of metal which could still be molded into any desired shape. Once she returned, she placed that piece on the table close to the anvil and picked up the axehead again. It was the same boring process as shaping the blade of the axe again. But instead of creating a real edge, which would later be grinded so it could cut, the rim would get flattened to strengthen it. After all, this weapon was ordered by someone who would later use it. The hammer striking the metal at a regular pace was something that could soothe Boïndil completely. There was nothing that could calm her more then this. Too bad for her was that the axehead shaped much easier now. Because Marcus was giving her the points where she needed to hit, the weaponsmith was easily doing it at the speed when she was crafting a sword. After she had finished the form of the axehead, the isurian woman lay the hot axehead down on the anvil as she asked for confirmation: "This is correct right? So now I have to start on the hook for it?"

[Marcus Braeden]

Once the Isurian had brought back the necessary metal, Marcus nodded, confirming Boindil's inquiries, "Aye, we will need to do that. I will still help point where to strike and offer any advice I think of."

Marcus waited as the Isurian heated the metal she had just retrieved. For now, Marcus once again found himself infatuated with one of the different projects being created. This time he was watching an older smith, who was seemingly much more experienced than Marcus. His particular craft this day was a sword, roughly 40 inches in length. The grip was a two handed grip, and was carefully bound in a bright red cloth. Marcus could make out some etchings on the steel blade, although he could not identify any particular symbols at the distance. The hilt itself was also unique, as gold was the metal of choice. The nearby fire produced a light that shimmered brightly off the surface of the metal. However, one thing stood above everything else on this fanciful sword. Some sort gem was locked into the hilt, creating a shine greater than the golden hilt. Marcus smirked a little, as such a sword was not an everyday sight.

Once Boindil returned, Marcus shifted his attention back to the task at hand, an axe! Marcus once again turned and faced Boindil with the anvil and the metal between them, and began to indicate where to strike. Once the the rhythm set in, time seemed to just pass.

[Boindil Armorcaster]

After a while, the axehead had taken shape and Boïndil started working on the hook that needed to be attached to it. For that she had prepared a small strip of metal onto which she could later place the hook itself. She had driven a hole in it so a pin could be pushed through it to secure the hook. It might not be great for durability, but it did make the weapon a bit more versatile. After heating the metal clump of steel, the Isurian woman started hammering away again. Following the advice of Marcus, she was starting to shape the hook in the desired shape. The work was tiring, hot and quite satisfying to her. It showed that she could put her entire soul into one piece of work, as if she were creating a piece of art. After having mostly finished up the shape of the hook, the weaponsmith asked: "How does it look?" She wiped off the sweat from her forehead using her right hand, leaving a trail of black soot on it.

[Marcus Braeden]

Once the Isur had stopped her work, Marcus took up the axehead and began to examine it. He held it up to the light from the fire and eyed every little detail he could. He flipped it over, put it on its side, and viewed from every possibly angle, just to get a reading on the quality of the product. When Marcus finally set the piece of metal down, he looked over at Boindil, and nodded his head in approval. It looked as though they had managed to turn the hunk of metal around and into a blade that was decent enough to be used in combat. The blade appeared to be in good shape, while the added hook added a good deal of versatility to the axe. It was all coming together in perfect harmony, well, some sort of harmony at least. The next step, was to spend a few minutes on the grinding wheel, just to work out the rough patches on the steel, and then it would be onward to the cooling tanks, where they would harden and temper the blade.

"Alright, go ahead and grind out any kinks in the metal, should be smoother than a baby's arse" He commanded as he pointed toward the wheel.

Marcus watched from the anvil while the Isur used the grinder. Sparks seemed to launch from the surface of the stone and then quickly dissipate in thin air. The noise created from the friction between the steel and stone filled the room, although most other smiths were used to it and hardly paid any attention to it. Hell, that was if they could hear it in the first place. Many other sounds filled the Ironworks as well. Chatter, crackling of the fire, steel being forged, everything in the Ironworks was a mesh of light and sound.

Boindil soon returned, carrying the blade in her hands. Once again Marcus took it up and ran his finger across the blade. And once again they were ready for the next step.

"Alright, it's time we harden and temper this thing. I'll show you how to prepare a bath, since it's a good thing to know." Marcus asked that the Isur remember this as he didn't want to have to demonstrate again. Marcus began creating the proper mixture in the barrel. He added the coals and the water and before long they had a proper bath to quench the metal in.

"Ok, time to harden and temper. It's tough to get it right, mostly tempering, but I will walk you through it. Hardening comes first, so start with putting the blade in the fire. Once its in, just waited till its extremely hot and then quench it. Simple enough, no?"

[Boindil Armorcaster]

oocPost is crap and I feel as if I've completely disconnected from Bo >.<

The isurian woman rejoiced a little on the inside as well as let out a sigh of relief. She didn't have much confidence with axes, and that confidence had taken a big blow because of her first project of making one. She then picked up the blade as it still had to be ground to remove the imperfections from the blade itself. After having moved over to the grinding wheel, Boïndil set to work. She had quite a steady hand as this seemed much easier then forging it. At least it worked the same as grinding any kinks and imperfections out of sword blades. A small glimmer of enjoyment went through her eyes as she saw how the kinks dissapeared. It felt really satisfying to see project finish up. After following the one teaching her, she made sure to pay good attention to the creation of a quenching bath. A question remained for her though and she didn't hesitate to ask it. "My father told me once that even with hardening you should look at the color of the flames. Ain't it important to.... eh, what's that word again?" The weaponsmith couldn't find the word she was looking for and it showed. She meant to say attention, but though she was only basic at Common, she couldn't name it. Somehow it had slipped from her mind. Either way, even if she couldn't come up with it, she shouldn't dawdle. First she had to make a protective layer, something she remembered her mom once told her. It would protect her project from the intense heat which could be devastating for it. She picked a bucket and put in some clay and charcoal, mixing it up. After that she applied it to the axehead, covering it completely. Followed up by that she put the blade into the forge using her right arm, not using a tang of the sorts, she looked at how the protective layer held out and the color of the metal changed. The hardening took a while before the axehead was ready to be taken out. Once she deemed that there had gone over enough time, she picked the axehead out from between the coals and dumped it into the bath. "That should be about right I think. Let's see how it turned out.", Boïndil then said. Pulling the axehead out of the bath, first she removed whatever leftover packaging was left and looked at the deformities. Luckily those deformities weren't too big just yet, so she picked up a file and went over the blade a couple times to see how easy it was and how deep it went.

[Marcus Braeden]

Marcus leaned up against the stone wall adjacent to the furnace the pair of smiths happened to be using. He watched as the Isur covered the blade in a mixture of clay and charcoal, a process that Marcus had not ever seen before. Perhaps it was some sort of Isurian technique that he was unaware of. Ravok was no Sultros after all. Maybe he would give this technique a try one of these days, after all, the Isur seem to be the experts on this sort of thing.

"Pay attention?" Marcus asked, completing her sentence. And yes, there are many things one has to be weary of when hardening and tempering. The color of the flame, the properties of the metal, and such. But eventually you will develop an eye for the things you are looking for, and won't have to concentrate as much. You'll stop seeing things individually, and begin seeing things all together, in a sort of big picture. Or you could throw all that stuff away and cheat by using auristics"Marcus chuckled to himself as he remembered Hadrian's own attempt at the smithing process.

Marcus let out a slight smile as the glowing metal was submerged in the barrel of liquid. A cloud of steam rushed up to the Isur's face accompanied by a loud hissing sound. Once the steam had cleared, Marcus pushed himself up off the wall into an upright position to take a look at the blade. It surely needed more hardening done to it as Marcus had never heard of anyone perfectly hardening on the first round. Nature simply would not allow such a feat. Marcus looked at Boindil, then at the blade, and then back at Boindil. And with that he gave a slight nod. "Alright, again!"The smith said, as he propped himself up against the wall again.