Solo Nailed it!

[Nicomedos Smithgrip]

10th of Winter 519

Nico woke just before dawn to a prickly sensation on right shoulder. Turning slightly to see what it was, Nico shook in surprise when he made eye contact with a large crab. He really needed to do something about living in his tent. It was nice at first, but this crab was not his first visitor and the coarse sand in his bedroll stuck to his skin. Nico quickly grabbed the crustacean with his left hand, the crab now pinching wildly against his stony fingers, and flung it through the tent flaps. He heard a faint *ting* as the crab hit what Nico guessed was his cooking pot outside.

Nico slowly climbed out of his bedroll, brushing sand off of himself while moving towards his belongings spread neatly out on a shirt on the opposite end of the tent. Grabbing his breeches, he scanned the rest of his shelter for other signs of wildlife. Confident he was alone he pulled on his pants, grabbed his blacksmithing sledge, and ducked through the tent flaps leading outside.

Dawn sent shimmering rays over the placid ocean, bestowing a golden path from the shore to the horizon. The eastern sky was filled with blended tones of rosy pinks and sandy yellows. Nico paused a moment to appreciate the beauty of his new home. The scenery offset the discomfort of his living conditions, which he would begin to look into improving. Perhaps he could rent one of the bungalows until he was able to build his own place. Deciding it was time to move on, Nico began walking down the beach towards The Commons. He would check for a bite to eat before meeting Artik at the forge for the day’s work.

WC:287

[Nicomedos Smithgrip]

After eating breakfast, Nico descended the stairs of The Commons and made his way to the communal forge. As he approached it, he saw Artik adding coals to the forge and working the bellows to get it back up to working temperature. “Good morning Artik!” Nico called out, “What’s the workload for today?”

Continuing to pump the bellows, Artik turned his head to look at Nico, “Oh the same old stuff I ‘m afraid. Nails.” Artik’s mouth twisted around the word in disgust. He had obviously made his fair share of nails, and was not looking forward to making more. “Think you can handle it? I hear you Isur love this stuff. I’d like to take a break of this monotony.”

“Only if you don’t mind me making my own nail header first.” Nico replied. “Nothing against yours, but if I’m ever going to open my own place, I’ll need my own tools.”

“Look,” Artik began, stopping the bellows to fish keys out of his pocket, “If you can make me 100 nails, I won’t charge you for the fuel you’d use in making that header.” He tossed the keys at Nico, “Go grab what you need for the nails, let me know what you take to make your header. I can’t give you everything for free.”

Nico headed towards the locker to grab a few iron ingots for the nails, and some additional metal for the tool he was going to create. He placed a few mizas in the lockbox and, after locking everything back up, chucked the keys back to Artik. “I got this Artik. I’ll let you know if I need any help.” Artik turned to leave, and after placing the ingots on a nearby table Nico took over heating up the forge.

ledger :

2 lbs iron = 1gm
1lb cold iron = 1gm

WC:296

[Nicomedos Smithgrip]

(WIP)
Once Nico was satisfied that the forge was up to heat, he placed two of the iron ingots into the coals and began to prepare his work station. The nail header was simple enough to make, requiring only some basic shaping and punching a hole, but Nico wanted to make something that would last repeated use as nails were a hot item for Syka. He could bless the header with his gift from Izurdin, but he was aware of how taxing that process was and decided against it. Forge welding some cold iron on the face of the header would provide enough durability for what he was looking for. He located the tools Artik had manufactured for general use and selected what he needed and place them next to the anvil for easy accessibility. Confident he had everything he needed; Nico turned back to the forge to check on the iron. It had begun to heat, but it still wasn’t at the temperature necessary to work with. Nico started pumping the forge bellows slowly, watching the coals turn white hot as air was blown onto them. It reminded him of his home in Sultros, where he first learned the art of blacksmithing from his father and grandfather. The forge calmed Nico as he reminisced on his past life.

Once Nico was content with the color of the metal, he reached into the forge with his gifted left arm to remove them and place them on the anvil. Why use clumsy tongs when you have the perfect tool forged by a god himself? Holding the metal in place with left hand, Nico started tapping on the iron with his sledge to ensure the two ingots welded together. Once the simple weld was complete, he began drawing out one side and then the other, until he had a long rectangular bar about the length of his forearm. The iron was beginning to cool, so he placed it back into the forge. After a few chimes of pumping the bellows the iron turned back to a bright orange color and Nico removed it for further work. This time, by using the edge of the anvil and precise hammer strikes, he defined the head on the tool and drew out the handle. The basic shape was complete. Next was to forge weld the cold iron onto the face, then punch a hole for the nail socket. Nico set aside the chunk of iron to naturally cool, and added an ingot of cold iron to the forge.

Had Nico planned better the cold iron would have been in the forge already and up to heat. Silently cursing at himself he eyed the cold iron as it began to heat up. Once it turned that familiar bright orange color, he removed it and started his rhythmic tapping on the ingot. The entire ingot was too much metal for what he intended it for, so using the flat part of the anvil he drew out one side to the width of the nail header face. Placing the unfinished nail header next to the cold iron, Nico measured the length of steel needed and then cut the metal with a chisel on the chipping block.

WC:537