Seiun wo Kakeru Chapter 25

Chapter 25 – Nail Clippers and Scissors

Despite Eiji leading the development plan, he still had his usual things to do.

Recently, it had become colder.

The precious time, which he could spend and enjoy on manufacturing in the workshop, had increased as well.

Once he squinted his eyes, he checked the edge of the blade.

After confirming its edge one more time, he put it on the grindstone.

Pietro, who was watching Eiji’s work, made a mysterious face while staring at it.

– Master, what’s that?

– Nail clipper? Judging from its name, is it a tool for clipping nails?

– Yes.

He opened widely his eyes while having the expression of being amazed on his face.

– No, that wasn’t me. It’s an item from the world I originally came.
– The person that came up with this must be a genius.

As expected, this would be the natural reaction.

The nail clipper was a simple tool consisting of the top and bottom blade, applying the fundamental rule of a lever and a spring.

He remembered himself admiring it, the first time he learned of its principle.

When he asked the people how they cut their nails, they would answer him by saying that they used their teeth to bite it, and then adjusted it by using a file. Otherwise, they would use a knife or and scissors to cut the nail tip.

It was a story from quite a long time ago, when Eiji noticed his nails extending. However, because there were lots of other things to do, he had to postpone the idea of making a nail clipper.

– I guess you would think of the person who created this tool as a genius, wouldn’t you.

– It’s probably ’cause I like to make things, you see.

– I had quite a trouble making this one, so it’s fine, as long as you handle them carefully.
– I’m going to show this to mum and dad.

While making a small object, it’s important to be delicate in one’s work.

It’s necessary to splice it out using a sharp-edged tool with great hardness.

Eiji thought that it was painful for him to be unable to make a forging tool to such  extent.

He wanted to increase the number of different forging tools quickly.

Nonetheless, it requires lots of troubles.

Taking that into account, the nail clipper would be received as valuable and indispensable item for every household, just like iron pots and needles.

Recently, there was one more iron-made item highly regarded by Eiji.

Human hair is hard and numerous.

The first prototype made by Eiji was tested by Jane and received high praises from her.

– Master, are you not going to make scissors while separating between ingot[1] and steel?

– Well, I think that there’s someone in village who wants to have a haircut every day, so there should be no problem.
– We are going to cut lots of people’s hair, you see. Therefore, there’s a risk it will cause injury. That’s why we will make it wholly from steel, so that whenever we sharpen it, we can use it for many dozens of years. Saying that, we will use several types of iron without discretion. Pietro, I know it will be troublesome, but, do your best in assisting me.

– Please leave it to me.

As far as Eiji knew, its price would exceed 100 thousand yen.[2]

What Eiji tried to make was pair of scissors with the sharpness that could match the ones above.

He became quite capable of grasping things, which he couldn’t understand so far until now, such as maintaining the temperature of the furnace, or the way to tell apart the steel material that he made.

Eiji should be able to make it.

The finely crushed charcoal piled up inside the furnace.

Because Eiji’s intention was to eye the fire, the interior of the workshop was dim, leaving only the light of the burning charcoal illuminating his face.

Contrary to Eiji, who was used to his daily routine for many years, Pietro was wiping his sweat from his face while getting drenched.

He didn’t entrust Pietro with a grinding task, instead Eiji planned to have him help with his work. In exchange, he would let Pietro observe and study next to him how the furnace works.
His apprentice’s eyes were radiating at this rare opportunity. Even if it was just a little, Pietro would study with a serious expression on his face.

– Will it be finished soon?

– Yes.

– Understood.

Once the temperature of the furnace has reached around 1000ºCelsius, Eiji would put the steel material inside.

There was a difference in the temperature between the soft iron and the hard one.

He could do that because it was based on his intuitional movements, coming from his mass of experience.

Until this moment, there was no need for Pietro to assist.

It was the right substance for making two pieces of iron attach well during the forge welding.

Since excellent swords were made that way by everyone, history should be enough proof that there was no problem.

Now it was time to overlap the heated up steel material by striking it from above.

He understood Pietro being nervous as he felt it coming from handing Pietro the hammer.

The heated steel wasn’t that hard.
It would be enough to strike with moderate strength, rather than using one’s full power.

– Pay attention so that it stretches regularly.

– Once the spots appear, the quenching cracks will likely occur. Move it a bit to this part.
– Yes!

In exchange, striking it regularly will become essential.

After that, the process of quenching[3.5] will be performed so as to increase the hardness of steel. At that point however, the particle distribution will create spots and change the rate of expansion, making the steel to split.

The success and failure depended wholly on the moment of reaction from a blacksmith.
Because of that, one had to forge the steel carefully.

– How many layers are we going to put together this time?

– Ehm…2 times give 20 something, so….it would be around 160 something of layers?[5]

Even though he could only raise the mallet to his shoulder level, it was still quite heavy.

The fatigue gradually accumulated, making Pietro unable to raise his arms. He was soon at his limit.
His breathing became irregular and his sweat started to gush out continuously.

– Good, now, so as to watch the rest—-

– It’s fine not to push yourself. Rather than that, it’s important to watch and remember how the work goes.
– Understood.

Eiji made Pietro, who was trying to continue the job, drank water and rested.

Once he was made to rest, he wouldn’t try to repeat that action.

Eiji still had to do the forge welding, using the water-powered hammer, and the back folding.

The layers of the steel were created, gaining a texture with a pattern similar to waves.

– Good, we are now proceeding into the shaping.

– Once the steel is properly red, it will become soft enough. So as not to let it cool down, we have to swing fast and precisely using the small mallet while changing it into the desirable shape.

First, you open a small hole on the part of the grip and continue to expand it.

This procedure used to fail lots of times in the past.

It would probably take many years, before one could turn the curved surface into the desirable shape.

Creating small finger holes, and amending the figure so that it matches the shape of the hand.

It was quite warm.

The temperature turned hot.

No matter how a great product you made, as long as the quenching and tempering are incomplete, the product will worsen.

A blacksmith is bound to make a display of skills whenever there’s an opportunity, but at the same time, he should possess a part of a knowledge which he ought to hide.

The quality of the iron is just one of the factors needed to make a good item.

Once Eiji grabbed the scorching piece of steel with the tongs, he put it in the water, making it to generate vapor in a blink of an eye.

– We did it!

– Yes! I’ve got the feeling, like I was able to understand smithing just a little.

-I’ll do my best!

In the case of forging products, in order to make the parts, such as a handle, smooth, there are many spots which require the application of grinding.

It was an important part needed to make the sharpness of the scissors easy to control.

Once Pietro took a small break, he enthusiastically started his sharpening training.

His arm muscles felt quite comfortable compared to before.
It seemed that Eiji’s body finally became accustomed to this lifestyle.

– Well then, should I make 1 more pair of scissors before the furnace cools down?

Even if he were to start from the morning, the day would finish with him making only 3-4 pairs of them.

Eiji had the memory of once seeing the thinning scissors.

After it was first forged into a regular shape, you would use a chisel to make notches, so as to form the comb part.

Choosing the type of iron which he intends to use in making, Eiji again braced himself.

———-

– Hairdressing?

– Hmm… If it’s only the tips of the hair….

Eiji, who returned back to his house, considered testing the sharpness of the scissors on his wife’s hair.

Eiji knew that this was due to Tanya diligently combing her hair.

Tanya, who went out to the front of the house, turned her back toward Eiji, making it easier for him to cut her hair.

Her hair was black, but turned slightly red from the evening sunlight. Eiji understood that.

The moment Eiji stuck the hair through the comb, he made it become smooth.

Snip snip – together with the small sound of cutting, the light response coming from the scissors was quite unexpected.

Eiji trimmed the hair sequentially from its ends little by little.

After the trim was finished as planned, he distanced himself.
Tanya’s haircut was the Japanese-styled one.

– How did it go?

– Oh my, Eiji’s hair has also grown quite long, hasn’t it? Shall I do a haircut for you?

– I think it should be fine without me having to force myself. I haven’t cut hairs before, but….

Her words make me feel anxious, I guess… – he thought.

Snip snip – Eiji felt when his hair was cut together with the sound. The hair fluttered in the air while falling.

– Ah…

– No… It’s nothing.

– I’ve got everything under my control.

Her eyes were averted, which made Eiji feel a bad premonition rising inside of him.

For a while, Eiji thought that the haircut went smoothly, then another voice filled with uneasiness was heard.

– Ah…

– Fine, it’s fine! I’m adjusting it, because I cut a little bit too much on the left side.

– It feels painful to be distrusted like this.
– Urgh. Being told that way, I can’t oppose.

As Eiji couldn’t help but to prepare himself, his hair fell vigorously and scattered in the air.

The silence continued for a while.

Tanya pointed her voice toward Eiji, with a timid look.

– Err…

-……..

– No… I’ll call Jane-san, so please, can I have you wait?
– …Understood.

Eiji was prepared; He was supposed to be.

Can’t I make glass using any object around me? – is what he thought.

Waiting for Tanya and Jane to arrive, Eiji had to endure the chilly wind hitting his skin.

Not understanding what was happening at all, Jane had a trouble face.

– Calling out people suddenly, what’s the matter?

– What?! Did something happen to him?…What on…. What’s that hair?!

Once Jane saw his hair, she became surprised only to laugh the next moment while holding her stomach.

– Ahahaha! It looks like a distorted face.

– No, sorry. I’ll turn him into a handsome man, so cheer up.

Tanya still felt guilty.
While having his hair trimmed by Jane, he thought – I will not entrust haircutting to a novice anymore – to himself.

Without any big trouble, they spent their days peacefully and uneventful.

Translator and reference notes:

[1]: When I browsed for the meaning of the Japanese word ‘Jigane’, I received 2 alternatives – unprocessed metal/ore and ingot. Since the first one didn’t match, I decided to go with the second option, but, according to wiki: https://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ingot, it denotes a metal which is shaped for further processing. Perhaps what they meant was not types of metals, but rather choose which way was better for making the tool.

[2]: around 830$

[3]: The process of drawing out is called ‘sunobe’. quoted from – ‘In primary meaning, the word “SUNOBE” describes the process of drawing out the steel block to the length of the blade. The naming for such blade comes from its easy process of making, because the blade was made up without fold welding work. For modern steel such process is not necessary.’

[3.5]: It appears that both tempering and quenching can be used for hardening a metal, but, both of them are different process. If someone can grasp how they differ, I’d would thankful for an explanation <.<

[4]: Cracks made due to the tension generated from Quenching.

[5]: Here is what Ace suggested – 5 times 2 to the power of 5 gives 160 (5*2^5), where number of layers*2^number of folds.

Chapter end