smiths again :-)

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Alorrana
Myth
Posts: 1016
Joined: 04 Mar 2010 11:23
Location: Mordor. passing gass.

smiths again :-)

Post by Alorrana » 24 Aug 2010 19:11

**
Last edited by Alorrana on 31 Aug 2010 10:12, edited 1 time in total.
I’m not a complete idiot. Some pieces are missing.

User avatar
petros
Site Admin
Posts: 473
Joined: 03 Mar 2010 07:50

Re: smiths again :-)

Post by petros » 24 Aug 2010 22:29

No reason why they couldn't. We just need to find an interested wizard in Middle Earth to do it.

Laurel

Re: smiths again :-)

Post by Laurel » 24 Aug 2010 22:55

please find one who can update Rangers by the way? :(

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Rhaegar
Legend
Posts: 960
Joined: 13 May 2010 06:22

Re: smiths again :-)

Post by Rhaegar » 24 Aug 2010 23:32

Back to smiths, would it also be possible to make them proper this time around? Remove the ability to buy components, make it necessary to obtain them by a) melting metal items (for various kinds of bars) b) skinning animals (for leather stripes/patches) c) gathering wood/wooden weapons (for wooden stuff ofc), and make guildstat and title based SOLELY on forging, not experience gained since joining the guild.
Now back to Rangers.
I fear no evil for I am fear incarnate.

Rhynox
Titan
Posts: 495
Joined: 04 Mar 2010 03:48
Location: Departed from here. Meet at Genesis!

Re: smiths again :-)

Post by Rhynox » 25 Aug 2010 04:43

Basically going back to how they were back when I joined? :-P

There were steel bars available, but only a few smiths knew about them (there was no help, they weren't mentioned anywhere... it is like forging certain items that people don't know that you can because they aren't listed anywhere). They couldn't be used, though. I think the only official explanation was Finwe saying the forges weren't hot enough to melt them. Also, there is the problem of AC, if you make our items become too powerful they will have to become magical (or increment the global limit for non magical armours).

I remember the old times when several smiths waited in file at the only forge in Bree for Eldior to finish forging his 20 or so longswords, while Etanukar was converting skins into leather paying a few cents to Bigerin (who used to be south of the public board), while other smiths were out in the wild (Edoras was a favorite for mages and rangers, while others like myself preferred Khalakhor) gathering pelts. Oh, and poles appeared at probably 3 per hour in the shop, so you were pretty lucky if you managed to forge more than 10 warhammers per day! And even before I joined, there used to be a pub there where you could buy food and drink liquor while waiting!

For the sake of nostalgia, I submit here a never published book I wrote for the smiths when they were updated (back in November 2001, when wizards added three more forges, the library, and removed Bigerin). Palmer rejected it because the knowledge wouldn't fit a fantasy realm. However, it is still in the library, although only the administrators can access it.

Code: Select all

 1]+-----|  INTRODUCTION  |----------------------------------------------+
 2]|                                                                     |
 3]|  During thy trips walking the different continents, ye might have   |
 4]|  found several weapons and armours. Ye might have been amazed by    |
 5]|  the strength of some of them, and the incredible beauty of some    |
 6]|  others. And maybe wondered why we, Blacksmiths of the Shire, were  |
 7]|  only able to forge with iron.                                      |
 8]|                                                                     |
 9]|  This book tries to explain thee the most common materials found    |
10]|  in these realms, their caracteristics, how to obtain them and how  |
11]|  to work with them. This book also gives some advanced technical    |
12]|  information ye might find useful if ever need to tinker with new   |
13]|  and strange forges gnomes might invent.                            |
14]|                                                                     |
15]|  But listen carefully: I do not claim the information stored in     |
16]|  this book is completely true. I might have made some mistakes due  |
17]|  to my age, my memory, or just my interpretation of the different   |
18]|  things I have seen, read and listened to. As a smith, ye need to   |
19]|  try them.                                                          |
20]|                                                                     |
21]|  As time passes, the information held in this book may be outdated  |
22]|  or even become wrong. It is thy task to find out that, though. It  |
23]|  is my disclaimer.                                                  |
24]|                                                                     |
25]|  Now, enjoy my fourth book.                                         |
26]|  Rhynox, Master Axe Smith of the Neidar Clan                        |
27]|                                                                     |
28]|                                                                     |
29]|                                                                     |
30]+-----|  INTRODUCTION TO LEATHERS  |----------------------------------+
31]|                                                                     |
32]|  Leathers are just used to soften the armour or weapon handle, in   |
33]|  order to allow the user having it worn or wielded for hours with   |
34]|  small pain. When forging a weapon, leather is wrapped around the   |
35]|  hilt or handle of the weapon, to keep the hand dry and preventing  |
36]|  the weapon to fall for that reason. Only quarterstaff do not need  |
37]|  it, as the damage done with it would be reduced if the iron is     |
38]|  covered with leather.                                              |
39]|                                                                     |
40]|  When forging armours, leather is used to cover the inside of them  |
41]|  and sometimes the outside, to hide the material being used. Some   |
42]|  armours, especially those covering the head and chest, need it to  |
43]|  prevent wounds made by the armour itself after being trust by an   |
44]|  impact weapon. Leather also warms up the body when the user walks  |
45]|  icy regions (as Icewall). Only bracers do not need it, as it may   |
46]|  reduce the dexterity of the arms.                                  |
47]|                                                                     |
48]|  In old times, smiths needed to hunt animals, like rabbits, deers,  |
49]|  foxes and wolves, in order to gather their skin, pelt or hide. At  |
50]|  the guild, Bigerin was able to modify what it was given to him,    |
51]|  making leather from it.                                            |
52]|                                                                     |
53]|  Since Tobin started trading great amounts of leathers, Bigerin     |
54]|  job was not needed, and Bores adviced him to go on holidays. His   |
55]|  machine is still there, though none knows how to use it. Whenever  |
56]|  he decides to return, I will ask him how he does to make leather   |
57]|  from pelts.                                                        |
58]|                                                                     |
59]|                                                                     |
60]|                                                                     |
61]+-----|  INTRODUCTION TO WOODEN POLES  |------------------------------+
62]|                                                                     |
63]|  A few weapons, like the polearm and the warhammer, need a wooden   |
64]|  pole, which will be used as shaft for those weapons. No armours    |
65]|  ever use wooden poles, since they are weak against metal weapons.  |
66]|                                                                     |
67]|  Each time Tobin runs out of them, he asks some travellers that     |
68]|  spend most of their time at the Prancing Pony's Inn, drinking and  |
69]|  smoking. Where they go to gather woods, I do not know. Anyway,     |
70]|  they come back with a large supply of wood, which are later cut    |
71]|  by Tobin himself into long thin poles, suitable for smith needs.   |
72]|                                                                     |
73]|  As ye might suspect, the wooden pole is the weakest section of a   |
74]|  weapon using it, so a smith usually covers the shaft with leather  |
75]|  to prevent some damage.                                            |
76]|                                                                     |
77]|                                                                     |
78]|                                                                     |
79]+-----|  INTRODUCTION TO METALS  |------------------------------------+
80]|                                                                     |
81]|  Let's start with metals. Bores allows us to use only iron bars.    |
82]|  Why?  If ye are old, ye might remember those strange steel bars    |
83]|  Tobin used to sell, but that our mighty Forge was not hot enough   |
84]|  to melt. However, iron is a rather good material to forge with.    |
85]|  And though it is the only one we can use (for now), it is not the  |
86]|  unique material. Ye can find several different ones, each with     |
87]|  different weights and defensive capabilities.                      |
88]|                                                                     |
89]|  From my own experience, the metals strength list (from worst to    |
90]|  best) is:                                                          |
91]|                                                                     |
92]|    1. bronze                                                        |
93]|    2. iron                                                          |
94]|    3. noble metals (platinum, gold and silver)                      |
95]|    4. steel                                                         |
96]|    5. mithril                                                       |
97]|                                                                     |
98]|  [ Note that mercury, the other noble metal, is not listed here, ]  |
99]|  [ as it is not possible to forge something with a metal needing ]  |
100]|  [ to be at a temperature of -40 C to become solid.              ]  |
101]|                                                                     |
102]|  I am sure the list is uncompleted. I decided to make it as simple  |
103]|  as possible. Notice that both bronze and steel are alloys. This    |
104]|  means their strength changes depending on the proportions and the  |
105]|  quality of the mixed materials.                                    |
106]|                                                                     |
107]|  Also, note that enchanted materials can ruin this list (a simple   |
108]|  bronze enchanted helmet might be able to give a higher protection  |
109]|  than a mithril helmet!). So, don't expect me talking about magic   |
110]|  here. I will leave all magic stuff for my next book.               |
111]|                                                                     |
112]|  Now, let me explain thee what I know about each of those metals.   |
113]|                                                                     |
114]|                                                                     |
115]|                                                                     |
116]+-----|  BRONZE  |----------------------------------------------------+
117]|                                                                     |
118]|  Bronze is obtained after mixing copper and tin. It is a heavy and  |
119]|  somewhat hard metal, which is used to forge armours and shields.   |
120]|  Weapons made of bronze are not really good ones, as they usually   |
121]|  break when hitting steel. The strength of the resulting bronze is  |
122]|  determined by the amount of tin used in the fusion, which varies   |
123]|  from 7 to 11 percent of the total mixture.                         |
124]|                                                                     |
125]|  Bronze can be upgraded to create phosphor bronze, which can be up  |
126]|  to twice as strong as common bronze. I shall explain thee about    |
127]|  it, though I am not sure if ye have as a smith the experience and  |
128]|  knowledge needed to understand the whole process.                  |
129]|                                                                     |
130]|  During the fusion a considerable amount of cuprous oxide is made.  |
131]|  This presence is highly detrimental to the strength of the alloy.  |
132]|  If able, a smith would prefer adding a powerful reducing compound, |
133]|  like phosphorus.  When doing this, the reduction of the cuprous    |
134]|  oxide is almost complete, and the bronze will acquire greater      |
135]|  strength. The phosphorus, additionaly, will cause the tin in the   |
136]|  bronze to crystallize, resulting in a more homogeneous mixture of  |
137]|  the two metals. The amount of phosphore to be used depends on the  |
138]|  amount of cuprous oxide obtained, but it is usually 1/100 parts    |
139]|  of the total mixture. Adding more phosphore than the necessary to  |
140]|  reduce the cuprous oxide, AFTER THE REDUCTION, in example, in the  |
141]|  form of copper, will increase the hardness of the bronze.          |
142]|                                                                     |
143]|  I will tell thee a secret only those smiths that had worked with   |
144]|  bronze know: many phosphor bronzes are equal in strength to the    |
145]|  best steel, and some even surpass steel in general properties.     |
146]|  Also, phosphor bronze is not known for non-smiths (and even some   |
147]|  smiths do not know about its existence!), so many warriors prefer  |
148]|  having suits and weapons made of it, to fake his enemies (as they  |
149]|  believe he is wearing just a simple bronze armour or wielding a    |
150]|  simple bronze weapon).                                             |
151]|                                                                     |
152]|  However, this kind of metal is extremely difficult to obtain: the  |
153]|  melted alloy must be stirred many times to get a perfect mixture.  |
154]|  The exact amount of phosphor varies from 0.5 to 2.5% if making an  |
155]|  armour, and from 0.5 to 1.3% if making a weapon. To create the     |
156]|  best modified bronze suitable for weapons and armours, melt 90     |
157]|  parts of copper with 9 parts of tin, and 1 part of tin phosphide.  |
158]|  However, if making an armour (due the great amount needed to make  |
159]|  one) ye can use up to 11 parts of tin.                             |
160]|                                                                     |
161]|  To make it, follow me now: melt the copper and the tin together,   |
162]|  and right after fusion add the small pieces of phosphide. The      |
163]|  mixture is poured into ingots, then remelted and cast. This last   |
164]|  stage only increases the strength of the alloy, and can be just    |
165]|  skipped, tho if ye want to do it, the fusion of the mixed metals   |
166]|  must be conducted under pounded charcoal as rapidly as possible.   |
167]|  The whole process lasts between 4 and 11 hours, adding the time    |
168]|  needed to make the phosphide, and depending on the execution of    |
169]|  the last stage.                                                    |
170]|                                                                     |
171]|  To create the phosphide, ye must put tin into a crucible, lined    |
172]|  with sticks of phosphorus at its bottom. Expose it to a constant   |
173]|  heat until the flames of burning phosphorus are no longer noticed. |
174]|  Discard everything except the tin-white coarsely crystalline mass, |
175]|  at the bottom of the crucible. Depending on the hardness of the    |
176]|  tin used, the process last between 30 and 90 minutes.              |
177]|                                                                     |
178]|  The most valuable properties of phosphor bronze are its tenacity   |
179]|  and strength. It can be rolled, hammered and stretched cold, and   |
180]|  its strength is nearly two folds that of the best ordinary bronze. |
181]|  If exposed to the air, phosphor bronze becomes covered with a      |
182]|  beautiful, closely adhering patina. It oxidizes in sea water at    |
183]|  approximately one-third the rate of common copper.                 |
184]|                                                                     |
185]|  Though it is rather difficult I can ever convince Berim to bring   |
186]|  the tools needed to work with alloys, this is still the basic      |
187]|  knowledge any blacksmith wanting to become a master smith should   |
188]|  have about bronze.                                                 |
189]|                                                                     |
190]|                                                                     |
191]|                                                                     |
192]+-----|  IRON  |------------------------------------------------------+
193]|                                                                     |
194]|  Iron is our main metal. It is cheap and easy to make, as metallic  |
195]|  ores can be found in almost any dwarven mine. Easy to make?  Ever  |
196]|  wondered how Bores obtains the iron bars we use? Let me tell thee, |
197]|  brother, how he does...                                            |
198]|                                                                     |
199]|  Starting in the mine, the miner separates the metallic ore from    |
200]|  the non-metallic (earth and stones). The metallic ore is crushed   |
201]|  into manageable pieces on a heavy stone pavement with either a     |
202]|  long-handled hammer or a heavy stone. These pieces are brought to  |
203]|  a smith, who usually roast them two or three times, to soften the  |
204]|  hard ores (which makes them more easily broken, which helps the    |
205]|  melting process) and to reduce the sulfur content of ores, which   |
206]|  is harmful to the iron-making process. Roasting can be done with   |
207]|  almost any method, commonly in heaps, stalls or kilns:             |
208]|                                                                     |
209]|  Roasting heap: The ore is broken into pieces weighting between 3   |
210]|      and 5 kgs each, and placed on a sloping bed of coal of about   |
211]|      6 meters long, 2 meters width and 20 centimeters deep. Ore is  |
212]|      heaped 1 meter high in the center and is covered in coal dust  |
213]|      and ashes. When the heap is ignited, the ore starts roasting.  |
214]|      The ratio of coal to ore is between 150 to 200 kg per ton. It  |
215]|      can take over two weeks to roast the heap completely.          |
216]|                                                                     |
217]|  Roasting stalls: Consist of square areas dug out of the earth and  |
218]|      lined on three sides with stone or brick walls in order to     |
219]|      keep the heat more effectively. The roasting needs between 50  |
220]|      and 150 kgs of charcoal per ton of ore, and can accomodate up  |
221]|      to 300 tons of ore. After each layer of ore, the smith adds    |
222]|      another of wood and charcoal, up to a height of 3 meters. A    |
223]|      layer of fine sand on the same ore is spread over the pile     |
224]|      and pounded into it to keep it from collapsing before it has   |
225]|      been roasted.                                                  |
226]|                                                                     |
227]|  Roasting kilns: A rectangular roasting kiln is typically 3 meters  |
228]|      high, 5 meters long and 2 meters wide. The kiln is filled as   |
229]|      described in the stalls, one layer of ore and another of wood  |
230]|      and charcoal. The ore is broken down as small as 1 centimeter  |
231]|      and placed in layers of about 60 centimeters deep. Each other  |
232]|      layer is 30 centimeters deep. The kiln consumes up to 100 kgs  |
233]|      of fuel per ton of ore, and is able to make up between 15 and  |
234]|      30 tons of roasted ore per day.                                |
235]|                                                                     |
236]|  After being rosted, the ore is crushed or ground to a fine sand,   |
237]|  with just a hammer, a stamping mill or a grinding wheel. Do not    |
238]|  think Bores does this with a hammer... ever found a water mill in  |
239]|  Hobbitton?                                                         |
240]|                                                                     |
241]|  The ore dust is washed to decrease the silica and alumina content. |
242]|  Finally, the ore is melted to get wrought iron. Note that it is    |
243]|  only needed 800 C to reduce the iron oxid to metal. Iron fusion    |
244]|  point reaches 1530 C. This means that ye don't need to wait until  |
245]|  getting to the iron fusion point to start obtaining it: at 800 C   |
246]|  the combustion reduces the iron oxid with oxygen, creating a dust  |
247]|  of iron which is melted, producing wrought iron.                   |
248]|                                                                     |
249]|  Forgery can be in one of two ways: melting the iron bar, pouring   |
250]|  the liquid into a platform with the mould of the weapon ye want    |
251]|  to make, and hammering it to the final shape. Or ye can just let   |
252]|  the forge at 750 C, which is high enough to soften the iron bar,   |
253]|  and using a hammer, ye design the weapon. However, ye need bars    |
254]|  much smaller than the ones used in the former way. This last way   |
255]|  is commonly used with big pieces of natural metallic ore (as I, a  |
256]|  smith of the Neidar Clan, need to do to forge dwarven objects).    |
257]|                                                                     |
258]|  With iron, ye can build almost anything: polearms, swords, knives, |
259]|  clubs and axes, helmets, platemails and greaves, etc, etc. Iron    |
260]|  dulls fast when in contact with air or water, and almost any acid  |
261]|  corrodes it. Many times ye would prefer bounding it with precious  |
262]|  metals to prevent oxidation and a good degree of damage.           |
263]|                                                                     |
264]|                                                                     |
265]|                                                                     |
266]+-----|  NOBLE METALS  |----------------------------------------------+
267]|                                                                     |
268]|  As mercury cannot be used to forge weapons nor armours, only gold, |
269]|  silver and platinum will be explained here.                        |
270]|                                                                     |
271]|  To melt a platinum piece, the forge must reach 1755 C, which is    |
272]|  something ours can do but just for some seconds, as the amount of  |
273]|  coal needed to do it is extremely large. This means it is almost   |
274]|  impossible for us to forge platinum objects. However, we can try   |
275]|  to melt a small weight of it (usually 20 platinum coins) in order  |
276]|  to plate a weapon or an armour with it. Keep this in mind, as it   |
277]|  happens with the different noble metals.                           |
278]|                                                                     |
279]|  Except by that, platinum is an excellent metal: water is harmless  |
280]|  to it, air does not oxide it, and only extremely strong acids (in  |
281]|  fact, only royal water, a mixture of 3 parts of nitric acid and 1  |
282]|  part of hydro chloric acid) can corrode it. Time will not affect   |
283]|  a platinum object, no matter the conditions. It can be mixed with  |
284]|  a small amount of nickel to lower its fusion temperature (down to  |
285]|  1400 C), losing some protection (some more acids affect it then).  |
286]|                                                                     |
287]|  Gold has its melting point at 1063 C, and its maleability is the   |
288]|  best between all metals in our realms. A single golden coin can,   |
289]|  theorically, be used to plate sixty polearms of about 5 meters     |
290]|  long each. But as we don't have the tools to expand the gold as    |
291]|  much as we desire, we usually need 20 to cover a single one. Gold  |
292]|  has the same properties as platinum: it cannot be modified by hot  |
293]|  or cold water, air, or time, and only royal water corrodes it.     |
294]|                                                                     |
295]|  The weak point of gold is its lack of strength. An object made     |
296]|  completely of gold is weak, and can be broken rather easily, with  |
297]|  even bare hands if strong enough. This is why smiths mix it with   |
298]|  copper, to make an alloyed gold which is strong enough to work as  |
299]|  weapon or anything else. Each measure (known as carat) represents  |
300]|  how many, of the 24 parts a carat is divided, are made of gold.    |
301]|  In example, 18 carat gold means 18 grams of gold, plus 6 grams of  |
302]|  copper, which also means (18/24) * 100 = 75% gold. The higher the  |
303]|  carat, the more expensive, more beautiful but weaker a piece is.   |
304]|  The lower the carat, the less expensive, the less beautiful but    |
305]|  the stronger the piece is. Weapons made of gold should never have  |
306]|  more than 18 carats, as they are useless against steel. Note that  |
307]|  lower carats decrease the acid protection of the object.           |
308]|                                                                     |
309]|  The maleability of silver is the second best in realms. It offers  |
310]|  the best heat and electricity conduction, which makes weapons in   |
311]|  general and polearms in particular very dangerous when wielded     |
312]|  under a storm.                                                     |
313]|                                                                     |
314]|  As with gold, silver needs to be mixed with copper (approximately  |
315]|  90 parts of silver and 10 parts of copper) to make it stronger. A  |
316]|  silver object cannot be damaged by air. Cold and hot water do not  |
317]|  affect it. However, it is less strong against corrosion: nitric    |
318]|  acid dissolves it very fast, making a hissing steam of red vapour. |
319]|                                                                     |
320]|  About armours or weapons made completely of gold or silver... to   |
321]|  make one armour or weapon of iron, we need a 10 kgs iron bar. I    |
322]|  do not think many smiths would be able to spend 10 kilograms of    |
323]|  gold coins to forge just an armour or weapon (not measuring the    |
324]|  copper needed to mix with the gold).                               |
325]|                                                                     |
326]|                                                                     |
327]|                                                                     |
328]+-----|  STEEL  |-----------------------------------------------------+
329]|                                                                     |
330]|  Steel is obtained when the smith modifies the amount of carbon in  |
331]|  the original iron. Starting at 0.7% of carbon, the iron developes  |
332]|  steel properties.                                                  |
333]|                                                                     |
334]|    - up to 0.1%: wrought iron (the metal can be heated and welded,  |
335]|                  but not hardened, it can be softened but not made  |
336]|                  fluid by an ordinary furnace, even with intense    |
337]|                  blasts).                                           |
338]|    - up to 0.7%: strong iron (the metal increases its tensile and   |
339]|                  compressive strength, can be welded, remaining     |
340]|                  ductile, can be hardened, will flow at an easily   |
341]|                  obtainable temperature, and is the metal given to  |
342]|                  us by Bores).                                      |
343]|    - up to 1.0%: tool steel (can be used to make tempered iron).    |
344]|    - up to 1.5%: strong steel (the metal increases the hardness     |
345]|                  but decreases ductility and welding properties.    |
346]|                  This is the only steel able to become tempered).   |
347]|    - from  2.0%: cast iron (the metal loses it ductility, cannot    |
348]|                  be welded or tempered anymore, but ye can try to   |
349]|                  produce high carbon steel).                        |
350]|                                                                     |
351]|  To create high steel, ye must start the process with cast iron.    |
352]|  At high temperatures, the chemical affinity of oxygen for carbon   |
353]|  is stronger than its affinity for iron. As time passes and oxygen  |
354]|  is released, it is combined with the freed carbon to form carbon   |
355]|  monoxide and carbon dioxide, depending on the thickness of the     |
356]|  casting and on the temperature and time of heating. This process   |
357]|  produces a metal which, depending on the final carbon content,     |
358]|  might be pure iron (100% decarburization), mild steel (50%) or a   |
359]|  high carbon steel (less than 10% decarburization).                 |
360]|                                                                     |
361]|  There is also another way to build steel, but demands having the   |
362]|  Forge at 1700 C (too high to let other smiths work with the forge) |
363]|  during the first stages (about 2 hours) and then at 900 C during   |
364]|  the last ones (about nine days), which I bet Berim won't allow.    |
365]|                                                                     |
366]|  High carbon steel weapons are extremely powerful weapons, as they  |
367]|  cannot be broken by any other weapon or armour except high carbon  |
368]|  steel or mithril ones.                                             |
369]|                                                                     |
370]|  Steel can be tempered (tempered steel).  Why a tempered steel is   |
371]|  much stronger than common steel? Theory says that carbon stays in  |
372]|  steel in three different states (at the same time): crystallized,  |
373]|  mixed with iron crystals and dissolved in iron. From these three   |
374]|  states, only the last one enhances the strength of the steel, as   |
375]|  the carbon and the iron are completely mixed. Tempered steel only  |
376]|  has carbon dissolved in iron. How to reach this?  Heat the steel   |
377]|  until red (from 600 to 900 C, though if the amount of carbon is    |
378]|  the limit -1.5%-, ye can reach 1000 C). This will melt the carbon  |
379]|  kept in the iron crystals and the carbon crystallized in the       |
380]|  steel. Letting the steel cool down slowly will make the dissolved  |
381]|  carbon crystalized again. So, ye must cool it inmediately, with    |
382]|  water and a small amount of acid -commonly 2%-, mercury, mineral   |
383]|  oil, etc. The carbon won't have time enough to crystallize itself  |
384]|  again, and thus the steel will have only dissolved in iron.        |
385]|                                                                     |
386]|  The above technique is something ye might have seen many times,    |
387]|  but maybe thought it was just a way to cool down the object being  |
388]|  forged. Note that iron can also be tempered, but it is not common, |
389]|  since the exact method can create tempered steel. Also, note that  |
390]|  the process is done AFTER the object has been completely forged,   |
391]|  NEVER before, as tempering makes the steel much stronger, and so   |
392]|  much more difficult to melt and modify.                            |
393]|                                                                     |
394]|  To make stainless steel, ye must melt from 70 to 90% iron, from    |
395]|  12 to 20% chrome, 0.1 to 0.25% nickel and 0.5 to 1.5% of carbon.   |
396]|  Everything is melted at the same time (ye do not first create the  |
397]|  steel and then make it stainless, ye just make it stainless!).     |
398]|                                                                     |
399]|  To work with high carbon steel, ye must use tempered steel tools,  |
400]|  as they can stay in solid shape even with very high temperatures.  |
401]|                                                                     |
402]|                                                                     |
403]|                                                                     |
404]+-----|  MITHRIL  |---------------------------------------------------+
405]|                                                                     |
406]|  Mithril is a special material. Gathered from Khazad-dum (yes, I    |
407]|  know how to write it, but it is rather difficult to draw dwarven   |
408]|  symbols on a sheet of paper) much time ago, it is the most pure    |
409]|  and perfect material ever found. There were some gossips that it   |
410]|  was also found in Numenor, but the different missions that went    |
411]|  there trying to find more clues always returned with empty hands.  |
412]|  It was also said Nurn region had a small mine, but since I am      |
413]|  still writing my memories, cannot tell thee what heappened there.  |
414]|                                                                     |
415]|  Ye all know dwarves and the Khazad-dum siege, and how we were      |
416]|  expelled from there, so I shall not repeat that here. Let's go     |
417]|  back some centuries ago, when dwarves ruled there.                 |
418]|                                                                     |
419]|  Dwarven smiths had the ability to melt and forge objects, ranging  |
420]|  from weapons and armours to containers and gifts. As time passed,  |
421]|  and mithril was exchanged by great amounts of jewels between we    |
422]|  dwarves and elves, they begun forging small objects (cups, rings   |
423]|  and even knives). But, as ye suspect, larger objects were forged   |
424]|  only by us.                                                        |
425]|                                                                     |
426]|  The way mithril must be melted and forged is far beyond my own     |
427]|  knowledge, as I had never had the pleasure of dealing with it. My  |
428]|  grandfather, however, witnessed how master smiths worked with it,  |
429]|  and pointed some abstract ideas in my heirloom. Though soft and    |
430]|  extremely light, mithril is quite difficult to melt. According to  |
431]|  his appraise, the great forges of Khazad-dum were the only ones    |
432]|  he saw that were able to do such task, with temperatures above     |
433]|  2000 C. In case ye have never heard of them, those forges were as  |
434]|  big as this guild, and able to melt great amounts of mithril. I    |
435]|  do not believe we will ever have the opportunity to light them     |
436]|  again. And I am afraid our forge will never be enough to melt it.  |
437]|                                                                     |
438]|  After melted, the mithril will last between five and ten minutes   |
439]|  before it cools completely down. That is why smiths used to forge  |
440]|  first the object with iron, then created a mould, and finally got  |
441]|  the melted mithril to work with. Once the mithril cools down, and  |
442]|  unfortunately, there is literally no way it can be melted again.   |
443]|  It has been reported, according to my grandfather, that a mithril  |
444]|  axe was heated up to 2900 C (the limit of the forge filled with    |
445]|  coal), without being melted.                                       |
446]|                                                                     |
447]|  Elves invented the "dirty mithril": adding a small part of silver  |
448]|  to the mithril (up to 9/100 parts) before melting the mithril. If  |
449]|  ye do this, mithril could be melted again as if it was the first   |
450]|  forge of the material. Each time ye suspect ye would need to melt  |
451]|  it, ye needed to add up to 9/100 parts of silver to the mithril.   |
452]|  This also means that the only way to know if a mithril object is   |
453]|  made of dirty mithril is heating it to at least 2200 C. This new   |
454]|  "invention" made dwarves of Khazad-dum break their contact with    |
455]|  those elves. Why elves needed to do that mix?  The exchanges were  |
456]|  unfair: each gram of mithril for a kilogram of gemstones, silver,  |
457]|  platinum and gold. Thus, elves decided to mix mithril with silver, |
458]|  as it was also called "truesilver". And they discovered it kept    |
459]|  the shining and strength, but lost their duration.                 |
460]|                                                                     |
461]|  Dirty mithril is not useful when forging weapons, as they break    |
462]|  when hitting strong enough against real mithril armours. The more  |
463]|  silver dissolved in the mithril, the weaker it becomes. The book   |
464]|  also says that, when dwarves discovered what elves did, tried to   |
465]|  look for a way to separate the mithril from the silver. But since  |
466]|  they had used almost every mithril rock they had found, the study  |
467]|  advanced slowly. And my grandfather never discovered if master     |
468]|  smiths were able to find that method.                              |
469]|                                                                     |
470]|                                                                     |
471]|                                                                     |
472]+-----|  CONCLUSION  |------------------------------------------------+
473]|                                                                     |
474]|  Well, brother, this has been difficult. The only way ye can learn  |
475]|  everything this is with practice. Tobin should teach thee how he   |
476]|  gathers wooden poles, and Bigerin (if he ever comes back) should   |
477]|  give thee a basic idea about leathers. Try going with Bores when   |
478]|  he looks for new iron bars. And Berim might also tell thee how to  |
479]|  work with bronze or steel. If ye are lucky, ye might even see how  |
480]|  they forge weapons and armours!                                    |
481]|                                                                     |
482]|  What I have just told thee here was intended for master smiths.    |
483]|  They are known as advanced forging techniques. Just a glimpse, as  |
484]|  there is much more one can learn. However, I believe this covers   |
485]|  almost all different types of metals a smith can find interesting  |
486]|  in realms, explain why some are stronger than others, and allows   |
487]|  thee to understand the different process a smith can follow to     |
488]|  make even better weapons and armours. If ye had found this book    |
489]|  interesting, ye might prefer studying chemistry and alchemy, as    |
490]|  those sciences can help thy smithery a lot.                        |
491]|                                                                     |
492]|  As always, anything ye want to ask is welcomed. This essay is not  |
493]|  completed, and some things (especially those I could not try) can  |
494]|  be wrong. With thy help, I can improve my knowledge for the next   |
495]|  time. Give me feedback, and let our guild improve.                 |
496]|                                                                     |
497]|                                                                     |
498]|                                                                     |
499]|  May Reorx bless thine paths, friends                               |
500]|  Rhynox, Storyteller of Dwarfheim and Blacksmith of the Shire       |
501]|                                                                     |
502]+---------------------------------------------------------------------+

Laurel

Re: smiths again :-)

Post by Laurel » 25 Aug 2010 07:43

please go die with your crafting guild wish list :roll:
there's OCC guilds waiting for their update ...

User avatar
Alorrana
Myth
Posts: 1016
Joined: 04 Mar 2010 11:23
Location: Mordor. passing gass.

Re: smiths again :-)

Post by Alorrana » 25 Aug 2010 11:45

**
Last edited by Alorrana on 31 Aug 2010 10:13, edited 1 time in total.
I’m not a complete idiot. Some pieces are missing.

Draugor

Re: smiths again :-)

Post by Draugor » 25 Aug 2010 12:02

Remove rangers and delete Laurel:P There, back on track

Imo you should be able to smelt weapons and remake them, making them slightly less uber but keeping some of the special abilities they have :D

Enkil
Beginner
Posts: 18
Joined: 04 Mar 2010 06:23

Re: smiths again :-)

Post by Enkil » 27 Apr 2011 21:44

A quite easy addition I think atleast would be for the smiths to be
able to add an adjective to the weapons/armours.

It would not be free of choice though, it would be based on you as a character.

So your race, occ guild/alignment affects how the item would look, for example:

Elf Ranger forges a longsword: slender, elvish, gondorian etc
Dwarf Neidar forges his axe: dwarven, runed etc
Orc AA forges his club: orcish, angmarian, spiked etc

You get the picture, either make it random, so the code check align and race while crafting the item, or make a command smadd adjective with the option race, align or occ guild.

User avatar
Recoba
Great Adventurer
Posts: 193
Joined: 11 Mar 2010 12:52

Re: smiths again :-)

Post by Recoba » 29 Aug 2011 21:16

enkil wrote:A quite easy addition I think atleast would be for the smiths to be
able to add an adjective to the weapons/armours.

It would not be free of choice though, it would be based on you as a character.

So your race, occ guild/alignment affects how the item would look, for example:

Elf Ranger forges a longsword: slender, elvish, gondorian etc
Dwarf Neidar forges his axe: dwarven, runed etc
Orc AA forges his club: orcish, angmarian, spiked etc

You get the picture, either make it random, so the code check align and race while crafting the item, or make a command smadd adjective with the option race, align or occ guild.

Let me just say now (MUCH later) that this is a brilliant idea.

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