Chapter 6 The joyful flames

It was the month of February in the year 2024 and Alex's birthday was nearing. It was his thirteenth birthday and just when it was around the corner , John had repeated everything he knew how to make atleast twice and he was now left with excellent stuff that he didn't know how to sell.

"Alex tell me what is the important thing that you need to do before you start blacksmithing ",asked John testing out a sword. "You need the proper material to make what you desire", replied Alex cleaning some equipments kept on the equipment hall. "You have seen me take the best materials for making the things around me , and now I want you to do the same , make a light rapier which can be used as fast as it can be", John had taken Alex with him for mining materials over the five years , it was a small unused mine at the foot of a Yorkse hills. John did not want Alex to mine as the quality of ores that John obtained from the mine was low, but John wanted Alex to experience it that is why he made him to mine with him,But John ordered most of his materials from vendors all around the world when he needed them , but still he didn't want the kid to forget learning the basics of mining so he taught him that too.

Alex had grown quite a bit, all the training that John put him through was worth it. He could lift up a hammer for smithing and use a pickaxe properly for mining ores , his hands were sturdier , stable and stronger that other kids his age. He was only twelve but he looked bigger and stronger , the monstrous training John put Alex through had bore its fruits and the task John had given him was in fact a check up on how much he had grown.

Rapiers were not easy swords to make , to make a nimble ,lightweight , comfortable sword was harder than making other swords. There important and most complicated part in the entire rapier was its hilt. The hilt of the rapier was more complex in design and needs to be made properly in order for the proper handling of a rapier. It required patience and creativity.

Alex created a small mental image of the rapier he wanted to forge in his head.

Alex chose steel ore as it the best material to make the blade of the rapier and decided to smelt it in the forge .

He slowly heated the steel and made it malleable and slowly hit his hammer on it placing the ore in the anvil and started to prepare the blade of the rapier . For a rapier he had to create a long, slender , nimble and thin blade with a tapered point as if it was a needle poking out. It was a really meticulous and hard part . The blade had to be slowly hit with the hammer in a balanced and unique way in order to make it properly and it took a lot of time. Hours had passed and John was at Alex's side at all times looking for any part that he needed any help.

Alex on the other hand didn't look like he needed any help. John looked at Alex curiously as if how he was going to create the blade properly.

And John was suprised to see Alex's nature, Although it had been only five years since Alex had started blacksmithing and he was too young , Alex stood near the flames as if its heat didn't bother him , it was a heat that any inexperienced blacksmith would have been hurt.

But Alex was different, he looked as if he didn't feel the brunt of the flames and everytime he swung the small hammer, the flames in the forge dances with him as if they were joyfully dancing to the music if the sounds created by the hammer. It was as if the flames obeyed Alex's will and played to his tune.

Alex was patient and didn't mind the whole world around him , he was so concentrated on his work and finally he put the blade into heat treatment , where he had to raised the temperature of the blade and then cool it properly in order to harden and strengthen it . He created an excellent blade with no visible flaws in it.

Alex looked around and found John looking at him, he humbly presented the blade to him and started working on the hilt , it was the most complex design so John thought for sure that Alex would need some help. But Alex had different plans and he didn't look as if he needed any help. The hilt of a rapier is comprised of two parts the guard and the handle and it both needed to be created with different materials . Alex selected brass for the guard and leather for the handle.

Alex first tried to make the guard first, while John was still enjoying the blade that Alex made. A lightweight rapier that was all the information John had given Alex, now he wanted to make a sword , he wanted to make his first creation for John who taught him how to craft, for the past five years everytime John crafted a thing it was accompanied by Alex as a helper and was done to teach Alex to craft.

First he found it hard to craft as using all the equipment to blacksmith was hard and heavy, and the heat of the forge bothered him a lot ,but as years passed by it became a habit of sorts and nothing seemed hard for him.

The guard of the rapier was made based on the user's preference. He went near John and looked at him and asked to measure his hand , John understood what he was doing ,so he laughed and told "Alex I made all the equipment here using my hand as a preference, why don't you try to make this for yourself".

"Grandpa , I want to make the first sword for you",replied Alex with a smile and started measuring the hand of John , forcing him to abide, of course John couldn't refute the sweet words of his grandson. In fact he was proud of him. After bringing him up for five years , John found that his grandson was a very sweet kid and was brought up with good manners and was very disciplined, even if John found it difficult to wake up and train Alex, Alex stuck to the training regimen and was joyfully following it.

Alex soon made up a small plan for the guard asnd started working on it with the handsaw , chisel . Then used the files, grinders and power hammers to achieve the desired form.

He also made some holes in the guards for decorative purposes and to reduce the weight and improve the balance of the guard . He then bended the guard in order by heating and hammering it to fit the hand of his grandpa and also fit the blade properly.

Once the guard was shaped correctly Alex smoothened out the rough edges and polished the surface to a high shine. He then slowly applied a protective paint to prevent it from loosing its lusture and gets corroded.

Then he went on to create the handle for the guard. He chose the best leather for making the handle , but he had to make the core for the handle which carried the leather , so he chose wood of the sturdiest kind which was available in the room. After creating the core for the handle , he slowly wraped the leather around the handle and slowly marked a small cute initial of J in the corner to mark the rapier for John.

He slowly fixed the handle with the guard using a rivet and pin , then he attached the blade to the guard and the rapier was completed after some small tinkerings.

Alex then came in front of John and humbly presented the rapier in his hand to John. John was overjoyed , he was supposed to gift Alex for his thirteenth birthday but he was gifting him instead. John now wanted get something good for Alex , something better than his previous birthdays.

John picked the rapier in his hand and held it. It was too comfortable to hold. He swung the rapier twice and felt the flexibility of the rapier. He pranced around with a sword acting like a fencer. He pointed the sword at a small training dummy kept at the corner of the room which was used to test the quality of the weapons created.

The dummy was patched up and looked as if it was almost in the verge of breaking down. John slowly walked near the dummy and poked the dummy with the rapier in various points and the rapier precisely hit the points he aimed to quickly .

The rapier was too good for the first weapon a little twelve year kid had made and John was really happy about it , he had come upon a gem to carry on his will ,and the will of his ancestors, "My family would have been proud of you and Jessica would have pampered you so much", said John out of joy.