Angelic Training[O][T]

[Corvus]

SPOILER: Click to show

Fuuton - Daitoppa (Great Breakthrough)
Rank: "C"
Skill: NinJutsu
Effect: User hurls out a large blast of wind capable of leveling almost anything within its path.
Special: "Handseals"
Drawback: ---
Description: User performs the handseals as they take in a deep breathe. Holding it for a brief moment they quickly exert it as a large blast of air the size of the user's head, and double the length is sent out towards the opponent within the distance of twenty five meters. This technique is capable of crushing an opponent's ribs if hit directly, or capable of dislocating a shoulder if hit along the shoulder. This technique is sometimes used to break down large doors, or to smack an opponent away from the user when the user comes into a bind. Depending on the user's class level depends on the distance this technique may be used. When the user is "D" class the distance is that of twenty five meters. Each class the user is higher then that of "D" The distance increases by five meters. When the user masters the art of wind, the blast increases by doubling it size as the distance is increased by ten meters.
Limit: Must have the Wind Release, Must know Fuuton Kaze no Senbon (Needles of the Wind), Must know Kaze Ya no Jutsu (Wind Arrow Technique)

[~~/10]

Akiko stood alone on a beach, in a suitable area she could use for training just about whatever she wanted. Figuring she might as well work on the weakest of her releases, she began to fold some handseals for a water jutsu. However, as she reached the tendrils of chakra out towards the water, she was surprised to find the liquid life ignoring her commands.

At first, the young chunin was mystified at this turn of events; how had something which she had once so adequately controlled now become so far from her grasp that she could not even recall the barest details of it's manipulation? Soon, the answer came to her. A passage in the book she had copied from the Sandaime mentioned something called 'revamps', where a character's abilities may be changed, sometimes drastically, but without replacing the character or changing their personality, letting them make use of the training they had done for jutsu they no longer used, among other things. Useful. And it explained what had happened to her own ability; she had been revamped my her 'player', removing her use of the water release and replacing it with something else. But what?

That would take some time to tell. For starters, she began with what she knew she could use. With her first experiment, the air hummed around her as she recalled the manipulations of sound waves she needed for her Zankuuha, but had never practiced beyond that. Still, it felt imperceptibly...off. Next she tried her raiton, and to her pleasure, the air crackled with electrical charge, sparks dancing along her skin. And next, she tried Fuuton, the wind release. The air in her lungs tingled with life and obedience, bowing to her will as she felt it fill with her chakra.

But it felt less potent. Like she had somehow lost skill in it. More than simple disuse. But like she was still close to that breakthrough...breakthrough, that was it! A jutsu, and one of the wind element, none the less, called 'Great Breakthrough'. If her memories and rough calculations were true, then that would bring her back to her old level of mastery.

That was fluff enough, time to get to the actual work. Akiko sat down on a nice patch of sand and began to try and think on how to perform the jutsu in question. Hm....the overall basic-ness was the problem. In theory, she would simply need to take a large amount of air into her lungs. Chakra could be used to compress the air down, but air had this little habit of expanding rapidly. So if the chakra barrier she used to compress the air would be even the slightest bit unstable, or fragile, it could rupture. And if it did, and she was lucky, the pressure would be low enough that it can burst out through her wind pipe. If she was unlucky...well...she could pop like an overfilled balloon.

What a thought, ugh...but no, the whole 'pop like a balloon' thing was unlikely. The human body was resoundingly sturdy, much more so than many give it credit for. Though the sudden air expansion in her lungs could cause serious damage to her airways. She'd need to make sure to stabilize the field before she even tried. There was still a volumetric issue as well. How would she take in, stabilize, and compress enough air to be able to create an effective attack?

Well, the lungs functioned by expanding the diaphragm and chest. This would cause the chest cavity to become a vacuum, save that the lungs then expand as well. As the lungs expand, that draws in air through the mouth and nose, down the windpipe, and into the lungs themselves. That's how the lungs function. Hm...if she's compressing the air anyway, then that would allow for more air to be drawn into the lungs naturally.

Compression itself would be the problem. Using a point of supergravity would be...inadvisable. For one, it would be incredibly difficult, if not impossible, to create supergravity with chakra. For another, the lungs aren't just empty sacks that air goes into. And supergravity inside an organic body is bound to be...problematic, to say the least. Especially given the complexity of the structure of human lungs. Hm...what could be done..?

Well, if the structure was stabilized enough to fully condense the air to a near-liquid state, the windpipe could be lined with a similar structure to protect it, then the initial condensing membrane could be ruptured at the top to allow the air to escape. If pressurized enough, it would burst out when she released the force keeping it compressed. Breathing out at the same time would compound the effect. The air escaping would likely create a compression wave traveling forward, creating a mass of concussive force that could knock people back quite a ways.

In retrospect, it operated on the same principal as her Zankuuha, building up air pressure in a confined space, then releasing it forward, generating a concussive wave. The primary difference between this and the Zankuuha, beside substituting the Zankuuha itself for her lungs, and adding handseals to help with the chakra manipulation, was the lack of sonic vibrations to destabilize and tear down the target on the microscopic level, vibrating and rupturing the cells, disrupting their cellular cohesion with the vibrations and blowing them away with air pressure.

This would be...less lethal, without the sonic vibrations. Given her preference for non-lethal methods, that would work better, actually. And a quick, concussive burst would be quite helpful indeed. The theory was sound. But how to do it in practice? She would need to make it simple enough to pull off in combat. But detailed enough to include countermeasures and safeguards to prevent accidents, and be reliable to boot.

Compressing the gas would be simple enough, in theory, and by creating a constant gaseous compression effect within her lungs would naturally draw additional air in while she prepared. She'd need to insulate her lungs from the heat caused by compressing the air though. That could be included in the programming for the compression. Hm...speaking of the compression, what compression ratio should she use? Too high a ratio could overwhelm her protections, and cause serious internal damage. True, she could just heal it right up, but that was only much of an option outside of battle.

In battle, causing 'recoil' damage and having to heal it was a bad idea without inflicting far more damage to the opponent. And since any time you end up inflicting damage to yourself, that means that some of the force was being wasted on the damage to your body, rather than being focused and inflicted on the target, it was a waste all around unless a small amount of recoil damage resulted in a large amount of extra damage to the target. Which was...well...somewhat unlikely.

Conversely, too low a ratio and the result would be little more than a strong wind at best. And that simply would be a waste of both time and effort. And considering chakra was a very precious resource for her, she couldn't afford to waste any on ineffective actions. Time too. Even with her speed effect, she was somewhat slow against more physically inclined shinobi. In fact, since that book gave her a standard of measurement for actions that could be taken in a certain period of time...what did it call them, movements?

Yeah, Movements, that was it. These movements allowed her to quantify the number of attacks she could expect per time period, as well as quantifying the bonuses she could expect from different abilities. With all that information together, she could more effectively figure out how to best make this jutsu she was working on practical.

It needed to be quick and efficient, but also strong enough to be practical. Meandering about her thought processes helped with filling out her training process to improve the odds of her getting ten...what were they, 'training points'? Yeah, ten training points for every phase of her training. So where was she? AH! That was right, calculating a functional compression ratio and programming it into the jutsu. And getting it standardized and swift enough that it can be used in battle regardless of surrounding circumstances, assuming there's sufficient air to do so. That was less of a problem, though, because if there wasn't, there were bigger issues to deal with.

She could probably absorb oxygen from the compressed air while she drew it in, and her body heat, as well as the heat from the compression, would most likely help standardize the temperature of the air being compressed, so that could be factored in more or less as a known. Minor variations could likely be ignored. Well, that should be about everything. The air's compression would help pull more air in until the entirety of the lungs were filled with the air at the proper PPcbI level, and when the air was released, the laws of osmosis would take over, the air naturally trying to reach a level of thermal and pressure uniformity with the surrounding air. Since it would naturally expand as far as it could when not being acted on by stronger outside forces, it would try and decompress, compressing the air in front of it and creating a pressure wave through the esophagus and out the mouth.

With enough pressure built up and all trying to escape through the one limited path, it would create a mono-directional force-wave which should have enough concussive force to at least knock the average person off their feet. Figuring out the proper coding to make it happen, Akiko performed the series of handseals she'd use as her shorthand for all the otherwise needed manual coding, and bent backwards to help stretch her lungs, breathing in and molding the chakra to compress the air.

Her lungs began to tingle as she felt heat and pressure building within. But at the same time, she felt the chakra working it's own way, saturating the air and compressing it, allowing more air to be drawn in and compressed as well. Akiko pushed her diaphragm and chest cavity to their limits, maximizing the space she could muster. Finally at her limits, she put one leg back to brace herself for the inevitable counter-force and snapped her upper body forward, releasing the seal on the pressure and opening her mouth.

[Draven]

o.o +10 jeeze

[Corvus]

Weaponsmithing
Rank: "E" (5 TP at all times)(100/125)
Skill: Skill
Effect: This highly specialized skill enables a character to perform the difficult and highly exacting work involved in making metal weapons, particularly those with blades.
Special: ---
Drawback: ---
Description: The character blends some of the skill of the blacksmith with the ability to create strong, sharp blades. User is able to create any and all weapons such as Arrowheads, to Swords, to Crossbows. Note on Arrowheads: User can only create normal Arrowheads and Sling Bullets. Specialized Arrowheads and Sling Bullets need Demolitions or Technician due to the components found in them. Look in the Artisan Index for more information. Each time learned user gets 1 die roll to increase the skill.
Limit:---

[~~/05]

The air burst out of Akiko's lungs and sent a shockwave surging forward, scattering sand and seawater into the air, permeating the perpetual mist of the village. And with that, she felt the air around her bend more easily to her will, energy welling up from within her. A familiar sensation, she most definitely had mastered the release before getting 'revamped' by her player.

Akiko then stretched her arms, wondering what to do next. Perhaps she could experiment to see what other releases she could use now. Or maybe...she should look to that player for some form of guidance. After all, they controlled her entire world, brought her into existence. They should have some sort of ideas. And if not, she'd just find a way to their world and see what things were like there. The book got from their world to her's, so why couldn't the reverse happen?

As if responding to her query, Akiko felt a particular tugging at her chest, pulling her toward a passing cart selling various books. A tad out of place at the beach, but she was always pushing for more accessibility to learning, so who was she to scoff at such a contrived coincidence? The young angelic girl walked over to the cart and attempted to purchase a book. However, the woman just handed the book to her free of charge. "One book per customer, but no charge."

As the woman walked away pushing her cart, Akiko examined the book and saw why. It was years old, and quite well worn, but it appeared everything was present. She held a book on various topics of weapon crafting, it seemed, and one that seemed to have been well used. Still, traditional weapon crafting techniques didn't change much these days. Now if this had been a book on programming or something to that effect, it would be much less likely to be useful.

Finding a pleasant spot in the sand, Akiko sat herself down and began to read, enjoying the salty scent of the breeze and the mixture of warmth and chill unique to her home.

The first entry she found was on bronze swords. Interestingly enough, weapons of copper and bronze were typically cast, not forged. That meant that they would take liquid metal and pour it into a mold, rather than using a hammer or other tools to shape a raw lump of heated metal into the required shape. Copper being rather soft, the addition of tin allowed early metallurgists to tweak the abilities of the metal to better fit the rigors of combat. More or less tin also made the resulting weapon harder or softer, with harder blades holding their edge better, but being more vulnerable to fracture, while softer blades would more easily bend or dull, but would be less likely to break completely.

According to the book, some Chinese swords used high-tin bronze for the edge, for it's strength, and lower tin bronze for the core for it's durability and toughness. The f*ck is a 'Chinese'? A structure similar to that of the Japanese Katana. Ok, she knew what a katana was, but what the Flaming Umbrella Cake Killer was 'Japanese'? From the phrasing, it seemed that both 'Japanese' and 'Chinese' were adjectives, but what did they mean? From the shared '-ese' suffix, they might be languages, or even nationalities; the latter of which seemed more plausible given context. But that brings back the question: what the Flying Umlaut Chasing Keratin was a 'China' or 'Japan'? The best she could come up with was 'China' was a type of pottery, and 'Japan' might be an old name for laqureware, but that's the best she could come up with.

But neither of those seemed to fit in with the concept of weaponsmithing...though she had admittedly heard of some kitchen knives being made of ceramic...somehow. Anyway, her thoughts were wandering. Moving on, she returned to the book. The Japanese....there's that word again. Did they really know what the word meant? Is there some meaning she was just unaware of? The *ahem* 'Japanese' Katana's strength and near perfection starts in the forge. Smiths in the country discovered that iron sand with little to no sulfur or phosphorus would produce a form of steel they called 'Tamahagane', when heated using coal. Makes sense, since iron sand has little in the way of impurities, and coal is pretty much pure carbon, which would bond with the melting iron to form steel. According to the book, the process started by using a furnace called a tatara to heat the sand to a temperature between 1200-1500 degrees celsius for 72 hours.

Toasty. The 'tamahagana' would then be allowed to cool and the smelter would ship the best pieces to the sword smith. And that was just the first stage. There was still smithing, sharpening, and polishing to be done..  Wow.  And this was just the entry on swords and sword crafting.  According to the cover and table of contents, this book actually covered a microcosm of different weapons and the secrets of their crafting.  Even if it was a few years out of date, the information should be invaluable if she intended to try fabricating her own gear.

[Draven]

+5

Weaponsmithing went from 100-101sp

[Corvus]

(OoC: learning again. At least that was enough to get me up to the next class)

[~~/05]

After the swordsmith received the Tamahagane nuggets, they would then take them and forge them into a metal block at temperatures around 900 degrees Celsius. To reiterate an earlier comment; toasty. The smith would then take the block out of the fire at said 900 degrees and hammer it into a thinner block, usually having their apprentices assist by holding it stable. They'd then score the steel in the center with an axe and fold it over, to make it thick again. It'd then be returned to the fire to re-heat.

The steel could be folded either horizontally or vertically; usually smiths would use both directions to produce a desired grain pattern. At least, that's what the book said. Akiko wondered how Kyuu-chan was forged. How many times had she been folded. The book said the process was usually repeated from 8 to 16 times. Sometimes even more, but any more than 20 times was superfluous, as the steel would be almost completely homogeneous at that point, and the folding, which normally helps diffuse the carbon in the steel evenly, would have no further effect, beyond bragging rights of folding it some absurd amount of time.

Depending on the amount of carbon in the steel, the process would form either the extra-hard steel for the edge of the blade, called 'hagane', or the springier 'Kawagane' steel, which was used more for the 'core' of the blade, which was more accurately everything but the cutting area. This resulted in not only a blade that was strong, durable, light, and held a blade that held it's edge well, but also made good use of the region's somewhat limited iron resources. Other swords of the time period, and even today, were thick and heavy, requiring a lot of strength to use properly. And unlike other lighter swords, such as the rapier, the katana was very resistant to damage, while still good at slashing strikes, something few other light and long swords could boast.

[Draven]

+5

Weaponsmithing went from 101-102sp

[Corvus]

(ok, dem dice are trolling XD)

[~~/05]

According to the book, a good swordsmith would work on forming just one sword for around seven months, quite a long time for something so small. Once the sword took the shape desired by the smith, the metal would be heated one more time until it was red hot. Then they'd take the blade and quench it in water, hardening the sword so it would retain it's shape. In the case of the Katana, its familiar slight curve, which is what made it so good at slashing attacks, was actually formed during this quenching process. The different carbon contented steels cooled at different rates. The softer metal would cool faster than the harder metal, contracting more, and causing the blade to curve.

Once fully quenched, the smith would pass the blade to a polisher and finisher. The polisher would be ground by progressively finer abrasives, typically different kinds of stone, using a finer and finer grit as they removed more and more of the remaining oxidation and giving the sword a fine sheen. Finally, the edge would be carefully sharpened. The sharpness of the sword and it's ability to maintain that edge is dependent on the width of the body, angle of the edge, and the quality of the material used. These 'Japanese' apparently had naturally low quality materials which they refined near to perfection.

Vaguely, Akiko wondered who these 'Japanese' were and just how they had managed to develop this process? How many centuries or even millennium did it take before this method of overcoming native limitations came about? A footnote mentioned that a later chapter went more in-depth on so-called 'Japanese' style swordcraft. Moving on from that, swords could be crafted using a variety of metalworking techniques, with the primary techniques being forging and stock removal.

[Draven]

+5

They sure are :/ 102-103

[Corvus]

(OoC: training again. dem dice be trollen hard)

[[~~/05]

After a brief interruption for her to rage at how poorly she was apparently taking all this in, Akiko got back to reading her book, this time with a non-trademark infringing can of cola by her side. Now, where was she? Oh yes, forming. Swords were usually formed either with one of two techniques, Forging and Stock Removal, or with a combination of both. The die cast process mentioned earlier is actually a rather rare one.

Forging uses heat to destabilize the structure of the material and make it more malleable. The material is then hammered into shape, typically using the classical hammer and anvil(warning, do not drop on heads) together with specialized set and fuller tools depending on the technique they choose or were trained to use. There are many different techniques for forging swords and other blades, and many variations upon those.

Stock removal, by contrast, gives shape to the sword from the prepared stock that it at least as large as, usually larger, than the finished sword through processes like Filing, Grinding, and/or cutting the stock. While the technique has been available for centuries, if not longer. Certainly as long as we've had the technology to cut or grind down the metals used in swordcrafting. But it only recently came into use for sword crafting as it was quite wasteful, resulting in copious amounts of scrap needing to be recycled. In more modern days, as techniques and technologies for reusing and refining metal ores into usable forms became more common, the process became valuable for mass-producing swords, usually for display, as well as producing other tools.

Well, that was odd. She knew that mass produced swords of all types existed, but they were actually produced to be cheap alternatives to the rarer hand-forged weapons preferred by professionals. Not just for decoration. In fact, those that could afford decoration; wealthy lords and merchants and the sort, were more likely to seek out a seasoned smith and have them forge the weapon for them, rather than just go for some cheap piece of junk.

[Draven]

+5

Its K 103-105

[Corvus]

(well, at least it wasn't a 1)

[~~/05]

Akiko sipped from her soda, then picked up from where she was reading. In most techniques, the basic materials would be shaped into a bar or billet. In modern armscrafting, the metals chosen would usually be steel, or at least iron. In some techniques, most notably the styles used in China, Japan, and Korea...THERE THEY WERE AGAIN! And now a third one was added. Korea? THE F*CK IS A KOREA!?!

But her thoughts were digressing. Most notably the styles commonly used in...*ahem* those places, the billet might be drawn and folded back in on itself any number of times. Up to twenty, as mentioned in an earlier passage. Even more, in theory, though after twenty, there was little point as the material would be too homogenized. In others, longer bars of steel and/or iron might be welded together, edge to edge, to create a larger billet with softer metals inside and harder ones outside, not unlike the structure of your average Katana.

Once created, the billet would then be drawn out further, with the smith tapering the metal to the edge or edges and the point. The technique known as 'fullering' might be used to create one or more ridges down the length of the blade. The purpose of such a groove, called a fuller, would be to improve the ratio between the weapon's mass and it's strength. In theory, it could also be used to adjust the weighting of the sword, more fuller toward the tip would theoretically mean more weight toward the hilt, making for a sword with better control, but worse impact. Conversely, more fuller at the base would logically result in more striking force behind each blow, but by moving the weight away from the fulcrum, it would also become harder to control.

During this process, the metal might be Annealed, a kind of heat treatment designed to make a material easier to work. It's something done typically by heating the metal until it glowed, then allowing it to cool slowly in still air. This was especially true for ferrous metals; ones that contained some appreciable level of iron. Non-ferrous metals could be cooled more quickly by quenching in water. With this technique, the metal would be softened for further work at room temperature

[Draven]

+5

Yep 105-107sp

[Corvus]

[~~/05]

After the piece is done being formed, regardess of which technique is used, it is 'normalized'. The craftsman would evenly heat the blade up and let it slowly cool, being careful not to let it heat or cool unevenly. This process is performed so that any stresses that built up in the material during the forging process could be removed. Some parts of the blade might be heated or cooled deferentially during the forging process, creating stress. In theory, this could be produced during a stock removal process as well, where friction produced as the sword is shaped could produce heat on the outside that doesn't reach all the way to the core, or isn't otherwise evenly distributed.

This could cause stresses to build up in the molecular structure of the piece, and as a result effect the hardening and tempering of the blade. In the worst case, so much stress could be built up in the blade that it could crack or break when under stress, such as during the final quenching process, or worse yet during combat, potentially leading to the death of the wielder. Not exactly good, either for a swordsman, or for a craftsman looking to build up a good reputation.

Akiko continued reading the book. Two of the final steps in the act of forging a sword are the quenching process and the tempering process. Quenching is when the red hot blade is quickly dunked into water to rapidly cool it. This hardens the metal so it holds it's edge longer, but has a side effect of making it more brittle. If the sword isn't normalized first, this quenching could even cause the metal to crack or snap right there. To restore some of it's ability to withstand shock and make it less brittle, the sword is then tempered. The challenge is to strike a balance between the two.

With swords, an additional challenge is found in their typical length, as if not quenched smoothly and evenly, the blade may bend or warp. In particularly incompetent hands, it could even snap, as mentioned above. Swords could be differentially hardened, as in japanese swordcrafting...Akiko decided that from this point on, she'd just ignore that... so that some parts could be harder than others. The clay used in such a process in said Japanese swordcrafting results in a distinctive pattern along the edge of the blade called the 'Hamon', or Hamon line.

[Draven]

+5

yay 107-109

[Corvus]

[~~/05]

Finishing is the final step, and encompasses polishing the blade to a fine shine, as well as adding the fittings, such as the hilt, pommel, and guard. This step also involves assembling and shaping the scabbard or sheath, as well as making sure they match...usually. Polishing itself was of particular note. In swords, the blade would usually still have some tarnish from the forging process. In order to get a proper shine on the blade, the smith would start with a somewhat coarse abrasive to the blade to start working on wearing down the 'mountains' on the microscopic structure of the blade down to smaller 'hills', then until it was as flat as possible using finer and finer abrasives.

The smith themselves would be most concerned with the blade itself, with a secondary concern given to the various fittings, especially metal ones. Other craftsmen would usually be the ones to craft the hilt and it's materials, sheath or scabbard, and any other decorations.

The book went on to say that Swords are still being made by modern artisans. That much should be obvious. For one, a well crafted sword is a work of art. For another...as much as she hated it, they were still in an age of strife. A lukewarm war of sorts. Either way, Akiko continued reading; Some pursue the traditional methods, while others apply more modern tools, techniques, and materials. But almost all apply more modern sciences and knowledge to better their craft, even if the techniques used themselves are more ancient.

The great majority of swords crafted in the modern day are formed either by stock removal, or less often, by some form of casting, where liquid metal is poured into a cast or mold before being allowed to cool. Almost universally, however, modern tools, materials, and techniques are used to mass produce swords as such a process results in greater profit than the more traditional methods.

[~Emi~]

+5

They keeps on trolling, went from 109/125 to 110/125 skill points in weaponsmith

[Corvus]

(still training weaponsmith. Though now I have Able Learner thanks to the additional freebie, so I now get an additional die roll. Quoting it for confirmation.)

Able Learner
Rank: "C"
Skill: Trait
Effect: The user has great aptitude for learning.
Special: ---
Drawback: ---
Description: When learning a skill, the skill states how many times a die roll may be applied to show how much they learned within that skill. Example, when a user learns "Botany" they gain 5 die rolls. This "trait" increases the amount of die rolls by 1.5 rounded to the highest number at 1 die roll per learning, however any number higher than 1 die roll is rounded down. For example: User learns Botany and gains 5 die rolls. With this Trait they will gain 7 die rolls. However if a user learns Lockpicking they normally get 1 die roll, however with this Trait they will gain 2 die rolls.
Limit: Must start with Character; replaces 1 Freebies.

[~~/05] to learn Weaponsmith again, and get 2 rolls now

Akiko moved onto a chapter that focused on 'Japanese' bladesmithing techniques. These techniques weren't just used for Katana crafting, but also for wakazashi, tanto, ya, nodachi, tachi, nagamaki, odachi, and many other types of bladed metal weapon native to the region. It should be noted that blades such as the Wakazashi and Tanto were not simply scaled down versions of the Katana, but different weapons with similar shapes.

As the earlier passage mentioned, the steel used in Japanese sword construction is called 'Tamahagane', or 'Jewel Steel'. Tamahagane is produced from iron sand called Satetsu via a process that differs from the modern modes of mass manufacture.

A vessel formed from clay and measuring about 4x12x4(HxLxW) is constructed, called a Tatara. After the clay has set, it is fired until dry and stable. A charcoal fire is then started within. The smelter will wait for the fire to reach the correct temperature, then add the Satetsu. Over the course of the next 72 hours, additional charcoal and Satetsu is layered in. Generally, four or five people are required to work on this process around the clock. In total, this process, from the creation of the Tatara through the end production of the steel, typically takes around a week.

During this time, the steel is not allowed to become fully molten, in turn allowing the formation of both high and low carbon steel to be made in this process. When complete and cooled, the Tatara is broken to remove the steel, known as a 'Kera' at this point. A single Kera will usually be around 10% the mass of the charcoal and satetsu used, however less than half of the Kera can actually be used as Tamahagane. Nevertheless, a single Kera can be worth hundreds of thousands of dollars, making it many times more expensive than more mundane steels.

...What the heck is a 'dollar'?

[Draven]

+5

Bam!! went from 110-115sp

[Corvus]

(MOAR TRAINING!!!)

[~~/05]

*Ahem* anyway...Akiko took a sip of her soda and continued reading. The swordsmiths will carefully break the Kera apart into steels of different carbon-levels. The lowest carbon steel is to be used for the 'Shigane', or Core Steel, of the blade. At this stage of the process, however, it's called 'Hocho-Tetsu'. The High carbon steel known as 'Tamahagane' and higher carbon steel, named 'Nabe-gane' are forged together using rather intricate methods in alternating layers, resulting in a material called 'Kawagane', or Skin Steel. This was most likely named for the multiple layers of human skin, or possibly because it functions as an outer 'skin' for the blade, though this author believes the former is the more likely. Or so the book said.

The Kera that the Tatara process produces contains metal that varies largely in carbon content, ranging from as low as 0.01 percent up to as much as 4.5 percent. While this may not sound like much to the layperson, it encompasses the range from Wrought Iron to Pig Iron; effectively the entire range of conventional carbon/iron alloys. Of an average Kera, only about one third of it is actually usable in the production of fine Japanese bladery.

The most useful notable step in the process of crafting is the 'Folding' process, wherein the metals are forgewelded together, where the two metal ingots are placed together in a high-heat furnace to soften them and link them together. After forge welding them, they are folded by scoring the middle of the heated ingot, then folded over, and heated again. This process would then repeat as many as 16 times. This process of repeated folding helps homogenize the carbon content in a unit of steel, while at the same time removing impurities, which largely have a lower melting point than the steel, meaning they would separate from the steel and leave the ingot as sparks during hammering. In addition, these alternating layers of higher and lower carbon steel help combine hardness with ductility to improve it's ability to stand up to shock in all regards.

[Draven]

+5

weaponsmithing went from 115-117sp