Cutting?
Could it be...
Bill couldn’t help but speak out, "Are you going to use the Damascus forging method?"
Li Younan just made a gesture to him to be silent.
Bill was about to say something but held back, thinking that Li Younan had already paid, he snorted and sat back down.
Seeing this scene, Li Younan actually found it a bit amusing, but he couldn’t blame Bill for being so surprised.
The so-called Damascus forging method is essentially a multi-layered welding and forging composite method.
But using this forging method with ordinary steel is fine, using it with M4 powder steel is almost hell difficulty.
There are probably less than 10 swordsmiths worldwide who can achieve this.
Using the Damascus forging method with regular 1095 carbon steel is already challenging enough, and the difficulty with M4 powder steel is at least 20 times higher.
But Li Younan was very confident, besides his forging skills, more importantly, he had a master-level skill besides forging, which is welding.
Yes, the core difficulty of forging Damascus with M4 powder steel is welding.
The welding temperature error for M4 powder steel is only 5°C, and anyone who can achieve such precise temperature-controlled welding must have master-level proficiency in welding skills.
Imagine a master-level welder, why would he want to do blacksmithing?
These two identities are hard to simultaneously appear in one person.
However, for Li Younan, this most difficult challenge posed no problem at all.
The blacksmith shop’s equipment was very complete, with welding tools available, and Li Younan cut this piece of powder steel into two pieces.
When he welded and stacked these two pieces of powder steel into one unit, Bill on the side couldn’t sit still any longer.
This welding technique...
But Li Younan didn’t care about the gaze of those around him, the furnace was lit, and the temperature began to rise continuously, Li Younan began formally heating the welded powder steel.
Bill’s expression on the side became completely serious, silently watching.
Li Younan focused all his attention on the steel in the furnace, at this moment he observed the surface of the steel with the naked eye, and even the tiniest crystal movement didn’t escape his sight.
Top-notch forging skills granted him the most intuitive perception of temperature. At a certain moment, a flash of inspiration struck him, as if instinctively driven, telling him it was time to take it out, that was the opportunity.
Without hesitation, he clamped the steel with tongs and took the red-hot steel billet to the power hammer, then began hammering with full power as preset.
The forging temperature window for powder steel is 1100 to 1150 degrees, but this is only the temperature at which the powder steel won’t develop cracks, but not the best golden forging range
To create a perfect powder steel knife, this range must be narrowed further, 1120 degrees is the best.
Li Younan had a clear feeling in his heart, he didn’t know the specific temperature of the powder steel before him, but he had a mysterious feeling. Through the state of the power hammer hitting the billet, even the slightest change could let him determine whether the billet’s temperature was within the golden window zone.
After dozens of hammerings, Li Younan unhesitatingly returned the billet to the furnace immediately.
He didn’t know the temperature of the billet at this moment, also relying on feeling.
This action made Bill’s eyelid twitch slightly.
He certainly knew the key point for handling powder steel, primarily temperature control.
This guy wasn’t even using a pyrometer, could he determine the temperature of the powder steel just with his naked eyes?
And Li Younan placed the billet back into the furnace, without much delay, after all, the best temperature window was only a few dozen degrees, and for steel, heating time was calculated in seconds.
When Li Younan’s intuition told him the temperature reached that state again, he took it out without hesitation, continuing to hammer.
Thus, the cycle repeated, with almost no pauses.
Li Younan understood clearly that once he started forging, he couldn’t stop, he had to maintain that temperature range from start to finish, shaping the billet.
It’s a time-consuming and labor-intensive process, the hammering difficulty of M4 powder steel far exceeds that of ordinary steel, and he had to control the temperature as well, meaning Li Younan needed to hammer more times and return to the furnace more times.
But during this process, Li Younan became increasingly absorbed, his gaze constantly fixed on the steel and the furnace, gradually entering a kind of mysterious flow state, even unable to feel the passage of time.
It was folded 4 times, forming 64 layers of Damascus pattern.
This certainly didn’t reach the limit of M4 powder steel, theoretically, it could be layered up to 10 layers, but that would take too long, and Li Younan didn’t plan to make such a complex pattern.
After the final stack was completed, Li Younan began further precise hammering, cycled repeatedly, and after an unknown amount of time, this hunting knife was finally forged into a blade blank shape.
The most important quenching step was next.
When Li Younan used an advanced differential heat treatment technique to complete the quenching process of the hunting knife, Bill couldn’t resist coming over immediately.
Li Younan hadn’t yet returned from the state of sword forging, seeing a huge figure standing beside him, instinctively brushed him aside, then performed the last acid wash step with the acid test solution prepared earlier.
Bill Uncle had a complex expression on his face, making way.
But this time, he had no dissatisfaction whatsoever.

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