Li Younan and the other three contestants stood shoulder to shoulder in front of the judges; the first round of evaluation was about to begin.
All the double-edged swords they had forged were placed together on the table in front of the judges. In this round, what was being examined was each contestant’s blade shape, level of completion, and structure. After all, the swords were still semi-finished at this stage and would not be tested.
The first sword to be reviewed was Dali Ben’s double-edged sword.
The double-edged sword he had forged was a classically shaped West Wave Sword.
The defining feature of this West Wave Sword’s shape is that it looks like a leaf: the middle of the blade is the widest, tapering toward both ends. Even though the hilt hadn’t been made yet, the sword already had a very high degree of completion.
After all, Dali Ben had used spring steel, the material least prone to mistakes. The strength and toughness of this steel were both inferior to the crankshaft connecting-rod steel that Li Younan had used, but this steel has a hidden advantage: its margin for error during forging is relatively high.
Whether in terms of its forging temperature window or its balance, it allows the blade to be forged in a very short time with a lower chance of error.
The three judges passed the sword among themselves to examine it. Nelson focused mainly on the structural strength of the blade; he held the sword in his hand and examined it closely.
It had to be said, there were indeed no flaws in Dali Ben’s work. The entire sword was very well forged; with the aid of mechanical hammering, the steel was fused beautifully. From a structural perspective, there was basically nothing to criticize.
He then handed the sword to Beck beside him.
Beck was mainly assessing the blade’s shape and aesthetics. He had quite a bit of authority when it came to this type of sword, because back when he worked on movie props in Hollywood, he often had to make this kind of common ancient Greek weapon.
After looking for a while, he smiled and said, "The West Wave Sword is an iconic weapon of ancient Greek civilization, especially closely associated with Spartan warriors. This leaf-shaped design combines the advantages of both cutting and thrusting. This sword is very beautiful, and the fidelity is excellent. Buddy, your hand is as steady as ever."
Dali Ben gave a faint smile, and then the sword was handed to Dog. Dog’s task was the simplest: evaluating the weapon’s practical properties.
However, since the sword hadn’t yet been fitted with a hilt, there was no way to test its handling.
He weighed the sword in his hand, then said, "This is a sword of moderate weight. I’m looking forward to seeing what it’s like once the hilt is finished."
Dog put the sword back. It had to be admitted that this sword had no flaws at all, but at the same time, it didn’t give him the slightest sense of surprise.
The West Wave Sword’s proper, by-the-book shape is, by nature, all about stability.
And at this moment Dog’s attention had actually been drawn all along to that strangely shaped sword of Li Younan’s. His intuition told him that sword was going to be a pleasant surprise.
But Li Younan’s turn was fourth, and Dog actually felt a little itchy with impatience.
Next up, the second contestant to submit his weapon was Brother Liu.
Brother Liu had forged a regular double-edged short sword, not any historically distinctive named blade. Overall, it was the kind of sword you wouldn’t know what to call.
When Nelson picked up Brother Liu’s sword, he immediately frowned.
He first held the blade up in front of his eyes to compare it carefully, then shook his head. The blade had a slight curve to it and was not perfectly straight. Then he noticed some irregular cracks near the base of the blade where it would meet the hilt, clearly a sign that the steel hadn’t fully fused.
Seeing this, he pointed it out bluntly: "Unfortunately, I see cracks on the blade. If you want to pass this round, you’ll have to properly fix the cracking on the blade as well as the curvature of the blade."
Brother Liu nodded helplessly, and then the sword was handed to Beck.
Beck picked up the sword and studied it carefully. "A sword forged entirely by hand—judging from the shape, it has a rough, rugged kind of beauty. To be honest, I quite appreciate the form of this sword. But the cracks and curvature in the blade affect the overall visual impression. My opinion is the same as Nelson’s: if you make it into the next round, these two issues must be corrected."
He passed the sword to Dog.
By now Brother Liu basically already knew what the outcome would be, though his expression stayed calm.
As expected, after Dog toyed with the sword for a while, his face openly showed a look of disappointment. "Honestly, there’s something off with this sword’s weight distribution. The front of the blade is too light and the rear is too heavy. I think this will affect how it feels when you swing it."
Dog wore a smile, and Brother Liu could only smile along as the sword was put back in place.
Next was Hu Jixi’s sword. When Nelson picked up Hu Jixi’s sword, his eyes clearly lit up and he said, "This is a Glaudeus Sword."
He looked at Hu Jixi in mild surprise and said, "I didn’t expect you to be able to finish forging a double-edged sword of this shape in such a short time."
A moment ago Hu Jixi’s face had still been rather serious, but it suddenly blossomed into a smile.
Although he’d heard this kind of praise many times before, seeing genuine amazement on a judge’s face each time still brought a very pleasant feeling.
Nelson continued to examine the sword carefully.
It was a straight double-edged blade, with a very large point angle at the tip, which optimizes thrusting. There was a fuller running along the blade; this groove could effectively reduce the weight while maintaining strength.

Comments

Loading...