godospartan

i am not attempting to write several paragraphs worth of detail into my story. when it comes to smithing, armor or weapons, i respect the craft itself. in fact, if i had the money, materials, and the know how i would definately try my hand. however, my lifestyle has left little time to actually learn, and no place i have ever lived has had any kinnd of teacher to help start my path into being a smith. but digressing, i respect the craft and all who practice it, in any and all ways possible for any and all work created, be it a small knife or even exceptional intricate designs on many things that is not limited to armor or sword. i respect it so much, i do not wish to dull how much work and pride goes into smithing by accident. THe reason i am attempting to find out the length of time it takes for a stock block to get to shaping temp, and how long it would take for the block to cool from shaping temp to needing reheating as it's shaped, if because it is indeed inquisitive to the plot itself. i need my smith to be capable of helping forge and shape several shortswords, and a greatsword within 20 hours, and a full set off armor through the night. it's a timing thing for this character to have everything done for when he sets out. of course it's in a fantasy world, and he will most likely be faster during the shaping of everything than normal, but i am still trying to be as realistic to the story as need be. in fact, my current vision for this smith is to heat one block of steel up, and when he takes it out to forge and shape it, he puts in a second block to heat. switching between them during heat cycles until he is done. i wanted to know a rough timeframe in order to know if that was possible or not for a master smith if he had the stamina and strength to do so.

Let me give you a setup then.... because i still do not have a rough answer at all yet. Take my questions again, but this time apply it to this scenario. a smith who has been making such swords for 5 years straight. their forge is a round stone pool with coal and wood and a bellows that the steel sits on top of. How long will it take the bare stock steel to get to shaping temp, how long will it take in open air from that temp to be too cool to continue shaping, and how effective would that style of forge work? Also, the grindstone in the game is a stone wheel, like a whetstone wheel, how effective would a stone grinder be on a sword? If you need a more accurate real life representation of what i am talking about, think medival style smiths, no power hammers or sandpaper.

Alright, so let me just say, i may never become a smith, i may never actually try, and most likely my questions will only serve one purpose, and that is to have accurate information when writing a story. So the only reason i even signed up, was to make sure i did smithing justice. THat being said, let me ask you all a few questions, alright? Now, let's head to a video game most know, where smithing is key to being stronger. Skyrim. I have a vision in my head of a master smith, who knows all techniques of the trade, who can rival even Eorlund Greymane. So when i ask my questions, understand this is a ROUGH estimate of what a master smith is capable of. First question: How long does it take to heat a block of steel, such as one for a steel longsword, to shaping temperature? I know it takes a few minutes to an hour, depending, to get the forge itself to temperature, but how long does it take the steel ingot you are shaping to go from stock room temp to hot enough to shape properly? Second question: How long does it take for the heated steel to cool off as soon as it leaves the forge? how long does a smith have to shape it until it is too cool to do so? Third and final question: How effective would the forge, the grindstone, and the smelter be in Skyrim in real life scenarios today? i ask these because i cannot find an answer anywhere else, and because i don't want to assume a master smith is capable of heating one blade and then shaping the other at the same time without repercussions. or if one could make a sword by themselves in a short amount of time.