Case analysis of traditional manual forging process

Traditional forging, mentoring contract, how to turn back from a dead end?

Forging, like other traditional crafts, has been handed down from generation to generation in the form of master and apprentice since ancient times. In the past, when young workers entered the factory, they first had to recognize the master and sign a mentoring contract. This practice continued until the 1970s. For the forger, the most difficult part of this craft is two points: observing the temperature and folding forging. Old blacksmiths are called "boiling fire" and "turning off fire".

Fire, that is to say, you need to know the temperature while the iron is hot. When the time comes, you will stack two pieces of steel heated to a certain temperature and then pound them violently. In the process of repeated forging, these two pieces of steel will become one. This is the fire set, which is also called "forging welding" now. Many famous swords in ancient times were forged in this way. Because the forged base material is two different steels, the sword will naturally present two different color lines. One bright and one dark, winding, which is also the charm of ancient patterned steel.

Snow sword, Japanese mountain city and Malax sword are all forged patterns in essence. Moreover, this forging technology appeared very early in ancient China, and by the Han Dynasty more than 2,000 years ago, it had been sparse and common in all fields of society. Western Han iron scissors unearthed in China are forged from high-quality steel with high carbon content, so the hardness and sharpness of the blade are excellent.

Of course, forging technology is the most widely used in the military field. After all, a broken knife on the battlefield is absolutely fatal. At that time, forging was the best way to realize the combination of rigidity and flexibility. Now, despite industrialization, hand-forged knives still don't lose most of the knives on the assembly line, but there are fewer and fewer knife workers in forging schools.

After all, ancient forging is a time-consuming and labor-intensive work. Many people have been working for several months, but with little effect, they can't support their families, so they turn to fast-moving industries. In this way, there is one less person who can pass on this craft. The most terrible thing is this. Once any culture and craft is cut off, it will take many years to rebuild, and it may never be rebuilt. Just like before heat treatment, it is necessary to cover the stove with tiles, which is the professional custom of blacksmiths.

If there is inheritance, it is not difficult for mentoring to pass on from mouth to mouth. Once the inheritance is broken, will the so-called historical materials and objects record such a small operation method? This is how the craft is broken. Fortunately, the forging craft is still there, and it's not too late. In fact, if you pay more attention to manual forging, you can gather sand into a tower. If it is really submerged by the torrent of industrialization, it will not only lose a craft, but also have a history of thousands of years, which is not necessarily less than the loss caused by the fire in the National Museum of Brazil. After all, cultural relics are dead and inheritance is alive.