Chapter 17

Jón and I made it back to the castle a bit before lunch and we had a chance to see Helga to iron out some details.

Helga smiled and said, "What trouble are you in now? I know you want my help."

"You are just too smart. I want to meet the rest of the smiths in the city. If I go to each of them my jaw will be sore. If they come here to taste your cooking then I will only have to tell them once. Usually they would ask questions and then everybody will hear the answers and possibly think of more."

"What are you getting them to do for you?"

"I make steel and I want them to make some too. Swords are good but I want steel armour. It will be better than iron or bronze. Our men will then be safer."

"Just tell them to make it. They will do what you want."

"They don't know how to make steel yet. Then I have to show them how to make the steel hard. They have to be convinced to try this. I have an idea for you too."

"I am not going to make your iron."

"No, not that. You dry and cure meat so we can use it over the winter. If I gave you some silver could you hire some people to do a lot more?"

"Why, we usually have enough?"

"There are two reasons. The first is that father may need some supplies and we can make them for them. If they have to hunt and cook they may not be able to eat well. Your cured sausage would keep them fed and alive.

The second reason is that a lot of refugees have come to our city. The Picts chased them here and that is what the Picts wanted to happen. We feed a lot of people and if we have to feed more I will not want to turn anybody away. This means that we lay aside more food. If more people flood into our city then we will need even more. I am just trying to make sure that we are not only both alive but healthy when spring arrives."

"If there are too many then just not let people enter the city in the first place."

"Then I want you at the gate to tell a woman that she and her children are not wanted." Helga said nothing and looked to one side. "It doesn't sound like you would want to do that. Better to set aside more food now. Dried meat and cured sausage sound easy but they are hard to make and difficult to make so they keep. Do you know somebody that can take care of this for you?"

"Who will hunt?"

"Hunting is not a chore. Fálki would send out a hundred hunters but you could not deal with all the meat."

"There are some people that make good sausage. I will see if they will help me."

"Thank you, Helga. You will not regret this."

"There is a lot of work to do and you better make sure you help."

The smiths came in but at scattered times. Being prompt was not a thing that any barbarian thought of doing. Some may come by in a week and wonder why I was not here to greet him. Two of the larger smiths and one of the smaller were the only ones that came. I held off my spiel but had to start it eventually. I had one of Sander's clay jars and lids on the table and I explained the secrets of making blister steel.

Nobody interrupted me because this was new to them. I stressed the importance of the sealed jar and the way the charcoal had to be crushed fine to make better contact with the metal.

I was asked about the time taken and said, "It depends on the heat you use. The hotter it is the more of the charcoal will enter the iron."

One smith said, "I have some iron that is too brittle to use. Is this what you are making?"

"Not at all. Break this iron up and mix it with hot iron. Fold it over and over again to mix the charcoal in the iron better. Eventually you will get steel. One day I will be making that iron for tools but it has to be made into a liquid then cast into the shape you want. This is the same way as you cast bronze or brass."

"Nobody can melt iron. I have tried."

"It can be done but it requires a lot of work. You need a very large kiln. Instead of normal air being pushed into it, it has to be heated first. This is done with two large brick tunnels. Charcoal is burnt and a bellows pushes the heat through one set of bricks. The bricks get hot after a while. When they are near the hottest they can get you push the hot smoke through the other set of bricks."

"What will this do except make hot bricks?"

"You push clean air through the tunnel of hot bricks to get hot air. This goes into the large kiln to make it even hotter than anybody got before. When the bricks cool off too much the other tunnel is used while the one you left is heated again. The trick is getting enough air into the kiln. You could use a lot of people with a lot of bellows or you could use a water wheel to operate the bellows."

"I have heard of a water wheel but that just turns around. How can it make the bellows go up and down?"

Jón took his plate and put it on its side. "This is attached to the water wheel and it will turn with the wheel. If you put a large peg into the wheel and a wooden bar from that peg to the top portion of the billows, then the billows will go up and down too."

It took a great deal of explaining but in the end they saw how a rotating wheel could produce reciprocating motion. When Jón was done he said, "I have shown you how to melt iron but that is still not enough. Charcoal is made from wood that is baked. Water and many things are cast off from the wood as it is heated. The same thing can be done to coal. You will get coke instead. This is even better because it will make the fire hotter still.

"I called you all here to tell you how to make steel then after it is formed to make it hard. I want the large kiln built but not in the city. It is too dirty and the air that comes off can make you sick.

"If many people go out and collect iron and make it into blister steel then some of us can turn the steel into armour and weapons. Steel is stronger than iron and much harder too. I would like to buy the steel from you. Are any of you interested in making this for me?"

One of the owners of a larger smithy said, "I have enough work to do without wasting my time with this. My iron is good enough."

"Will you sell me your iron in thin sheets so I can make it into steel?"

"I would have to go out more and make more charcoal."

"Yes, and you would make more silver."

"That is too much work."

"You can hire others to harvest the trees and to collect the raw iron. You could even hire a boy to operate the bellows when the one you have is tired. You pay the boy from the extra silver you make."

"I am not interested."

"Then thank you for your help. You asked questions that the others thought of and helped make my ideas clearer." Turning to the others, Jón asked, "Are you interested in selling me steel or iron?"

It was the owner of the smaller operation that asked, "How much are you offering?"

"Are we talking about iron or steel?"

"Ah... steel; I guess."

"I will deal in talents of steel then. For each weight I will give you four silver pennies."

"That is not much. I can make much more."

"You make a sword but it takes a lot of time to hammer it out. You have less work to do by selling me just raw steel. You are not selling just one sword but hundreds. Surely if I went to you and asked for a hundred swords I would get a cheaper price than just one sword bought a hundred times."

"How many talents do you need?"

"A hundred at least for a start. If you hire people to help you then the profit is lower but you get your silver quicker."

Jón took out his k-bar and put it on the table with the point aimed away from everybody. "This is a steel knife. Tell me if you could make one as good out of iron?"

The man admired the knife then looked at Jón. The boy nodded and the man picked it up. He ran his thumb along the blade then hit the table edge with it. It went in deep and when the knife was removed the edge was checked.

"Is this what you used?"

"My sword mostly but this too. If we go to your forge, we will see what it does to bronze armour? You will find it goes through easily. It will also go through a man. I am not strong but my sword took off two heads. A full grown man could make a steel sword cut through an enemy. The edge stays sharp longer. The blade is thinner and easier to wield. When an iron sword will bend, a steel one will do so much less but it will come back to its original shape. I am telling you that steel will be what you will make in the future. Your work now will last longer. This may not sound good but more people will come here looking for the tools you make out of steel."

The man fingered the knife a lot and then put it down. "I think I will make some steel even if it is just to make a knife like this."

"Make a sword too. Then test it. With a bit more work you can make some armour. Think of the warriors that will come flocking to you to be fitted."

"I could do that but you would make nothing. Why are you suggesting that I do this?"

"You are mistaken. I will make something. I will have a warrior that is better armed than anybody in the history of the world. He will go out and kill our enemies in such numbers that they will never come back here again. I want to see my people live free."

"This steel is that good?"

"My word is not what you should take. Make some steel and see for yourself. My suggestion though is to get lots of iron and charcoal because you will not be able to keep any tools for show. They will be purchased as soon as they are complete."

This meeting looked to be a flop. Jón should have let me put out the steel products we made and let them decide what steel was really like. They did have the basics though.

The dishes were now being taken away from the table Jón had been using. He carried some of them into the kitchen to help out. Jón was doing a lot of odd things when seen from the perspective of those around him but it seemed natural enough to me.

Watching the women wash dishes I suggested to Jón. "Why not have a large tub made by the coopers? "You can have a bath and even stretch out. You need some additional metal pots for heating water and there is still the commitment to make tools for the bootmaker. Rudi will need more too."

"I guess we better get started then."

Jón went back to the forge. The children were all using the steel to make things and most of those were the needles. Even the new ones were doing a fair job. Instead of making some tools, Jón put a lot of raw iron into the forge. Then he added even more. I didn't ask but there could only be a few things it could be.

Dolf was put on the bellows and had to work harder because the metal had to get hot. Jón took the lumps and with Epje holding the tongs welded the lumps together. Soon it got so heavy that the men had to move the large lump into the flames and then out again to add more metal to it. Eventually it was put on the stone floor to be worked.

More and more iron went into the fire and eventually the new anvil was worked at the edge of the forge. The men started to question the size but Jón said, "A large anvil works just as good as a small one but can also handle large jobs. I am sure that we will be making some large tools."

The men and some of the children had a chance to get tired forming the anvil. Feet were welded into place but they may not keep it from rocking. A horn was in place but not very large. Some of the steel was now built around the horn and this was built up with many layers. The top surface got three layers of steel and it was used to extend around the sides.

Jón had obviously seen the images in my memories and was building the best he could. There was simply too much work to do and too little time. Everybody went to bed but Sander had to take first watch over the steel being made. He didn't seem to mind doing a few extra hours at night.

The anvil was still hot the next morning but it could be used. After a breakfast they all hurried back and began making more of the small things that would cost so much because of their fine details. The three sizes of awls were made and the children made theirs too. They would be using them when making their own saddle.

Forni and Dina hadn't minded the bootmaker but this was probably due to the newness of the situation. They had gone off on their own right after breakfast to start their duties.

Epje and Klaasje went to fetch some larger pieces of wood to complete the wood lathe. The legs, wheel and treadle was all they had. When the tree trunk came back it had to be squared off on two opposite sides then chisels used to make a hole down the middle of it. A saw was then used to cut two parallel cuts. When this was done the files and chisels cleaned up the edges. One large chisel worked like a plane to make the top and bottom surfaces parallel and flat. The tailstock would get anchored through the slot in the middle and a wedge would lock it in place where it was needed.

The headstock had to be designed but it too could have to be made to move so that it could also turn large bowls off the end. Bushings had to be designed and moulds made but the forge had to stay another day to complete the job of making steel.

Jón was very tired when lunch came but he was building up some muscle too. Instead of going back to the forge I convinced him to check on the coopers. When Jón arrived the oldest member hurried to him and said, "I thought you were coming yesterday, milord."

"I was very busy and you had to get a smith to make the metal hoops. The smiths are not the fastest at doing a job either."

"I have found that out too. They are very unlike our guild."

Jón said nothing about this but did say, "I want a large tub made just like the lower half of a barrel. You can make a stave at each side longer to form a handle for carrying."

"Will it have to have a metal hoop?"

"Yes, one at the top and one at the bottom." He went on to give the dimensions.

The cooper was incredulous and said, "We have never made a tub that large before."

"In years to come this will be just a small one. We need many large ones and even barrels that are well over the height of a man."

"For beer?"

"Some and others for wine but I want a very large one to be placed on the top of a building I want to make. It will hold water." Jón gave some measurements and I saw that this was in the range of ten tonnes."

I said to Jón, "That is heavy for that structure."

"Then we build the granary stronger. We are already putting hoops around it like the barrels. We can brace it inside too."

"That should work."

The cooper too was astonished and Jón stayed until he got a preliminary quote for the construction.

The small barrel was easily disassembled and Jón and I looked at the construction. He said, This is well made but it is still too weak. The staves will have to be thicker and the top and bottom much thicker."

"I would build better if I knew what it would contain."

"That may be true but I will not tell you yet. Has the barrel you made been taken yet? Fálki was going to make sure it got delivered."

"Yes it did. I added one more notch to the tally stick. What am I to do with this barrel?"

How much will you sell it to me for?"

They came to a quick deal and Jón would have to return later to pick it up and probably make comments on the second version when it was done.

Things got more and more hectic as the days rolled by. Fálki was on many of the patrols and Albrecht was given some of the duties. His prince didn't seem to be interested in leaving or even interested in seeing his men. Albrecht now had a chance to make some silver.

The job of making the granary caused a big stir in the city simply because of its size. Shovels with steel blades were used and the soil shovelled into wheelbarrows. The wheelbarrows were another new invention that had a lot of tongues wagging. The steel wheel, axle and brass bushings made it easy to move.

A few days later a large steel scoop was made that was pulled by a horse with a collar. A man was at the other end holding two long poles. If he picked up just a bit then the leading edge of the scoop bit into the earth and soon filled the bucket. When full the man pushed down and the horse dragged the scoop to where it could be dumped.

Thick stone began to arrive and it was put into place. Wood arrived too and was put to one side. At the same time the farmers were contacted and offered silver for their grain. Germany could be very productive but grain still rotted because it was not dried well or rodents got to it first. The drying had to be done and the type of granary would keep the rodents out.

Jón avoided the granary as much as possible. It was going up well but they always asked questions of him that could be answered if they bothered to think of it. He spent much of his time talking to everybody and about every conceivable subject. He was trying to find out about what we truly needed to know. Sulphur or what was known as brimstone was asked about but it was used in relation to destroying wild yeast strains in used wine barrels. Other minerals I required were asked about too. All were needed but not all of them for making black powder.

One old man knew of some on some land that his family had abandoned as a child. One more farm had passed through their hands and they were now on their third. It could not continue to support all the demands on it. The sulphur though was important.

Animals were discussed and their habits but always bats were mentioned. This lead to bat caves. The land in this area was mostly flat and had little chance to find a cave that was not filled with water. Bats though had been seen but none had found where they lived. Further to the south though there were hills and the Harz Mountains were in the south of Germany.

The various ores of iron were discussed even one that stuck to iron tools but nobody seemed to remember seeing these ores. The same thing was mentioned about silver, copper and tin but if they had known of these then they would have been mined. Anthracite coal was described and then bituminous. Some of this was seen but the locations were vague and it was usually small pieces not actual deposits. Finally lakes or streams of a thick black liquid were asked about. This seemed to be different and some reference to a wide area were talked about but nobody had actually been to this area only heard about it.

The large barrels I had ordered were used to store the grain that was purchased and there were quite a few of them. The lime was used to make a poor type of cement that went between the large stones and the floor itself. A ditch around the granary ensured that any water build up would be noticed and dealt with before the grain became affected. A sewer would be better but there was none.

Jón practised with his swords and knives a lot more now and the children were being taught some of what he knew. The newcomers were now integrated but it would take more time before they were normal. Hafgan had to be taken in hand. He still looked for somebody to protect him and many men saw his beauty and wanted him for themselves there was some trouble with the boys in the group too but not much.

Hafgan usually slept with the boys and they went out of their way to make sure that he knew his was accepted. The girls did the same thing and called him their brother.

Sander made a large mould for the mortar without knowing what it was for. The clay for the mould had been fired then coated with a fine mud and fired again to get the finish the best it could be.

Fálki and a dozen of his most trusted men sorted the scrap bronze from the good. This was not important but he wanted them in on the very start of the project. The mortar was cast but it was thicker than needed just for safety. Strength was important and bronze cannons blew up less than iron ones. One day my steel ones would be much safer.

The wood lathe helped make another lathe. Over a period of time another one was made but this one worked vertically. The mortar was hung, mouth down and lowered slowly onto a revolving steel bit. After many light passes the barrel looked good.

Soft iron spheres were made to fit the mortar but that was just to check the size because they would go into the larger cannon that we were making.

The cannon was made in the open but nobody knew what it was for. A lot of questions were asked but the story of it being used to break down city gates with its weight alone and this was accepted. The cannon was fitted to a very sturdy carriage and this was attached to the one that would carry powder and shot. Small lightweight saddles were put on the team that was doing the pulling. The men using them would not be using a lance but a sabre if the need ever arose. The accompanying horsemen had the full sized saddle.

When the cannon was complete, it was always on the move. Jón gave some idea of what to do then Fálki took over the training. Usually this was away from the city. They had no powder to uses as yet but the logistics of moving the heavy gun was something you had to learn by doing.

The horses had to be disconnected and taken away because they would bolt when the cannon eventually fired. They also had to be close to take the cannon and crew out of danger when they would be attacked.

Jón took my advice and sold our weapons to the crown and to those that could afford some fancy work done on their armour. The idea was to get us enough money to stay afloat. Though we sold for cash it was usually barter and we insisted on getting raw or finished iron along with enough charcoal to work it. Foreigners or even traders were able to buy but they had to spend more not less. We wanted our people armed and a little money in the piggy bank too.

Fálki paid his men from the treasury and the men spent their money buying steel weapons and armour. Special anvils had to be made but the iron and charcoal was flowing into the city much more freely now. The large wagon made by Rudi was an instant success after it was seen hauling heavy loads. They helped transport iron, wood and large stone blocks much more easily.

The city was filling up with raw materials and the disabled vets were now working hard at various trades if they were able to. The saddles were delivered and paid for so that the soldiers could train. The new boots were a success once their advantages were known. Iron lasts were sold to the bootmakers to assist them, and boot production increased. Some things began to be in short supply and people had to be found to produce them.

Soap was made and this time it was salted to make it solidify. Scents and colours were added. One kind even had a find grit put in it that was pushed as a soap for hard working men and not women. The glycerol was hoarded in special barrels after being filtering out the solids of the soap making operation.

The ashes from many places were placed in a leaching tank and the filtered water that came out was evaporated by boiling. When it started to participate the liquid was poured off. The remainder had to be dried and saved because it contained important chemicals too. The liquid contained what I was after.

The liquid that looked like clean water held the potassium carbonate. This chemical would dissolve in water much better than the other chemicals we had just separated it from. This liquid was boiled to produce the fairly pure potassium carbonate. The potassium carbonate was heated in a steel pot to drive off the carbon dioxide and I had potassium oxide now and the flux I needed.

The potash that we picked up had been leached by the rains for thousands of years and if we wanted to use this it would have to be excavated fresh.

A new and smaller forge was set up near ours. Sander had his own kiln but it was not large enough for our needs. Silica sand was found in many places and this was collected and washed. Fálki made sure his own men did this if necessary. He didn't let on though what it was for.

Sander's new forge was different than anything he had seen before. The gases of burning wood rushed by a large crucible. This was similar to the way steel was made in Sheffield. In it were the sand, lime and potash. I had never made glass before but remembered hearing of the ingredients from a visit to the glassworks in Corning, New York.

It took a lot of heat to start the process but once it began the materials started to melt quickly. The glass was light green from some impurity and looked like the Coke bottles of my youth. We needed good glass and this needed to find out how to remove the colour. I only knew that by the addition of other elements the glass would change colour or become clear. Bubbles were a problem but most left after an hour of heating. Learning was fun and creative but eventually the secret had to be revealed in an open house.

It was hot near the glass but it was just like the forge. Jón used an iron pipe and gathered a glob of glass and blew into it as he rotated it. There were many people present including Fálki's crew that had gathered the some of the ingredients, Astrid and all of the rest of the family and of course all the kitchen staff with Helga presiding.

The glass cooled and had to be put into a small hole to get heated up as Jón looked around at his guests. Everybody was staring at him wide eyed. Making glass was the same as making large jewels.

Jón finished a bottle and cut the soft glass with a pair of shears then used a poker to open the throat. He had only taken a few weeks to get the basics down. The bottle was oddly shaped, had some bubbles in the glass and had not been tempered in a furnace but it was still beautiful.

Jón took more glass on his blow pipe but hung the glass down and the shaft was held vertically. By rolling the pipe back and forth between his palms, a disk was made by centrifugal force. This had to get reheated but only the centre was because it would not go in the small hole. The dish was put beside the bottle and sheared off. Another tool smoothed the centre and compressed the glass there.

Since I had been thinking of this for months Jón made a glass goblet and with some difficulty a beer stein with a glass handle. Nobody objected as he made more things like some candlestick holders but a glass globe to protect a lamp was a disaster.

Jón was all red from the heat and said, "This glass is too delicate to use. It has to go into a kiln like Sander uses and heated until it almost starts to run then it is cooled. It gains a lot of strength but will still break.

"If we make a steel form, the hot glass can be put in it to give it shape so that each one is the same. I want to give the kitchen a few hundred glass plates but we have to find people to make them."

Astrid said, "I can try. That looks interesting. It is better than sewing, butchering and tending the garden."

"You may do so but on a few conditions."

"What are they?" She didn't seem to be happy with her on the defensive.

"You get boots like the rest of us wear. Hot glass will roll off of them but not off your slippers. You must always wear a leather apron and gloves even if it is hot. I catch anybody not wearing those and they will be banned from here. In the future spectators have to stay behind a barrier for their safety and if they go beyond it they must be dressed even if it is for a second.

"Finally, it takes a lot of fuel to melt the glass. You have to be prepared to use all of the glass you melt. If there are others that will want to try they can add more of the raw materials including the fuel and a person to power the bellows. For all I know, this kiln may never shut down because people will be using it all the time.

"Can you abide by these rules?"

"I guess I can."

"Then get the boots on by the door if they fit and the leather apron. We can see what we can make."

Jón, this way started his first glass making class. We made a few vases and used a pair of tongs to make the edge fluted. Astrid continued after by making some things completely her way. Some of Jón's creations cracked because of the poor cooling and the weak nature of the glass.

Jón said to everybody, "If we make large jars and then make them strong we can do something wonderful. We take warm stew or soup and put it the jar. The jar has to be sealed with wax or a glass top or both. We heat the jar in a bath of water until it boils, then keep it boiling for half an hour. Almost everything inside the jar that was alive will have died in the heat. The bottle can be put on the shelf and in a year it can be taken down and heated then eaten. This is great for fruit."

It was lucky that people had stopped asking how Jón knew about each assertion he made for he would have a difficult time explaining himself.

Sander began working with metals to find a way of making dark glass so the brightly glowing glass could more easily be seen. A side benefit would be that it would keep some flying objects out of the wearer's eyes.

The canning idea was good but I needed borates instead of potassium oxide. This would make the Pyrex glass I was familiar with. It was stronger and could take the thermal shock much better. It found many uses in the kitchens in my day from measuring cups, pie and cake pans to glass covered serving pots. Of course we had the microwaves ovens to thank for them being used so much.