American Farmers: Facing a Cutoff at the Start

"Don't push yourself too hard; your health is the most important thing."

She moved a chair over and pressed Fett down, her brows furrowed slightly, her tone full of undisguised concern:

"How's your wound today? Did you tear it? I noticed you haven't rested much all morning."

"It's alright, I'm perfectly fine."

"Didn't I say I'd go eat after I finished my work? Why did they bring it to me?"

Fett smiled, took the damp towel Lyra handed him, wiped his hands, and picked up the large bowl.

The bowl was warm, and a comforting warmth emanated from my palm.

The bowl contained a large bowl of beef stew with potatoes. The beef was cut into large chunks and stewed until tender and flavorful. The potatoes had also absorbed the broth and turned an enticing dark brown color.

As soon as the steam rose, the rich aroma of meat instantly filled the entire garage, making everyone's stomachs rumble.

"You haven't been eating, I'm worried you'll get hungry. Eat quickly, before it gets cold!"

"It smells so good."

Fett didn't stand on ceremony and picked up a spoon to eat heartily.

Leila didn't leave or say anything; she just leaned quietly against a pillar and watched him wolf down his food.

After lunch, Leila cleared away the dishes, instructing them as she walked out:

"Take a break, don't rush to work."

"Anyway, there aren't many customers, and there's still some time before the deadline for the sword-forging competition, so there's no rush for you to forge your sword."

"There aren't many customers today. A cold wave is coming soon, so I'm going home to help my mom out."

She waved to Fett, turned and left the garage.

Fett wiped his mouth, watching her figure disappear at the end of the porch, his eyes softening slightly.

He then took a deep breath and returned to his worktable.

The material for the kitchen knife handle is ready; now it's time to prepare the handle for the folding knife.

The most complex part of a folding knife is the handle.

The handle of a straight knife is simply made by clamping two pieces of wood together, while the handle of a folding knife serves as both a handle and a sheath for storing the blade.

This time, Fett is going to work on a classic line lock structure.

This design requires cutting a spring clip into the inner lining of the handle.

When the blade opens, the spring will spring up and hold the base of the blade in place, preventing the blade from accidentally closing and injuring your fingers.

When sheathing the knife, simply push the spring back with your thumb, and the blade will fold back.

Therefore, this places extremely high demands on the elasticity of the lining material.

His gaze swept across the worktable, finally settling on the scrap of the large circular saw blade left over from cutting the kitchen knife.

"You're the one."

The thickness of this old saw blade is just right, and it's tough enough. It's perfect for making the inner lining of a folding knife handle. It cuts out shrapnel and is very durable.

First, Fett drew the outlines of two identical blade shank liners on the saw blade fragments, then carefully cut them off with an angle grinder. Amidst flying sparks, two thin steel plates were formed.

After removing the burrs and rust, the next step is drilling.

The positions of the pivot hole, the stop pin hole, and the tail pin hole must be accurate to the millimeter.

Fett put on his goggles, changed to a smaller drill bit, adjusted the speed, and began drilling little by little, checking each hole with calipers.

After drilling the hole, the most crucial step is here.

He drew a long "L"-shaped tangent at the end of one of the steel plates.

Use a very fine wire saw to slowly cut along the line, and then bend the cut strip of steel slightly inward.

To test the elasticity, he tried pressing the shrapnel with his thumb.

The rebound was normal, absolutely perfect.

The lining is done; the last step is the outer patch.

It's better to use wood for the handle of a kitchen knife, but what should be used for the blades of a folding knife?

Oh, and there are deer antlers!

Fett quickly retrieved the old antlers that Roy had picked up and given him.

He selected the section of the horn root with the deepest texture and the densest bone, and used a band saw to cut it in half.

The antlers are very hard, and when they are sawn open, they emit a unique burnt smell.

He smoothed the antler pieces and fixed them to the outside of the steel lining with super glue and a few brass rivets.

Then use a belt sander to chamfer the edges until it feels round and full in your hand, and you can't feel the seam between the metal and bone.

Fett wiped the sweat from his forehead, looked at the pile of scattered yet exquisite parts on the table, and a smile appeared on his lips.

Everything is ready, and the blade should be tempered by now.

When I got to the kitchen, the oven had already stopped and the indicator light was off.

Fett put on oven mitts, opened the oven door, and found the blade had cooled completely.

He took out the two knife blanks, returned to the garage, and placed them on the worktable.

The surface of the heat-treated steel is covered with a layer of gray-black oxide scale, which doesn't look very noticeable at the moment.

I took the kitchen knife blank, turned on the belt sander, and started sanding while wetting it. Each time I changed the belt, the scratches on the blade became shallower and the luster became brighter.

In the end, the blade was polished to a mirror-like finish, reflecting Fett's slightly tired but satisfied face.

Take two prepared black walnut wood veneers, apply strong AB glue, and clamp them tightly to both sides of the knife handle.

Then take out the mosaic tile pins that have dried completely, align them with the drilled holes, and gently tap them in with a hammer.

Back in front of the belt sander, amidst the flying sawdust, a round and full handle gradually took shape.

The mosaic nails, after being polished, revealed the delicate copper flower patterns inside, like golden stars inlaid in dark wood.

Fett switched to an extremely fine sharpening belt, placed the blade against it at a very small angle, and gently swept it across.

"Sizzle—"

A very thin, bright white line appeared at the edge of the blade, so sharp that one dared not look directly at it.

After turning off the machine, Fett found a cotton cloth, dipped it in wood wax oil, and vigorously rubbed it on the handle of the knife.

The originally plain black walnut wood instantly absorbed the oil, and its color became warm and deep, with the wood grain as clear as a landscape painting.

A high-end custom-made kitchen knife that combines beauty and practicality is now complete.

Fett put it aside and turned his gaze to the small folding knife blank.

The blade is too small; if you hold it in your hand to sharpen it, you'll never want to use your hand again.

Fett found a pair of heavy-duty pliers, clamped it tightly around the pre-reserved part of the blade, and slowly began to grind it.

This time he didn't dare to use force, but instead, like embroidering, he gently touched the blade on the sand belt, afraid that if the pliers didn't grip it tightly, the blade would be thrown out.

Kitchen knives are thin because they are thin, and folding knives are small because they are small; neither type of knife blank has a large heat capacity.

So every two strokes, you have to dip it in water.

This process was extremely demanding on endurance. Fett's hands ached from holding the pliers, and his thumb and forefinger went numb, before the small blade blank was finally finished.

This is a blade blank forged from an old file; if acid-washed properly, beautiful patterns will appear.

However, Fett did not have the professional ferric chloride reagent used for pickling, but he had his own homemade method.

He took a can of cheap instant coffee powder from the kitchen, poured half of it into a cup, and poured boiling water over it.

Its consistency was so thick, it was almost as black as asphalt, and it had a bitter, burnt smell.

Once the coffee had cooled slightly and stopped bubbling, he used tweezers to pick up the gleaming blade and dropped it in.