Chapter 159: Armor-Piercing Specialist

How did this become a military secret?

Thinking about it, it did seem to be a military secret, but if military secrets couldn't be talked about, wouldn't Gao Yuan be unable to tell Luo Xingyu what he was going to do?

Luo Guodong turned and said, "Old Zhang, take this."

Luo Guodong handed over the document approving weapon manufacturing to Zhang Delin, who took it and asked, "Shall we start making it now? Do you have any blueprints?"

Gao Yuan shook his head, "No blueprints."

Zhang Delin thought for a moment and said, "It doesn't matter if there are no blueprints. Just sketch something, and I'll find a dedicated draftsman to draw a CAD diagram, or do you need a 3D blueprint?"

Gao Yuan shook his head again, "Uncle Zhang, I'd like to know what kind of processing equipment is available here."

"Plenty. Wire cutting, laser cutting, high-precision CNC lathes, ultra-high-precision CNC lathes, heat treatment furnaces, we have it all."

This equipment was more than sufficient for making a knife, no, it was more than enough. For making a simple knife, none of these were necessary.

Gao Yuan thought for a moment and then inquired, "Do you have any good heat treatment masters here?"

Zhang Delin smiled and said, "We have a heat treatment technician who receives a special national subsidy. Saying they are top-notch in the country would be an understatement; claiming they're world-class wouldn't be an overstatement either."

Gao Yuan nodded, "Very good, very good. What kind of steel do you have here? Do you have steel suitable for making knives?"

"Steel? Would a direct steel plate work for you? We have 440c stainless steel plate in stock. We have all sorts of steel, but many types are not suitable for making knives."

"Don't use 440c; I don't like it. Its hardness is fine, but it feels sticky when sharpening. I don't like that."

Zhang Delin was taken aback and then said, "You know your stuff. So what kind of steel would you like to use?"

Gao Yuan thought for a moment and replied, "Actually, I don't need any fancy steel, just ordinary high-carbon steel, T8 should do. There's no need for stainless steel, but I want high-carbon steel with higher purity."

T8, also known as Carbon-8, is an ordinary high-carbon steel with a carbon content of 0.8 percent, classified as one of the most basic steel materials.

"We definitely have that, but why would you use this? We have the best die steel here; why opt for carbon steel?"

Gao Yuan smiled and said, "Because carbon steel has a soul."

Zhang Delin was truly puzzled this time and asked with a look of astonishment, "What? A soul?"

Gao Yuan smiled, "Yes, actually I also like my own items to have signs of use. It feels like it truly belongs to me, and it's a knife that has been shaped by my own use."

Zhang Delin nodded, then looking baffled, he said, "Alright, if you say to use carbon steel, then carbon steel it is."

Gao Yuan chuckled, "I also need steel with good toughness for making a steel whip or a steel mace, the mace used in martial arts."

Zhang Delin thought for a moment and replied, "That's easy. Would you use die steel for this? M390, CPM 20CV, CTS 204P, these have high hardness and decent toughness, or perhaps CPM-S6 or S7 which has even better toughness. How about that?"

"S7 is good, a bit better in terms of toughness."

The two nodded in agreement, then Zhang Delin asked, "Anything else?"

"Yes, I want to make a battle hammer."

"Battle hammer? What's a battle hammer?"

"It has a pointed end and a round or squared end. The main requirement is high hardness, exceptionally high."

Zhang Delin nodded, "No problem, CNC lathe machining—we can make any shape you want."

Shi Lei interjected, "Sorry to interrupt, but what are you using this battle hammer for?"

Gao Yuan smiled, "Armor piercing."

"Armor piercing?"

Shi Lei was still puzzled, but Gao Yuan whispered, "Exactly, armor piercing. I was thinking of making a Gold Melon Hammer, but considering... um, I think a pointed hammer is more suitable."

Shi Lei didn't know what Gao Yuan was about to say, but with a little thought, he realized that Gao Yuan must be crafting this specifically for dealing with Armored Beasts. However, Gao Yuan wasn't sure if he should discuss this information openly in front of others, so he chose to withhold it.

"Oh, I understand, we'll do as you wish. Then, Mr. Zhang, how quickly can these be made?"

Zhang Delin confidently said, "It'll take just three hours, at most."

Gao Yuan, however, shook his head, "No, it can't be done in three hours because I want to personally grind my own blade, um, I can't use a CNC lathe, and I don't want to. A grinding wheel or a sanding machine will suffice."

Zhang Delin was taken aback, then involuntarily shook his head with a wry smile, "A grinding machine, we really don't have one of those..."

"Ah?"

"This is a high-precision machining shop, do you think the precision of a grinding wheel or sanding machine can meet the requirements? But why do you insist on grinding it yourself? Lathe machining is so much faster and more convenient, and the precision is guaranteed to be higher than you'd expect."

Gao Yuan shook his head, "No, no, you don't understand. The blade has to be slowly ground by hand. Something directly machined... just lacks soul, lacks the feel."

"Okay then, we'll do it your way. Let me see, we don't have a sanding machine here, but there definitely is one at the base; rest assured."

After thinking for a bit, Gao Yuan said, "I'll take care of the blade myself. As for the steel mace, make me a Bamboo Joint Whip, and also a four-edged Steel Mace, and the battle hammer. I've already drawn the designs and marked the measurements; just make them according to these specs."

"Let me see, the steel whip is one meter long, the handle is fifteen centimeters. The steel mace is also one meter long, with concave sides and a fifteen-centimeter handle. Mmm, they're all easy to machine. The battle hammer is no problem either; we can make them quickly."

Gao Yuan often dealt with machining factories, so he knew how to present data on his sketches, making it easy for Zhang Delin to understand what needed to be done.

Whips, maces, and hammers are all Blunt Weapons, and also heavy weapons. However, the portrayal of a hammer weighing tens of pounds in novels is a fiction; the ones actually used on the battlefield were never that heavy, let alone weighing tens of pounds, it's rare to even exceed ten pounds.

The four-edged mace, with its concave sides and a spiked tip, usually ranged between sixty and eighty centimeters in length, tapering from a thin front to a thicker back, but Gao Yuan's mace was uniformly thick from front to back. The maces commonly used in ancient times ranged from three to five pounds, while Gao Yuan's mace would weigh at least ten pounds when finished.

Now that Gao Yuan had great strength, the weapons he used naturally had to be a bit heavier, but they couldn't be dead heavy. Every weapon had to achieve a balance to be effective. Pursuing lightness and agility at the expense of a Blunt Weapon's essence is misguided, but seeking only heaviness and power can make the use too sluggish.

The length too had been tested by Gao Yuan; one meter was the optimal length for easy carrying and unsheathing based on his height and arm length. Longer knives or steel maces would naturally have greater power, but unless Gao Yuan intended to constantly carry the weapon in his hand, he wouldn't be able to smoothly draw it with one hand whether he placed it on his back or hung it at his waist.

It might look cool to carry swords on one's back as depicted in movies, but when you ask someone to draw the sword from that position, it turns out to be quite comical.

Among the four types of weapons Gao Yuan intended to craft, only the knife was for chopping zombies. The rest of the Blunt Weapons were prepared for Armored Beasts, specifically designed for armor piercing.