Gob stood beside me, his eyes wide as he watched me. I picked up a piece of pelt and showed it to him as I began to explain.
“Look, Gob. To process pelts, we first need to remove the dirt and excess fat. If we use them as they are, they’ll smell bad and rot over time. Plus, they’ll weaken our armor’s durability.”
Gob nodded. Then, he grabbed the pelt next to him and examined it closely. He pulled out his knife and started scraping it, but his movements were too rough. I adjusted his grip and showed him how to hold the knife properly.
“You have to scrape slowly and with control. If you do it too hard, you’ll thin the pelt and weaken it. But if you do it too lightly, you won’t remove the fat and dirt. Balance is key.”
As an example, I pressed the blade gently against the inner side of the pelt and made smooth but firm scraping motions. Gob watched carefully and then tried to replicate my technique. At first, he was clumsy, and the areas he scraped were uneven. He made a few mistakes, but as I guided him, his movements became more consistent.
“Gob! Gob!” he shouted excitedly, trying to express that he understood the process.
After scraping the pelts, it was time to wash them. We had previously created a small water basin near the stone furnace. Together, Gob and I submerged the scraped pelts into the water to remove any remaining impurities. At first, the water was clear, but it quickly turned murky and greasy.
“See, Gob? As the pelts get cleaner, the water becomes cloudy. That means the dirt and excess fat are coming off.”
Gob dipped his hand into the water, pulled out a pelt, and sniffed it. His face scrunched up in disgust.
“Gob…”
I chuckled and nodded. “Yes, it still smells. But that’s what the next step is for.”
Instead of leaving the pelts to dry in the sun, we hung them near the stone furnace, where the warm air would dry them gradually. Gob tilted his head, trying to figure out what I was doing.
“If you leave them in direct sunlight, the pelts will dry too much, harden, and crack. But if we dry them in controlled warmth, they’ll harden without losing their flexibility. This is crucial for armor.”
Gob carefully mimicked my actions as he hung the pelts. At first, he hung a few incorrectly, but I corrected him and showed him how to spread them properly.
“Alright, Gob. Now, we wait. The warm air will do its job.”
Gob nodded as he watched the pelts. A few hours later, they were finally ready. We had removed the grease, dirt, and excess moisture. Now, they were both clean and strong. It was time for the next step.
“Now, we’re going to turn these pelts into armor, Gob. But first, you need to learn how to cut them properly.”
Gob bounced excitedly in place. Watching him, I couldn’t help but smile. The learning process was tough, but when guided correctly, it was truly rewarding.
Our pelts were now completely clean and dry. But at this point, they were just pieces of leather. To turn them into armor, we needed to cut them into the right shapes and sizes. I handed a piece of pelt to Gob and spread it out on the table.
“Gob, watch carefully. Armor isn’t made from randomly cut pieces. It needs to fit the body’s movement points. The shoulders, chest, back, and legs all require different levels of flexibility. If we cut incorrectly, we’ll either restrict movement or reduce the armor’s protection.”
Gob examined the areas I cut with great focus. To help him understand better, I pointed at my own body.
“Look, for example, the shoulders. The pieces here need to be flexible because the arms move constantly. But the chest and back are more stable, so we can use thicker pieces.”
Gob immediately picked up the pelt and examined it. He held it against his own shoulder, then placed it on his chest. That’s when I saw the realization in his eyes.
“Gob!” he exclaimed, which meant “I got it!”
I nodded. “Good. Now, we’re going to start cutting, but you have to be careful. If you cut incorrectly, we’ll have less material to work with, and we won’t be able to fix it.”
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I picked up a sharp knife and slowly cut along the edge of the pelt. I followed a rough template I had prepared beforehand. I left more flexible pieces for the shoulders while cutting the chest and back sections slightly larger.
“Now it’s your turn, Gob. Try to do the same.”
Gob took his knife hesitantly. His first cut was quite uneven. I frowned slightly but didn’t intervene right away. He needed to make some mistakes to learn properly.
“Try to cut slowly and in one motion. If you tilt the knife too much, the edges won’t be smooth. Set a line and keep the blade steady along it.”
Gob took a deep breath and tried again. This time, it was better, but still a bit uneven. I gently patted his shoulder.
"Don't rush. A clean cut is better than a fast one."
After several attempts, Gob finally started cutting properly. Each time he completed a piece, I showed it to him and explained where he made mistakes. At first, he made small incorrect cuts, but he gradually improved.
"Look, Gob, now we have properly shaped pieces. When we combine them, we'll form the basic structure of the armor."
Gob excitedly gathered the cut pieces. He placed them on the worktable and put his hand on his chin, deep in thought. Seeing him like that, I smiled. He was slowly starting to think like a craftsman.
"Now, we're moving on to the next stage, Gob. You're going to learn how to put these pieces together."
I spread out the cut leather pieces in front of us. They were neatly arranged to cover the chest, back, shoulders, and legs. But right now, they were just pieces of leather. We needed to bind them together securely.
Gob carefully examined the cut pieces. "Gob?" he asked, curious about what we were going to do.
"Now it's time to assemble the armor, Gob. But simply stitching them together isn't enough. If we do it wrong, it will fall apart with the first blow. That's why we need extra reinforcement."
I picked up a thick, durable thread. It was made from animal tendons and was extremely strong. I placed it in front of Gob.
"Look, we can't use ordinary threads. If we use regular thread, the stitches will come undone after a few blows, and the armor will fall apart. That's why we need something strong and flexible. These threads, made from animal tendons, are both tough and slightly elastic. This way, we'll have armor that allows movement."
Gob picked up the thread and tried to stretch it, but he couldn't break it. His eyes sparkled. "Gob!" he said, approving the material.
I nodded and then took out a large needle. "Now we're going to start sewing. But we won't use ordinary stitching. The stitches in the armor need to be strong. So, we'll use a cross-stitch technique. This way, the threads support each other, increasing durability."
I sat at the table and picked up the chest and back pieces. I aligned their edges and passed the first stitch through.
"We start here. We pass the needle through the leather, but we don't pull it too tight. Then, we cross it over to the other side. This way, each stitch presses against the previous one, strengthening the structure."
I slowly started sewing. Gob watched with great concentration. Then he picked up his own needle.
"Alright, Gob, now you try. But don’t rush. If you don’t do it properly, the stitch will be weak and will break."
At first, Gob struggled. He pulled the thread too tight while passing the first few stitches, causing the leather to wrinkle. I frowned.
"You're pulling too hard. If you pull too much, the leather will bunch up and distort the shape of the armor. Be more controlled."
Gob nodded and carefully tried again. This time, it was a little better. As he continued, he became more skilled. After a while, he started doing the cross-stitch technique smoothly.
Once the chest and back were joined, we moved on to attaching the shoulder and leg pieces. Since these areas needed to allow movement, we left the stitches slightly looser.
Finally, we had connected all the pieces. The armor was beginning to take shape. Gob examined the work in front of him with admiration.
"You did a great job, Gob. But we're not done yet. Now, we're going to make this armor even stronger. We need to make it more resistant to impacts and cold."
We had created the basic structure of the armor, but in its current state, it wasn’t strong enough. If it took a hit during battle, it could tear or wear down. So, we needed to add extra protective layers to reinforce it.
Gob sat in front of the armor, examining it carefully. "Gob?" he asked, wondering if it was already finished.
"No, we're not done yet, Gob. Right now, it's light and flexible, but not strong enough. If a powerful creature attacks you, the armor might tear. So, we're going to add some extra reinforcements."
Gob nodded and listened carefully. I placed several additional pieces of thick fur from the Steel Fang Wolf in front of me.
First Reinforcement: Double-Layered Fur
"Look, this is Alpha Wolf’s hide, which is thicker and tougher than Steel Fang Wolf’s. If we add this second layer, it will be more resistant to impacts," I said, showing him the fur.
Gob’s eyes sparkled. "Gob!" he exclaimed, immediately grabbing the hide and inspecting it.
"But we can't add it randomly. If we do it wrong, the armor will become too stiff and restrict movement."
First, I identified the areas that would take the most damage:
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Chest and back: The front and back were the most important for protection.
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Shoulders: Weapon strikes would most likely hit here.
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Knees and elbows: These areas would be subject to friction and impact during movement.
"Gob, now we're going to add these extra furs to the designated areas. But if we sew them directly, the armor will become too stiff and restrict movement. So, we need to use flexible connectors in between."
Gob nodded curiously. I immediately cut several flexible leather strips and showed them to Gob.
"Look, we'll use these strips to attach the second layer to the main armor. This way, it will provide extra protection while maintaining mobility."
Gob started with the knee and elbow areas first. He sewed the small leather pieces in place and then used the flexible connectors to attach the reinforcements to the main armor. At first, he struggled a bit, as he stitched too tightly, restricting movement.
"Gob, you need to leave it a little looser. If you make it too tight, it will stretch and tear when bent," I said, demonstrating the correct method again.
After a few attempts, Gob mastered the technique and successfully created strong but flexible connections.