IRON LADY FORGE

Lilycove City

Located several blocks from Lilycove City's famous department store, the Iron Lady Forge is nestled in a small shopping center alongside several other stores that all seek to capitalize on the department store's foot traffic while offering something that the department store is hard-pressed to provide: customized, handcrafted goods that are always one of a kind. Neighboring a craft supplies store on one side and a bespoke tailor on the other, the Iron Lady Forge features a cast metal sign hanging over the door, stating the business' name. Underneath the name is depicted the insignia of the highly stylized letters A and L written in bold, sweeping flourishes and entwined together above a crossed knife and dagger.

THE SHOP

The shop in front is simply furnished and softly lit, its only luxury the soft dark-red carpeting underfoot. Several glass display cases and wooden cabinets showcase the wares offered. One large cabinet contains kitchen cutlery and tools, ranging from knives and cleavers to utensils, plates, pots and pans, and tongs, while another display case holds folding and fixed-blade knives for camping, hunting, and utility. A wide variety of scissors lies upon a velvet-lined shelf in another display case, which also exhibits a few examples of gardening implements like shears, pruners, cultivators, shovels, and trowels.

Yet another cabinet holds construction tools like hammers, crowbars, pliers, wrenches, and box cutters, all handcrafted from high-quality steel. Examples of handle material and decoration fill a small glass case off to one side, colorful and eye-catching. In one corner is the front desk, with a register and a long wooden counter with a simple call bell to ring for service.

The walls are mostly left bare, with one wall displaying a cast bronze plaque with the same A and L insignia on the sign outside, while the opposite wall is decorated with rows of metal bars forged with intricate, strikingly vibrant Damascus steel patterns: herringbone, raindrop, twist, sharkstooth, mosaic, dot matrix, and more.

THE FORGE

By far the larger of the two rooms on the first floor, the forge is a high-ceilinged, well-ventilated room whose walls are lined with long tables and shelves covered in tools and forging supplies. More tools and safety equipment like goggles, earplugs, and aprons hang from hooks on the walls themselves. Each corner has a fire extinguisher, and the corner nearest the door has a basic medical kit for burns, cuts, and other minor injuries. The overhead light here is bright and even, allowing clear judgment of metal pattern and coloration when heated or cooled.

Taking pride of place are two propane forges in the center of the room, lined up next to two sturdy anvils. An imposing Mighty Maroon™ power hammer stands prominently beside the forges, clearly carefully and lovingly maintained, while a hydraulic press behind it allows the billet in progress to be drawn out and pressed flat. One table is fitted with a vise for straightening and fastening and arranged with a neatly organized array of hammers, mallets, tongs, chisels, punches, and drifts, as well as magnets, containers of table salt, and jars of metal flux.

A tempering oven sits on another table, next to a tall shelving unit that hold a large variety of different high-carbon and stainless alloys, mild steel, nickel, cobalt, and other metals. Another shelving unit is filled with pins and handle materials ranging from wood and metal, to synthetic, to animal horn and leather. Two belt grinders are lined up along the last wall, with several different belts to take off material at different speeds. Nearby are three large metal containers of different sizes, brimming with quenching oil, with another tank of oil against the wall. A much smaller tank is filled with acid for etching, used to bring out patterns on blades.

THE SECOND STORY

A narrow back stair leads to a small, cozy apartment where Aurelie lives above her shop, with a kitchen, bathroom, living room, tiny dining room, closet, and single bedroom. The decor is eclectic yet pretty, with gold-and-white striped wallpaper, vintage glass-shaded lamps, scented candles in hand-forged wrought-iron candlesticks, and fresh flowers, somewhat offsetting the low sloping ceilings, mismatched furniture, and worn upholstery.