全利栈 Chuan Lee Chan

戴上防护眼罩，简单地将一块碎布把口鼻包覆，隔开碳烟和金属粉末，就是81高龄的林昌万师傅每日的标准动作。猛烈的炭火把钢条烧得红透，趁热打铁，夫妻俩合力一人夹钳一人落锤，将钢条切成小块。然后使用空气锤和铁锤敲打出需要的形状，再放回火炉烧红，经过反复多次烧炼锻打才能成型。最后进行放钢，即是淬火，把加热高温的钢铁放入液体中迅速冷却，能提高其硬度与强度，十分考验技艺。

蓝色单层的旧式木板店铺已有百年历史，躲藏在门前的树荫下乘凉，在巴西不南邦（Pasir Penambang）的老街道旁显得惬意，正是全利栈打铁店。半世纪多前，出生于巴生的林昌万师傅在1952年举家迁居至巴西不南邦，其父亲将同是打铁业的店铺顶下，并协商延用前业主的招牌，开始经营自家打铁铺。十余岁的林昌万与哥哥便跟随父亲身边学习制刀。

早期市场竞争激烈，刀具耐用并非日常消费品，林兄弟俩则向同行学习他人优点以加强自己。不仅如此，还亲自将自家刀具销售外地，如沙沙兰（Sasaran）、加埔（Kapar）、万津（Banting）、丹绒士拔（Tanjung Sepat）等地区。经过十余年的不懈努力和付出，约1982年，全利栈逐渐获得认可，口碑具佳，顾客纷纷上门采购与定制，带来稳定的生意，不再外销。

时过境迁，年事已高的林师傅却神采奕奕，虽无奈于传统家庭式打铁不及工业化的高产量低价格，林师傅仍旧享受打铁乐趣，沉浸其中，尤其得到顾客的赞扬更是欢喜。顾客也愿意选购品质更好价钱较高的刀具，特别是临近一带的园主们，所谓工欲善其事，必先利其器。林师傅锋利耐用的刀具，不仅有助于园丘业者提高工作与采收效率，其铁铺也获得好信誉，两全其美。

林昌万师傅与刀为伴已有65年，也经历了打铁业的兴亡盛衰，半退休的他不再接受大量或大型的制刀订单，依然每日营业，为上门的华巫印各族群提供磨刀和放钢服务，店内也售卖来自其他货源的各种刀具。膝下三儿女皆无意继承如此辛劳打铁手艺，铁匠们千锤百炼打造出来的铁具，一锤一锤的叮当声，一家家的传统打铁铺，或成绝响，逐渐淡出人们的视线。

树荫下蓝色木板店铺，刀具上22号印记，林昌万锤炼了大半辈子。

Wearing a protective eye mask, then simply wrapping the nose and mouth with a rag to block fumes and metal dust. These are the standard procedures practised daily by octogenarian Master Lim Chang Wan (transliteration). The blazing charcoal fire burns through the steel, turning it bright red. Striking while the iron is hot, husband and wife joined forces to pinch and hammer, cutting the steel bar into small pieces. After that, the steel is beaten into shape with the use of an air forging hammer and an iron hammer. The shaped steel is then returned to the fireplace to be burned until red. With the above steps repeated over and over again, only could the raw steel be shaped. The final step is quenching, which is air-hardening. Putting the red-hot steel into a liquid for immediate cooling can enhance the hardness and strength, this process puts the ironsmith's skills to test.

Having almost 100 years of history, the blue single-storey antique wooden shop lot is covered beneath tree shades, nestled in the old streets of Pasir Penambang, is the iron shop Chuan Lee Chan. More than half of a century ago, Master Lim Chang Wan (transliteration) who was born in Klang relocated to Pasir Penambang with his family in 1952. His father who was also an ironsmith bought the shop, negotiated with the ex-shop owner to continue using his signboard, and started running his own iron shop. Lim Chang Wan (transliteration) and his elder brother followed in their father's footsteps to manufacture knives since they were teenagers.

At the beginning stage, competition was intense, as knives are durable unlike daily supplies. The Lim siblings learned the forte from others in the industry to enhance their skills. Not only so, they also personally sell the knives they made to other areas, such as Sasaran, Kapar, Banting, and Tanjung Sepat. After decades of diligence and contribution, Chuan Lee Chan gained recognition around 1982, as word of mouth spread and customers came to purchase and place customised orders. As their business stabilised, they stopped selling knives in other areas.

As times moved on, the elderly Master Lim is still energetic and enthusiastic. Although he is downcast that traditional household ironsmith could not compete with industrialised manufacturers in terms of high production numbers and low costs, Master Lim enjoys forging knives as usual, and immerses himself in it, especially when receiving praise from the customers. Customers are willing to purchase a better quality knife at a higher price, especially plantation owners in the neighbouring areas. As the saying goes, "To work efficiently, your tools must be sharp". The sharp and durable knives Master Lim manufactured not only helped increase productivity at the plantations, his ironsmith store earned a good reputation as well, in a win-win situation.

Master Lim has been working with knives for 65 years, and experienced the ups and downs in the ironsmith industry. Half-retiring, he no longer accepts large numbers of orders or large projects. He still operates on a daily basis, providing walk-in customers from all backgrounds knife sharpening and air-hardening services. He also sells a variety of knives sourced elsewhere. None of his three children were interested in taking up the labouring trade. The metal tools produced by hard labour of ironsmiths, the sounds of the hammer striking, and one by one the household iron shops may become obsolete, vanishing from sight.

The blue wooden shop lot underneath the trees' shades, and the '22' mark on the knives, Lim Chang Wan (transliteration) has been hammering most of his life.

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文 Text/ 林汇川 Daniel Lim & 潘慧雯 Pua Hui Wen

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