Blowtorch

The blowtorch appears in the novel as a mundane workshop implement that becomes an instrument of ritual preparation, used by Ben Hanscom in a single, decisive scene to transform a silver dollar into ammunition against the entity known as It.

Origin and Context

The blowtorch belongs to Zack Denbrough, Bill Denbrough's father, and is kept in his home workshop. It is a tank-style torch, requiring matches to light and producing a bright blue-orange flame. The tool is introduced into the Losers' Club's plans during the summer of 1958, after the group has decided that silver—the traditional material for combating werewolves and other supernatural creatures—might be effective against the shape-shifting monster that has killed children in Derry. Ben Hanscom, who possesses four silver dollars inherited from his father, volunteers to melt one down and cast it into projectiles.

The Casting of the Silver Slugs

On the night of July 23, 1958, the Losers gather in Zack Denbrough's workshop. Bill Denbrough has set up a Monopoly board in the dining room as a cover, while the real work takes place at the workbench. Ben takes charge of the operation, using the blowtorch to heat a cut-down mortar shell that serves as a makeshift crucible. He places a single silver dollar inside the shell and applies the torch's flame, melting the coin into liquid metal. The process requires concentration and care; Ben wears a pair of cheap wraparound sunglasses to protect his eyes from the glare. Beverly Marsh holds a homemade funnel steady over a bearing mold, and Ben pours the molten silver through it, creating the first slug. He then reheats the shell and repeats the process for a second slug. The entire operation is conducted with a surgeon's precision, and not a drop of silver is spilled.

Significance and Aftermath

The blowtorch is the tool that enables the Losers to transform their belief in silver's power into a physical weapon. The two slugs, once cooled and removed from their molds, are given to Beverly Marsh, who proves to be the most accurate shot with Bill Denbrough's Bullseye slingshot. The slugs are later used in the confrontation at 29 Neibolt Street, where Beverly wounds the werewolf-form of It, driving it back into the sewers. The blowtorch itself remains a symbol of the group's resourcefulness and their willingness to repurpose ordinary objects for extraordinary purposes. It is never mentioned again after this scene, having served its singular function in the Losers' campaign against the entity.