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Blacksmith Basics; Thursday, Second Period [06/02].
Thursday, June 2nd, 2022 04:45 am![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png){kind=small}
special_rabbitBetween the kraken drill and dragging the Crumbler to it and then back again afterwards, followed by the necessary repairs because, while it had been made with rough country roads in mind, it had not been designed for stairs, Amaya'd crashed early yesterday and she'd crashed hard, which meant, come Thursday, she was well-rested and eager to get to work and also hopefully get to ignoring things that weren't work. The forge was nice and toasty and ready when the class came in, exactly the sort of thing you'd want on a hot summer day, and the tools were spread out and waiting.
"Morning, everyone," Amaya greeted them with a nod. "By now, for the most part, we should mostly have the basic shape of our knives hammered out from last week. If you still need a little more with the shape of it," because last week you had been perhaps, oh, a bit distracted for some odd reason, "that'll be a good warm up. But today's class is going to focus on refining that shape and sharpening it up nicely with the use of files. Now, more often than not, a blacksmith is likely to use something like the grindstone over there," she hitched her thumb toward that trusty piece of equipment in question, "but since we're focusing on the basics, it's good to know how to really get in there and do it more manually. When you're doing the filing itself, you're more likely to learn how the metal responds to different movements and pressure, even different sharpness and grain in the file itself, and you're just not going to get that kind of precision with a grindstone. It'll take more time, but, well, most good things do, don't they?"
Amaya cleared her throat a little there (fine time for a frog to find itself in there, eh?), and then took a moment then to go over a few different kinds of files and made her recommendations for which one they consider using based on what they're trying to do, as well as a little bit about proper storage and maintenance, because taking care of your tools was just as, if not more important, than taking care of your blades. Then, it was on to showing them how best set a clamp on their worktable, which would help them immensely in keeping the knife still and in place. "Sure," she said, "you can try holding it with one hand and file with the other, but you're not going to have a very good time of it. Keeping the piece steady and solid while you work is essential to getting those nice smooth and sharp lines on your blade that you're going to want.
"And now, finally, onto the filing! Come on in a little closer and have a look at how I'm doing it before you start on your own. It's essentially pretty simple, and just requires a lot of attention to detail." And as she went into detail about how and where to start and why, how to clean it up as you move along, showing how different files would yield different results, and just pointing out how the metal changed as she worked.
"It looks simple," she told them, after she figured she'd gone through most of what she could; you could only tell so much before doing became the better teacher, "but I'm sure you'll find, once you get started, that's a bit of a deception. But the only way to know for sure is to get at it, so I'm going to stop talking and let you guys give it a go on your pieces. The forge is ready if you need to do a little more shaping, but if you're satisfied with what you've got, then we'll get to filing. Don't hesitate to ask any questions as you're working through it, either, especially if you feel you may have messed up somewhere along the line; thing with filing is, it's easy to make a mistake, but it's not difficult to set it right again if you know how.
"So," another nod, and Amaya pounded her fist into her palm as her general go-to-and-get-at-'em gesture, "let's get to it. We'll want these all nicely filed up and shaped out for the next step for the next class."
"Morning, everyone," Amaya greeted them with a nod. "By now, for the most part, we should mostly have the basic shape of our knives hammered out from last week. If you still need a little more with the shape of it," because last week you had been perhaps, oh, a bit distracted for some odd reason, "that'll be a good warm up. But today's class is going to focus on refining that shape and sharpening it up nicely with the use of files. Now, more often than not, a blacksmith is likely to use something like the grindstone over there," she hitched her thumb toward that trusty piece of equipment in question, "but since we're focusing on the basics, it's good to know how to really get in there and do it more manually. When you're doing the filing itself, you're more likely to learn how the metal responds to different movements and pressure, even different sharpness and grain in the file itself, and you're just not going to get that kind of precision with a grindstone. It'll take more time, but, well, most good things do, don't they?"
Amaya cleared her throat a little there (fine time for a frog to find itself in there, eh?), and then took a moment then to go over a few different kinds of files and made her recommendations for which one they consider using based on what they're trying to do, as well as a little bit about proper storage and maintenance, because taking care of your tools was just as, if not more important, than taking care of your blades. Then, it was on to showing them how best set a clamp on their worktable, which would help them immensely in keeping the knife still and in place. "Sure," she said, "you can try holding it with one hand and file with the other, but you're not going to have a very good time of it. Keeping the piece steady and solid while you work is essential to getting those nice smooth and sharp lines on your blade that you're going to want.
"And now, finally, onto the filing! Come on in a little closer and have a look at how I'm doing it before you start on your own. It's essentially pretty simple, and just requires a lot of attention to detail." And as she went into detail about how and where to start and why, how to clean it up as you move along, showing how different files would yield different results, and just pointing out how the metal changed as she worked.
"It looks simple," she told them, after she figured she'd gone through most of what she could; you could only tell so much before doing became the better teacher, "but I'm sure you'll find, once you get started, that's a bit of a deception. But the only way to know for sure is to get at it, so I'm going to stop talking and let you guys give it a go on your pieces. The forge is ready if you need to do a little more shaping, but if you're satisfied with what you've got, then we'll get to filing. Don't hesitate to ask any questions as you're working through it, either, especially if you feel you may have messed up somewhere along the line; thing with filing is, it's easy to make a mistake, but it's not difficult to set it right again if you know how.
"So," another nod, and Amaya pounded her fist into her palm as her general go-to-and-get-at-'em gesture, "let's get to it. We'll want these all nicely filed up and shaped out for the next step for the next class."