Amaya Blackstone (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
special_rabbit) wrote in ![[community profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/community.png)
fandomhigh2019-05-23 05:33 am
special_rabbit) wrote in fandomhigh2019-05-23 05:33 am
Entry tags:
Blacksmithing Basics - Thursday, First Period [05/23].
"Morning, everyone," said Amaya, nodding as the students hopefully managed to get the message and find their way over to the shop classroom instead of the forge today, which at the very least should have been a lot easier for them, all this water considered. "Apologies for yet another class without actually doing much active blacksmithing...the good news is, this week we've got steel again. The bad news is that the forge itself is completely underwater. And I know we could have just rigged something up pretty easily in the Danger Shop, but it's not the same thing, so we'll just make do with what we've got avaiable in the workshop. No forging today, unfortunately, but I figured it's a good chance for us to go over weapon maintainence, especially since all my pieces need a little extra love this week for having gone for an unexpected dip in the drink.
"Proper maintenence for swords and other steel weapons isn't hard, it doesn't take long, but it is important. In general, there's a few things to keep in mind: how you store it, how you handle it, and how you clean it. For starters, water's bad. Even too much humidity can cause your sword to rust or corrode faster than you'll want it to, so you can imagine what all this," she gestured vaguely toward the island, "might have done! Tied in with all that is scabbards; scabbards are great for when you're taking your weapon around, but they're usually made of wood and leather, which traps moisture, so storing your blades in their scabbards for extended periods of time'll eventually have some consequences. You generally want to avoid any skin-to-blade contact as much as you can; skin's got oils and salts that corrode the blade if you're not careful. And, lastly, you want to make sure you clean and oil a blade after every use, if you can, and, if you're not using it often, give her a good thorough cleaning at least every six months or so, or whatever might be an equivelent in your world's particular calendar.
"As for the maintenance, we'll start with some cleaning oil and a sanding pad or sandpaper. Back where I'm from, you're lucky if you can get some of the nice cleaning stuff they've got readily available, you don't even have to deal with a fussy, cranky apocatherist hack or anything to get them, and that's something I do appreciate about this world. Same goes for the sandpaper." Seriously, you should have seen this woman the first time she discovered Home Depot. "So, gloves on, since we want to keep all that salt and oil on our hands off the sword, we're going just brush that polishing oil on the blade, don't be afraid to be generous, don't be stingy, remember, this is a weapon that could save your life one day, and that deserves all the care it can get.
"Once it's all oiled up, we'll take the sanding pad or sand paper, and we're going to sand the blade. Always start at the hilt and work your way down and always, always, always go with the grain of the blade. Go side to side and we'll see how you feel when my hand slaps side-to-side up on the back of your heads. And if you're working on a different shape, like with an axe head, just follow the grain, no matter what, some weapons might be harder to find the grain than others, but a sword's almost always just down away from the hilt.
"Hold the sword down with one hand by the pommel, and then just rub down the blade. You don't need too much pressure. Quick strokes, full motion, really work that oil into the steel." She did it for a moment or two before looking up with a faint grin. "You get the idea. And you'll want to repeat that twice per side if you want to do a really nice job, and once it's finished, you just take a nice soft cloth and wipe off any remaining oil that hasn't been worked right into the blade. Now, if you pick a blade with a little extra rust or other wear, give those spots a little more attention. Remember to switch out the sandpaper or keep an eye on your sandstone as you're using it because some of that grain's going to wear away and stop being as effective the more you use it. Repeat the same on the pommel and the hilt if you've got the chance, too.
"Remember, it's actual steel's natural propensity to rust; all it takes is water and oxygen and most worlds are chock full of those. So keep your blades shiny and strong is a battle that requires constant vigilance and dedication! Or, at the very least, five to ten minutes of your time every now and again. You can, also, use buffing wheels for this sort of thing, but you want to make sure the setting's low, especially if the steel has been tempered. Buffing wheels put out a lot of heat when they're rubbing all against that steel, and that'll make a difference. Heat always makes a difference. It's easy enough to do it by hand, after all, and much easier to ensure that the job's getting done right.
"Any questions? If not, I'll go ahead and let you guys give it a try with some of these swords here, and a few axes and daggers, too, if you want to practice on something a little different. As you can see, they weren't in the water long, but they've already got some rust settling in, but not enough that it can't be fixed up. It shouldn't take a whole lot of time to get used to, really, so I encourage you to give it a go on a few pieces to really get the hang of it. Now, I know it's not a very exciting class, and I hope to make it up to you if the island eventually decides to cooperate, but it's still a very important class, and that there's the take-away."
[[ OCD is...up! Have at it! ]]
"Proper maintenence for swords and other steel weapons isn't hard, it doesn't take long, but it is important. In general, there's a few things to keep in mind: how you store it, how you handle it, and how you clean it. For starters, water's bad. Even too much humidity can cause your sword to rust or corrode faster than you'll want it to, so you can imagine what all this," she gestured vaguely toward the island, "might have done! Tied in with all that is scabbards; scabbards are great for when you're taking your weapon around, but they're usually made of wood and leather, which traps moisture, so storing your blades in their scabbards for extended periods of time'll eventually have some consequences. You generally want to avoid any skin-to-blade contact as much as you can; skin's got oils and salts that corrode the blade if you're not careful. And, lastly, you want to make sure you clean and oil a blade after every use, if you can, and, if you're not using it often, give her a good thorough cleaning at least every six months or so, or whatever might be an equivelent in your world's particular calendar.
"As for the maintenance, we'll start with some cleaning oil and a sanding pad or sandpaper. Back where I'm from, you're lucky if you can get some of the nice cleaning stuff they've got readily available, you don't even have to deal with a fussy, cranky apocatherist hack or anything to get them, and that's something I do appreciate about this world. Same goes for the sandpaper." Seriously, you should have seen this woman the first time she discovered Home Depot. "So, gloves on, since we want to keep all that salt and oil on our hands off the sword, we're going just brush that polishing oil on the blade, don't be afraid to be generous, don't be stingy, remember, this is a weapon that could save your life one day, and that deserves all the care it can get.
"Once it's all oiled up, we'll take the sanding pad or sand paper, and we're going to sand the blade. Always start at the hilt and work your way down and always, always, always go with the grain of the blade. Go side to side and we'll see how you feel when my hand slaps side-to-side up on the back of your heads. And if you're working on a different shape, like with an axe head, just follow the grain, no matter what, some weapons might be harder to find the grain than others, but a sword's almost always just down away from the hilt.
"Hold the sword down with one hand by the pommel, and then just rub down the blade. You don't need too much pressure. Quick strokes, full motion, really work that oil into the steel." She did it for a moment or two before looking up with a faint grin. "You get the idea. And you'll want to repeat that twice per side if you want to do a really nice job, and once it's finished, you just take a nice soft cloth and wipe off any remaining oil that hasn't been worked right into the blade. Now, if you pick a blade with a little extra rust or other wear, give those spots a little more attention. Remember to switch out the sandpaper or keep an eye on your sandstone as you're using it because some of that grain's going to wear away and stop being as effective the more you use it. Repeat the same on the pommel and the hilt if you've got the chance, too.
"Remember, it's actual steel's natural propensity to rust; all it takes is water and oxygen and most worlds are chock full of those. So keep your blades shiny and strong is a battle that requires constant vigilance and dedication! Or, at the very least, five to ten minutes of your time every now and again. You can, also, use buffing wheels for this sort of thing, but you want to make sure the setting's low, especially if the steel has been tempered. Buffing wheels put out a lot of heat when they're rubbing all against that steel, and that'll make a difference. Heat always makes a difference. It's easy enough to do it by hand, after all, and much easier to ensure that the job's getting done right.
"Any questions? If not, I'll go ahead and let you guys give it a try with some of these swords here, and a few axes and daggers, too, if you want to practice on something a little different. As you can see, they weren't in the water long, but they've already got some rust settling in, but not enough that it can't be fixed up. It shouldn't take a whole lot of time to get used to, really, so I encourage you to give it a go on a few pieces to really get the hang of it. Now, I know it's not a very exciting class, and I hope to make it up to you if the island eventually decides to cooperate, but it's still a very important class, and that there's the take-away."
[[ OCD is...up! Have at it! ]]
Re: Class Activity - Blacksmithing, 05/23.
Because wasn't that exactly what she'd just done, at that?
Re: Class Activity - Blacksmithing, 05/23.
And glancing up at Amaya, and fidgeting for a second with the sandpaper.
"I'm sorry about the vampires. I was one of the people who took down the shield that was keeping them out."
And he couldn't unsee her rattling the bars of the jail, and he needed that off his chest if nothing else, and now he was holding his breath waiting to get booted from the classroom. Which would be fair.
Re: Class Activity - Blacksmithing, 05/23.
...a loooot had happened since then, Norman.
She shrugged a little. "No one to really blame for that except myself, really. Should have been paying more attention. If I hadn't been so distracted, I might have seen him coming, and if I saw him coming, maybe I'd have had a better chance to tell him what's what. Still got a few good punches in, though, I will say that."
She was still pretty proud of those punches, even if they didn't do her all that much good in the end.
Re: Class Activity - Blacksmithing, 05/23.
Norman couldn't help but smile a little at that. A wry one, sure, but at least it was something.
"A million what-ifs, huh?"
Yeah, he kinda knew the feeling.
"... For what it's worth, I'm glad it got fixed. You're one of the best teachers around here."
Re: Class Activity - Blacksmithing, 05/23.
And she'd actually be willing to consider that he meant it; he had the receopts to prove it.
Re: Class Activity - Blacksmithing, 05/23.
"There aren't many classes here that are actually going to be useful for me when I leave," he noted. "Yours always feel like they will be."
And for a kid who really had no marketable skills besides, that meant something.
Re: Class Activity - Blacksmithing, 05/23.
Re: Class Activity - Blacksmithing, 05/23.