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)
fandomhigh2019-06-06 04:54 am
special_rabbit) wrote in fandomhigh2019-06-06 04:54 am
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Blacksmithing Basics - Thursday, First Period [06/06].
"Morning, class!" Amaya greeted her bold little blacksmithing bunch with the sort of good cheer you'd expect from a woman who was just all too pleased to have her shop back to normal again, with perhaps the faint hint of a desperate plea buried deep in there somewhere for it to just stay that way. It was almost a shame, really, that today's class wouldn't even be using the forge, but it was an important step that couldn't be skipped or glossed over, so it was what it was.
And she'd just keep her fingers crossed for next week.
"Now that we've got our basic knife shapes hammered out, 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 it, "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?"
She took a moment then to introduce the students to a few different kinds of files and made her recommendations for which one they consider using, 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 so they can do the best job they could. "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, 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 yeild different results, and just pointing out how the metal changed as she worked.
"Now, 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. 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 let's get to it. We'll want these all nicely filed up and shaped out for the next step for the next class."
Assuming, of course, they could have a class next week...
[[ocd is up!]]
And she'd just keep her fingers crossed for next week.
"Now that we've got our basic knife shapes hammered out, 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 it, "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?"
She took a moment then to introduce the students to a few different kinds of files and made her recommendations for which one they consider using, 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 so they can do the best job they could. "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, 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 yeild different results, and just pointing out how the metal changed as she worked.
"Now, 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. 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 let's get to it. We'll want these all nicely filed up and shaped out for the next step for the next class."
Assuming, of course, they could have a class next week...
[[ocd is up!]]