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)
fandomhigh2021-05-14 05:28 am
special_rabbit) wrote in fandomhigh2021-05-14 05:28 am
Entry tags:
Blacksmithing Basics; Friday, Third Period [05/14].
"'Morning, everyone," Amaya said, nodding to the students as they gathered in the Forge, with a bit of a wry grin, because if the roster was anything to go by, this was going to be one interesting class!
She was just glad her stint at Turtle & Canary taught her a thing or two about solid insurance policies!
"Glad you found the place. If you haven't been here already, welcome to Blackstone Foundry and Forge, Fandom Island's very own traditional blacksmith shop. And I'm the blacksmith, Amaya Blackstone, which you all already knew. And some of you are already familiar with this whole set-up here, but, for the sake of those who are a little newer and for having all our ducks in a row, let me give you a little overview."
'Little.'
"Since I know you all, to varying degrees, I think we can skip the introductions, but if you want to take a moment or two to say hi to each other, please do so. And since this is a basics course, I'm going to assume we're all starting at the bottom and working our way up, so if you've already got some experience, just try and see this as a good way to brush up on the basics, because it never hurts to have a solid foundation!
"Now! As presumed beginners, you'll be working mostly with iron; it's a little more forgiving and easy to work with than steel, and we're not likely to make anything too fancy, like some of what you see on the wall there." Because of course she had to bring a little attention to the wall of weapons at the back of the shop. "And when it comes to any kind of smithing, there are basically three elements you'll need: something to heat the iron, something to pound on the iron, and something to pound the iron on. In a blacksmith shop, that's going to be your forge, your hammer, and your anvil. Luckily, we're a two-anvil shop here at Blackstone Foundry and Forge, which will make it easier for a few of us to work at once, but we'll have to take turns. It'll likely work out well, really, since there's only a handful of you, and you can still learn a lot just by watching other people.
"Let's start with the forge. I'd go so far as to say it's the most important part of all of this, since you're not likely to get much work done at all without a fire. Most forges are going to be made of brick or cast-iron. This one here's brick, built by my own two hands. And these are the bellows. Now, there's small bellows over here, those are the one's you'll likely use for your fire maintenence, but I've got the big one," the one suspended near the forge that literally needed a lever to work, "rigged up, because, well..it's just a lot of fun and is great for getting a really big fire going. And what you're doing with those is controling how much air flow is feeding into the fire to help make it larger or smaller. Air flow's important in a forge; in addition to the chimney here that helps keep this room from getting all filled up with smoke, we've also got a grate and a series of pipes underneath called a tuyere that vent air. Getting the right balance between air and fire is one of the key compotenants to master with your forge. We'll be working with a coal forge, too, which is the most common type of forge, even in these more modern times, and that's going to allow us to get a fire going up to about 2000 degree Fahrenheit or about 1100 degrees Celcius...give or take a few. So it's hot. Always wear your protective gloves and aprons when working at the forge and I recommend against any particularly loose fitting or flowing garments while you're here. Other than that, it's pretty self-explanatory. Fire hot, makes metal hot, when metal's hot, that's when you can shape it.
"And that," said Amaya, now turning toward a table where there were a scattering of tools, sets enough for everyone in the class, "is where the hammer comes in." She lifted hers, the handle obviously well worn from constant use and she grinned at it like an old friend. "Now, the shape of a hammer can play a lot into what you're making, I've got probably more different hammers and heads than you can count, but you really only need the one. You want it to be light enough for you that you can work with it in a steady manner, and that'll likely vary based on the smith. You'll be hard pressed to find a smith who's been working at their craft for a while that can't handle a heavy hammer, but there's nothing wrong with a lighter one if that suits you better. It's not the size of the hammer that matter, but rather how well you can use it."
...sorry, everyone. There were a lot of things that were going to come out of this woman's mouth that would be really, really wrong in any other context, and, no, not matter how many times it happened, she was probably never going to learn.
"That's it for the hammer, really, which leads us to the anvil. Now, an anvil in particular is not necessary for working metal. Some people can do some great work just using a hard surface that can take a beating, but if you've got a good anvil, all the better, and here we've got two! This part of the anvil here is the horn, and both of these are in a style where there's a table or step, that's this part here, and a few holes on the end, all of which come in handy when you're bending your metal in certain ways, usually to hold other various tools that'll shape hot iron...there's tools to cut iron, bend it, create a scroll...there's all sorts of things.
"Now that you've been introduced to the primary tools, I'm going to show you a few basic techniques that we'll be using. I've had a few pieces warming up in the fire, so go ahead and gather around the anvil and I'll show you as I explain. Best put on your workgloves, too, if you haven't, because I'll be passing around some hot metal so you can see the results of the technique. Just don't get your face too close, not unless you want a nice new blistering scar to show off to your friends."
She readjusted her grip on the hammer, pulled one of the metal rods out of the fire, and turned toward the anvil, laying it down. "Drawing is the first one," she said, and began to hammer, lifting her voice so it could rise up over the clattering hits, "which is hitting a piece of metal to make it longer and thinner, by hitting along the surface as you slowly draw it forward or back. The strike of the hammer pushes down the metal, flatting it while also pushing it out lengthwise, too. Do you see how it shifts a little with each hit? That's drawing it out. Any bakers among you? It's the same idea of rolling dough to make it thinner and longer, really."
Only more bad-ass. She held up rod for a moment for inspection, before passing it over to the nearest student for them to have a look. "Just set it on the other anvil when you're done, and take note of the bottom of the rod that was untouched, compared to the flatness of the drawn out one. And now," she went to retrieve the next rod, "we talk tapering. Tapering is when you hammer out the end of the metal to make a point. Very important when we're talking weapons. You just keep striking the end until it gets you to the pointed end you need. Sharpening comes later, so you shouldn't expect much in that respect...more like the tip of a freshly sharpened pencil."
And around went the tapered bit.
"Now, we get to bending, which is exactly what it sounds like. There are many different methods and tools for bending metal, as well as a lot of different uses for it, but I'm just going to show you a simple method right now, of using the edge of the horn of the anvil to strike the metal around the side to bend it. Just like that."
And now around went the bend!
"Upsetting is the next technique, and it's sort of the opposite of drawing. Upsetting is when you pound on the end of a piece of iron back on itself, to make it thicker and shorter. It's a little more difficult to get upsetting down, as it requires you to strike at a much smaller surface, usually at odd angles, but it's an important technique that can sometimes help you out if you've overdrawn or need to correct something or to make a wider base for a spike or leg."
Enjoy looking at a super hot railroad spike as she passed it around!
"Spreading is how you make the metal itself wider; if drawing is going along the length of the metal, then spreading is hammering down on the width of it. Essentially, what you should be picking up on by now is that, no matter what you want the metal to do, be it length or flatten or widen or bend, all you really have to do is figure out where to hit the metal to make it move that way. Sounds simple, right? It is...in concept. In practice, though, it definitely takes some doing to know exactly where and how hard to hit and how to move your piece as you work to ultimately get the intended results."
She then held out the bit of metal with the fanned-out end for them to see and set down the hammer, grinning a little at them. "There's many, many more techniques ahead to learn, but those are the basic ones that'll give you a good start. And I know that was a lot of talking, and, if any of you are like me, talking's not nearly as good for learning as actually doing is. So today, we're going to go ahead and have you get a little bit familiar with the basic elements, the forge, the hammer, and the anvil. To save time, I've got extra rods in the forge right now, so we'll take turns, and I want you each to spend a little time striking the rod and trying to get one of the techniques we discussed: give a try at drawing, tapering, bending, upsetting, or spreading. Your choice. And then we'll see how you did. Who'd like to go first?"
She was just glad her stint at Turtle & Canary taught her a thing or two about solid insurance policies!
"Glad you found the place. If you haven't been here already, welcome to Blackstone Foundry and Forge, Fandom Island's very own traditional blacksmith shop. And I'm the blacksmith, Amaya Blackstone, which you all already knew. And some of you are already familiar with this whole set-up here, but, for the sake of those who are a little newer and for having all our ducks in a row, let me give you a little overview."
'Little.'
"Since I know you all, to varying degrees, I think we can skip the introductions, but if you want to take a moment or two to say hi to each other, please do so. And since this is a basics course, I'm going to assume we're all starting at the bottom and working our way up, so if you've already got some experience, just try and see this as a good way to brush up on the basics, because it never hurts to have a solid foundation!
"Now! As presumed beginners, you'll be working mostly with iron; it's a little more forgiving and easy to work with than steel, and we're not likely to make anything too fancy, like some of what you see on the wall there." Because of course she had to bring a little attention to the wall of weapons at the back of the shop. "And when it comes to any kind of smithing, there are basically three elements you'll need: something to heat the iron, something to pound on the iron, and something to pound the iron on. In a blacksmith shop, that's going to be your forge, your hammer, and your anvil. Luckily, we're a two-anvil shop here at Blackstone Foundry and Forge, which will make it easier for a few of us to work at once, but we'll have to take turns. It'll likely work out well, really, since there's only a handful of you, and you can still learn a lot just by watching other people.
"Let's start with the forge. I'd go so far as to say it's the most important part of all of this, since you're not likely to get much work done at all without a fire. Most forges are going to be made of brick or cast-iron. This one here's brick, built by my own two hands. And these are the bellows. Now, there's small bellows over here, those are the one's you'll likely use for your fire maintenence, but I've got the big one," the one suspended near the forge that literally needed a lever to work, "rigged up, because, well..it's just a lot of fun and is great for getting a really big fire going. And what you're doing with those is controling how much air flow is feeding into the fire to help make it larger or smaller. Air flow's important in a forge; in addition to the chimney here that helps keep this room from getting all filled up with smoke, we've also got a grate and a series of pipes underneath called a tuyere that vent air. Getting the right balance between air and fire is one of the key compotenants to master with your forge. We'll be working with a coal forge, too, which is the most common type of forge, even in these more modern times, and that's going to allow us to get a fire going up to about 2000 degree Fahrenheit or about 1100 degrees Celcius...give or take a few. So it's hot. Always wear your protective gloves and aprons when working at the forge and I recommend against any particularly loose fitting or flowing garments while you're here. Other than that, it's pretty self-explanatory. Fire hot, makes metal hot, when metal's hot, that's when you can shape it.
"And that," said Amaya, now turning toward a table where there were a scattering of tools, sets enough for everyone in the class, "is where the hammer comes in." She lifted hers, the handle obviously well worn from constant use and she grinned at it like an old friend. "Now, the shape of a hammer can play a lot into what you're making, I've got probably more different hammers and heads than you can count, but you really only need the one. You want it to be light enough for you that you can work with it in a steady manner, and that'll likely vary based on the smith. You'll be hard pressed to find a smith who's been working at their craft for a while that can't handle a heavy hammer, but there's nothing wrong with a lighter one if that suits you better. It's not the size of the hammer that matter, but rather how well you can use it."
...sorry, everyone. There were a lot of things that were going to come out of this woman's mouth that would be really, really wrong in any other context, and, no, not matter how many times it happened, she was probably never going to learn.
"That's it for the hammer, really, which leads us to the anvil. Now, an anvil in particular is not necessary for working metal. Some people can do some great work just using a hard surface that can take a beating, but if you've got a good anvil, all the better, and here we've got two! This part of the anvil here is the horn, and both of these are in a style where there's a table or step, that's this part here, and a few holes on the end, all of which come in handy when you're bending your metal in certain ways, usually to hold other various tools that'll shape hot iron...there's tools to cut iron, bend it, create a scroll...there's all sorts of things.
"Now that you've been introduced to the primary tools, I'm going to show you a few basic techniques that we'll be using. I've had a few pieces warming up in the fire, so go ahead and gather around the anvil and I'll show you as I explain. Best put on your workgloves, too, if you haven't, because I'll be passing around some hot metal so you can see the results of the technique. Just don't get your face too close, not unless you want a nice new blistering scar to show off to your friends."
She readjusted her grip on the hammer, pulled one of the metal rods out of the fire, and turned toward the anvil, laying it down. "Drawing is the first one," she said, and began to hammer, lifting her voice so it could rise up over the clattering hits, "which is hitting a piece of metal to make it longer and thinner, by hitting along the surface as you slowly draw it forward or back. The strike of the hammer pushes down the metal, flatting it while also pushing it out lengthwise, too. Do you see how it shifts a little with each hit? That's drawing it out. Any bakers among you? It's the same idea of rolling dough to make it thinner and longer, really."
Only more bad-ass. She held up rod for a moment for inspection, before passing it over to the nearest student for them to have a look. "Just set it on the other anvil when you're done, and take note of the bottom of the rod that was untouched, compared to the flatness of the drawn out one. And now," she went to retrieve the next rod, "we talk tapering. Tapering is when you hammer out the end of the metal to make a point. Very important when we're talking weapons. You just keep striking the end until it gets you to the pointed end you need. Sharpening comes later, so you shouldn't expect much in that respect...more like the tip of a freshly sharpened pencil."
And around went the tapered bit.
"Now, we get to bending, which is exactly what it sounds like. There are many different methods and tools for bending metal, as well as a lot of different uses for it, but I'm just going to show you a simple method right now, of using the edge of the horn of the anvil to strike the metal around the side to bend it. Just like that."
And now around went the bend!
"Upsetting is the next technique, and it's sort of the opposite of drawing. Upsetting is when you pound on the end of a piece of iron back on itself, to make it thicker and shorter. It's a little more difficult to get upsetting down, as it requires you to strike at a much smaller surface, usually at odd angles, but it's an important technique that can sometimes help you out if you've overdrawn or need to correct something or to make a wider base for a spike or leg."
Enjoy looking at a super hot railroad spike as she passed it around!
"Spreading is how you make the metal itself wider; if drawing is going along the length of the metal, then spreading is hammering down on the width of it. Essentially, what you should be picking up on by now is that, no matter what you want the metal to do, be it length or flatten or widen or bend, all you really have to do is figure out where to hit the metal to make it move that way. Sounds simple, right? It is...in concept. In practice, though, it definitely takes some doing to know exactly where and how hard to hit and how to move your piece as you work to ultimately get the intended results."
She then held out the bit of metal with the fanned-out end for them to see and set down the hammer, grinning a little at them. "There's many, many more techniques ahead to learn, but those are the basic ones that'll give you a good start. And I know that was a lot of talking, and, if any of you are like me, talking's not nearly as good for learning as actually doing is. So today, we're going to go ahead and have you get a little bit familiar with the basic elements, the forge, the hammer, and the anvil. To save time, I've got extra rods in the forge right now, so we'll take turns, and I want you each to spend a little time striking the rod and trying to get one of the techniques we discussed: give a try at drawing, tapering, bending, upsetting, or spreading. Your choice. And then we'll see how you did. Who'd like to go first?"
Sign In - Blacksmithing Basics, 05/14.
Re: Sign In - Blacksmithing Basics, 05/14.
Re: Sign In - Blacksmithing Basics, 05/14.
Re: Sign In - Blacksmithing Basics, 05/14.
Listen to the Lecture - Blacksmith Basics, 05/14.
It's a good time to ask any questions, too, if you have 'em. There's definitely a lot she's squeezing into just the first day!
Re: Listen to the Lecture - Blacksmith Basics, 05/14.
Re: Listen to the Lecture - Blacksmith Basics, 05/14.
Including his own.
He did his best, but he definitely started spacing out after awhile.
Blacksmithing! - Blacksmithg Basics, 05/14.
Just please don't burn down Amaya's shop.
At least not on the first day.
Re: Blacksmithing! - Blacksmithg Basics, 05/14.
Re: Blacksmithing! - Blacksmithg Basics, 05/14.
"So," she said, tilting her head at the shapeless bit in Seivarden's hand curiously, "tell me more about this piece."
Because she couldn't for the life of her figure put exactly what she might have been going for.
Re: Blacksmithing! - Blacksmithg Basics, 05/14.
She almost succeeded in sounding confident.
Re: Blacksmithing! - Blacksmithg Basics, 05/14.
"Experimenting's good!" she added. "Especially when you first start out. You can go over the technicalities until the cows come home, but it's no match for what you learn by just hammering down on that anvil and seeing what comes out! A good blacksmith works by feel, by their guts! Instict!"
She gave an encouraging pump of her fist.
"Which one of the techniques did you feel came the easiest to you, Seivarden?"
Re: Blacksmithing! - Blacksmithg Basics, 05/14.
"The first one. Drawing. Although that's where it turned a bit shapeless."
She looked at the... thing again.
"Can you show me?"
Re: Blacksmithing! - Blacksmithg Basics, 05/14.
"Of course," Amaya nodded. "That's what I'm here for! The drawing? Or did you want me to go over a technique you had more trouble with?"
Re: Blacksmithing! - Blacksmithg Basics, 05/14.
No, she had no intention of becoming good at this, but Seivarden had realised she actually wanted to impress Amaya. Not with her actual work, of course, but with determination.
Re: Blacksmithing! - Blacksmithg Basics, 05/14.
The result: a slightly curved flat thing.
He was fairly proud of it.
Re: Blacksmithing! - Blacksmithg Basics, 05/14.
Amaya was still going to ask about it. It was kind of her job.
"So! What've we got here...Duke, right?"
Their interactions here seemed to come and go in spurts, so she was pretty sure in that (especially by process of illumination!) but it never hurt to make sure.
Re: Blacksmithing! - Blacksmithg Basics, 05/14.
Re: Blacksmithing! - Blacksmithg Basics, 05/14.
"Other than a pretty decent display of bending and spreading, anyway," she added, and it was a very good thing she was oblivious to what actual shop talk sounded like, but she had to give credit to the techniques on display here!
Re: Blacksmithing! - Blacksmithg Basics, 05/14.
Look. If there was one thing he could do, it was bullshit.
Re: Blacksmithing! - Blacksmithg Basics, 05/14.
Re: Blacksmithing! - Blacksmithg Basics, 05/14.
"Whoops!" she said, once she saw how things were going for him. "Looks like maybe you should try again, Beaker, only this time try hitting the metal, not your hand there...
"Excellent use of the spreading technique, though!" she added with enthusiasm.
Re: Blacksmithing! - Blacksmithg Basics, 05/14.
Talk to Amaya - Blacksmithing Basics, 05/14.
OOC - Blacksmithing Basics, 05/14.
Blah blah blah work related slowness.
Unless work is like it was yesterday and was bafflingly slow, although that did kind of work to my advantage XD