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)
fandomhigh2021-06-11 06:17 am
special_rabbit) wrote in fandomhigh2021-06-11 06:17 am
Entry tags:
Blacksmithing Basics; Friday, Third Period [06/11].
"Morning, everyone," Amaya greeted the class with a nod and a readying pound of her fist into her palm to indicate that they'd be getting right into things. "At this point, we should all have knives that actually resemble knives, and, with a little more sharpening, will probably work like knives, too, but we're not quite finished yet. Not unless you want a knife that's going to be less than pleasant to use by having a bare tang. Which is why today, we're going to be working on making some nice handles for our knives!
"Well," Amaya flashed them a faint grin, "to get started on the handles, anyway."
It was a process!
"So! For the sake of the class and the beginner's nature of the whole thing, we're going to keep it very simple and work with wood. I've got a few types here for you to choose from, all of it either hardwood or what's called stablized wood, which is wood that has been dried and hardened with a variety of chemicals. If you need help choosing, I can break down the benefits of the different types we have here, but they're all good choices, and,a t this point, it'll mostly be about aethetics more than anything else.
"Once you've picked out your wood, we'll get started! First thing you'll want to do, obviously, is measure out what you'll need against the tang--remember, that's the term for the handle part!--of your knife..." So Amaya broke down all the dimensions and cutting they'd need to take at first...and then the measuring and cutting they'd need to do after that...and then the measuring and cutting they'd have to do after that, until they had a nice block of wood that had plenty of room still to work with that would match the tang nicely.
"Once you're at that point, you'll be boring some holes into your wood to create a nice little niche for the tang to fit into. Of course, with the drill," all hand, by the way, no power tools in this workshop!, "you're going to create a circular hole, but you've got a rectangular tang, so with the help of a nice serrated broach to carve out our space. And this is the part where you have to be carefully, because it's a lot of work, but you've got to get it just right, and if you don't? Well! Back to the woodblocks, and it's a good thing we've got a lot of 'em, because it definitely does take some doing!
"Once you actually do have a good fit," Amaya said, reaching for one she prepared earlier so that they wouldn't all be waiting on her drilling and carving, "you'll have this," she held up the dagger blade stuck into the large block of wood, "ridiculous looking thing. Obviously, a lot of this is going to be cut away to make for a more reasonable handle. Which hopefully we'll get to before we leave today, depending on how well you all manage your holes. I'll definitely check your fit before we continue with that part, though, and then we'll go over how to check exactly where we'll need to carve, and then we'll get to cutting! And that should bring us to the end of our day and we can get to fancying it up next week.
"Any questions or anything to go over before I let you all get started on your handles?"
"Well," Amaya flashed them a faint grin, "to get started on the handles, anyway."
It was a process!
"So! For the sake of the class and the beginner's nature of the whole thing, we're going to keep it very simple and work with wood. I've got a few types here for you to choose from, all of it either hardwood or what's called stablized wood, which is wood that has been dried and hardened with a variety of chemicals. If you need help choosing, I can break down the benefits of the different types we have here, but they're all good choices, and,a t this point, it'll mostly be about aethetics more than anything else.
"Once you've picked out your wood, we'll get started! First thing you'll want to do, obviously, is measure out what you'll need against the tang--remember, that's the term for the handle part!--of your knife..." So Amaya broke down all the dimensions and cutting they'd need to take at first...and then the measuring and cutting they'd need to do after that...and then the measuring and cutting they'd have to do after that, until they had a nice block of wood that had plenty of room still to work with that would match the tang nicely.
"Once you're at that point, you'll be boring some holes into your wood to create a nice little niche for the tang to fit into. Of course, with the drill," all hand, by the way, no power tools in this workshop!, "you're going to create a circular hole, but you've got a rectangular tang, so with the help of a nice serrated broach to carve out our space. And this is the part where you have to be carefully, because it's a lot of work, but you've got to get it just right, and if you don't? Well! Back to the woodblocks, and it's a good thing we've got a lot of 'em, because it definitely does take some doing!
"Once you actually do have a good fit," Amaya said, reaching for one she prepared earlier so that they wouldn't all be waiting on her drilling and carving, "you'll have this," she held up the dagger blade stuck into the large block of wood, "ridiculous looking thing. Obviously, a lot of this is going to be cut away to make for a more reasonable handle. Which hopefully we'll get to before we leave today, depending on how well you all manage your holes. I'll definitely check your fit before we continue with that part, though, and then we'll go over how to check exactly where we'll need to carve, and then we'll get to cutting! And that should bring us to the end of our day and we can get to fancying it up next week.
"Any questions or anything to go over before I let you all get started on your handles?"
Sign In - Blacksmithing Basics, 06/11.
Re: Sign In - Blacksmithing Basics, 06/11.
Re: Sign In - Blacksmithing Basics, 06/11.
Re: Sign In - Blacksmithing Basics, 06/11.
Listen to the Lecture - Blacksmithing Basics, 06/11.
Work on your Handles - Blacksmithing Basics, 06/11.
And then measure and cut some more!
A little more now, and when that's all done...it's time to drill and carve, and if you mess it up, you get to start all over again!
And even though they're clearly not even going to be using the forge today, Amaya still had it lit and fired up because it's not real blacksmithing unless you're sweating an unbearable amount from the sheer work of it all plus the heat of a nice roaring forge!
Talk to Amaya - Blacksmithing Basics, 06/11.
OOC - Blacksmithing Basics, 06/11.