Amaya Blackstone (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
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fandomhigh2022-05-12 03:29 am
special_rabbit) wrote in fandomhigh2022-05-12 03:29 am
Entry tags:
Blacksmith Basics; Thursday, Second Period [05/12].
"'Morning, every--" Amaya started her greeting, pretty standard, with a wave of her hand, but that hand soon curled up into a fist by her mouth to poorly cover the long yawn that interrupted her. The very long yawn that lasted probably a good minute before she finally managed to shake it off and blink a little wearily. "Oh! Forgive me. This week's been...a little rough..."
You'd think even spending a Handwavey Day at some big amusement part would have helped her finally get some shut-eye around here, but all it did was make her more tired and exhausted on top of it. But the class must go on, and so she was determined (even as another, this time smaller yawn snuck in between sentences) to continue.
"Anyway," she nodded, "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 some of you already know. And I hope you all know that you're hear to learn about blacksmithing. There's a lot of ground to cover there, so..."
She trailed off again, fighting another yawn; this time, she was able to claim victory over it, and, breathing out, continued. "Let's get right to it."
"Since this is a basics course," Amaya continued, "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 fundamentals, 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:"
The three elements would have to wait a moment, for another yawn, but, boy, she was still going to trudge right along.
"...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," her thumb quirked toward the forge dominating one side of the shop, "your hammer," a lift of said hammer, "and your anvil." A gestured toward the anvils she was standing between. "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..." A deep breath, blinking eyes; you're not coming out this time, yawn!, "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 maintenance, 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 controlling 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 components 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...always!...wear your protective gloves and aprons when working at the forge and I recommend against any particularly loose fitting or flowing, or particularly fancy, a-hem, "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 mouth was shaping another yawn, and she was starting to wonder if even she was starting to get bored with her usual blacksmithing schpiel. She almost hoped so; maybe then, he could finally get some sleep!
"And that," Amaya trudged forward, one more yawn sneaking in there, a shake of her head, and a return to a bleary focus. She turned 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 again, the handle obviously well worn from constant use and she grinned (sleepily) 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. Not even in present company. But especially not when sleep deprived.
"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! Not," her voice went a little grumbly here, sigh a sigh, the exhaustion in her leaving her a bit less capable of keeping it back, "that we really need two these days, but!"
There was a pause, as if Amaya had lost her train of thought. She shook her head agian.
"It's, uh, useful for these classes, that's for sure. Anyway," her description seemed to falter a little into a sort of rote and reciting tone, "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, do a..."
Okay, she was really starting to lose that momentum from the start of the lecture now. "Um, there's all sorts of things. And that...that's the forge for you, and the three basic elements we'll be needing in this class: forge, hammer, anvil."
She pauses again, her brow furrowed a little as if she was trying to mull over a decision, and then sighed. "And normally," she said, "I would continue on this lesson to show you all a few of the basic techniques, but I've got to be honest with you, I am beat. I haven't been sleeping well lately, and I've got a lot--" She cut off as if she realized that her mouth was sort of moving with words that she didn't really mean to be letting out. "Usually, I'm a big fan of soldiering through anything, but a half-hearted lesson's not going to do you all any favors. So we'll save all that stuff for next week, and this week, well...you guys can just get to know the place a little better. Give the bellows a try and see how it changed the fire. Give the different hammers a try and see which one feels right. If you're really ambitious, I can heat a few bars and you can just sort of whale on them to get a feel for it if you like, too...."
She sounded a little less enthusiastic about that option, because the idea of pounding metal right now actually did not sound appealling at this particular point in time.
"Or just look around the shop, ask me any questions if you've got them, or get to know each other a little better. We'll be working pretty closely together these next few weeks, so it'll definitely be a benefit if you can get..." Her breath sucked in as she tried to hold back yet another yawn. "...if you can get..." She was holding it, fighting it, struggling against it. "...if you get..."
Aaaaaand she lost, a yawn even bigger and more dramatic than the first one wringing itself out of her and ending with a big sound and tired, so very tied, sigh, and a shake of her head.
"I should have made more coffee," she muttered, not nearly as much to herself as she thought she had.
But...the Forge was yours, students! Please don't fall asleep holding onto any incredibly hot bits of metal.
You'd think even spending a Handwavey Day at some big amusement part would have helped her finally get some shut-eye around here, but all it did was make her more tired and exhausted on top of it. But the class must go on, and so she was determined (even as another, this time smaller yawn snuck in between sentences) to continue.
"Anyway," she nodded, "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 some of you already know. And I hope you all know that you're hear to learn about blacksmithing. There's a lot of ground to cover there, so..."
She trailed off again, fighting another yawn; this time, she was able to claim victory over it, and, breathing out, continued. "Let's get right to it."
"Since this is a basics course," Amaya continued, "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 fundamentals, 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:"
The three elements would have to wait a moment, for another yawn, but, boy, she was still going to trudge right along.
"...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," her thumb quirked toward the forge dominating one side of the shop, "your hammer," a lift of said hammer, "and your anvil." A gestured toward the anvils she was standing between. "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..." A deep breath, blinking eyes; you're not coming out this time, yawn!, "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 maintenance, 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 controlling 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 components 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...always!...wear your protective gloves and aprons when working at the forge and I recommend against any particularly loose fitting or flowing, or particularly fancy, a-hem, "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 mouth was shaping another yawn, and she was starting to wonder if even she was starting to get bored with her usual blacksmithing schpiel. She almost hoped so; maybe then, he could finally get some sleep!
"And that," Amaya trudged forward, one more yawn sneaking in there, a shake of her head, and a return to a bleary focus. She turned 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 again, the handle obviously well worn from constant use and she grinned (sleepily) 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. Not even in present company. But especially not when sleep deprived.
"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! Not," her voice went a little grumbly here, sigh a sigh, the exhaustion in her leaving her a bit less capable of keeping it back, "that we really need two these days, but!"
There was a pause, as if Amaya had lost her train of thought. She shook her head agian.
"It's, uh, useful for these classes, that's for sure. Anyway," her description seemed to falter a little into a sort of rote and reciting tone, "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, do a..."
Okay, she was really starting to lose that momentum from the start of the lecture now. "Um, there's all sorts of things. And that...that's the forge for you, and the three basic elements we'll be needing in this class: forge, hammer, anvil."
She pauses again, her brow furrowed a little as if she was trying to mull over a decision, and then sighed. "And normally," she said, "I would continue on this lesson to show you all a few of the basic techniques, but I've got to be honest with you, I am beat. I haven't been sleeping well lately, and I've got a lot--" She cut off as if she realized that her mouth was sort of moving with words that she didn't really mean to be letting out. "Usually, I'm a big fan of soldiering through anything, but a half-hearted lesson's not going to do you all any favors. So we'll save all that stuff for next week, and this week, well...you guys can just get to know the place a little better. Give the bellows a try and see how it changed the fire. Give the different hammers a try and see which one feels right. If you're really ambitious, I can heat a few bars and you can just sort of whale on them to get a feel for it if you like, too...."
She sounded a little less enthusiastic about that option, because the idea of pounding metal right now actually did not sound appealling at this particular point in time.
"Or just look around the shop, ask me any questions if you've got them, or get to know each other a little better. We'll be working pretty closely together these next few weeks, so it'll definitely be a benefit if you can get..." Her breath sucked in as she tried to hold back yet another yawn. "...if you can get..." She was holding it, fighting it, struggling against it. "...if you get..."
Aaaaaand she lost, a yawn even bigger and more dramatic than the first one wringing itself out of her and ending with a big sound and tired, so very tied, sigh, and a shake of her head.
"I should have made more coffee," she muttered, not nearly as much to herself as she thought she had.
But...the Forge was yours, students! Please don't fall asleep holding onto any incredibly hot bits of metal.
Get to know the shop! - Blacksmithing Basics, 05/12.
Don't worry. She wouldn't have.
Re: Get to know the shop! - Blacksmithing Basics, 05/12.
And then he let out a big, exhausted sort of yawn, sheepishly covering his mouth and giving an apologetic smile toward the teacher. But picking out a hammer when you were sleep deprived was pretty hard work!
Re: Get to know the shop! - Blacksmithing Basics, 05/12.
Maybe he should have had more coffee. Maybe he would get more after this. It probably wouldn't hurt. Well, it might. But so would the continued lack of sleep. He was going to be a mess either way.