Amaya Blackstone (![[personal profile]](https://www.dreamwidth.org/img/silk/identity/user.png)
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fandomhigh2022-05-19 03:50 am
special_rabbit) wrote in fandomhigh2022-05-19 03:50 am
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Blacksmith Basics; Thursday, Second Period [05/19].
"Well, now!" It was a much more focus, far less yawny, almost bright eyed and bushy tailed Amaya that greeted the members of the class that managed to make it into the forge that day, in a rather sharp contrast to last week. They still had a lot to go over that day, and she was eager to get to it, so she wasn't going to waste any more time.
"Hopefully," she said, "you've all had a chance to actually rest up a bit since our last meeting, and, if not? Well, then, this time, at least, it's your own damn fault. Last week, we went over the basic tools, but I know it was a rough one for a lot of us, so if you want me to go over anything again, just let me know. Otherwise, we'll get right into the good stuff.
"We're going to start with a few basic techniques that we'll be using in the upcoming projects. I've had a few pieces already warming up for you 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 already, because I'll be passing around some hot metal so you can see the results of each technique. Just don't get your face too close, unless you're actually going for the whole 'maimed by fiery rod' look, it'd definitely be a choice."
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!
"And finally, we have spreading. 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 last bit of metal with the fanned-out end for them to see and set down the hammer, swiped the back of her wrist against her sweaty forehead, and grinned. "There's many, many more techniques ahead to learn, but those are the basic ones that'll give you a good start and provide a solid base for most of what you'd be doing at a blacksmith's forge. 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 give those techniques a try and you can see which ones feel more natural and which ones might take some doing. 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, if we have time, we can cycle through some of the others.
"Also," she added, "I noticed since last week, a few pieces have gone a bit...missing. Now, it's Fandom, so the fact that they actually could have just wandered off is perfectly possible, but if anyone," she emphasized the word heavily and surely it was pure coincidence that she was staring just as heavily at one particular student in an adventurer's cap when she said it, "knows anything about that...."
The pause was so long that one might have almost thought she'd finished the sentence early, but just as it started to get a bit odd, she concluded, "after class. In the meantime, this metal ain't going to draw, taper, bend, upset, or spread itself! Who'd like to go first?"
"Hopefully," she said, "you've all had a chance to actually rest up a bit since our last meeting, and, if not? Well, then, this time, at least, it's your own damn fault. Last week, we went over the basic tools, but I know it was a rough one for a lot of us, so if you want me to go over anything again, just let me know. Otherwise, we'll get right into the good stuff.
"We're going to start with a few basic techniques that we'll be using in the upcoming projects. I've had a few pieces already warming up for you 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 already, because I'll be passing around some hot metal so you can see the results of each technique. Just don't get your face too close, unless you're actually going for the whole 'maimed by fiery rod' look, it'd definitely be a choice."
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!
"And finally, we have spreading. 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 last bit of metal with the fanned-out end for them to see and set down the hammer, swiped the back of her wrist against her sweaty forehead, and grinned. "There's many, many more techniques ahead to learn, but those are the basic ones that'll give you a good start and provide a solid base for most of what you'd be doing at a blacksmith's forge. 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 give those techniques a try and you can see which ones feel more natural and which ones might take some doing. 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, if we have time, we can cycle through some of the others.
"Also," she added, "I noticed since last week, a few pieces have gone a bit...missing. Now, it's Fandom, so the fact that they actually could have just wandered off is perfectly possible, but if anyone," she emphasized the word heavily and surely it was pure coincidence that she was staring just as heavily at one particular student in an adventurer's cap when she said it, "knows anything about that...."
The pause was so long that one might have almost thought she'd finished the sentence early, but just as it started to get a bit odd, she concluded, "after class. In the meantime, this metal ain't going to draw, taper, bend, upset, or spread itself! Who'd like to go first?"
Re: Class Activity: Basic Techniques! - Blacksmithing Basics, 05/19.
Re: Class Activity: Basic Techniques! - Blacksmithing Basics, 05/19.
She held out a hand for the rod.
"Mind if I take a closer look?"
Re: Class Activity: Basic Techniques! - Blacksmithing Basics, 05/19.
"Bit like being at summer camp, this," Irene offered thoughtfully. "Though this is a sight better than making jewelry out of pasta or the like."
Re: Class Activity: Basic Techniques! - Blacksmithing Basics, 05/19.
She waggled the rod a little, and then, after a pause, seemed to hand it back with quite possibly as little care as possible, almost as if to balance out the caution taken when it had been handed to her.
"But that's a bit more advanced," she said, "and fussy. But that's good drawing work there, Irene. See if you can manage to get a nice taper out of it, too."
Re: Class Activity: Basic Techniques! - Blacksmithing Basics, 05/19.
A thin, bendy, tapered piece of metal? Why, Irene could think of dozens of uses for such a thing.