Solo [ED]A Return a Repair Part III

[Crylon Stonecraft]

10 Fall 520 Continued With Jackson's directions Crylon soon worked through the first blade and had it sharpened like new. As he worked he was mostly following directions, but he was still doing the physical work of it. Which slowly made Crylon feel like he was better getting the knack of the task. He also was paying attention to what Jackson said and when, reasoning out why he said it and why what he was doing was proper rather than blindly following the orders. Which, Crylon hoped, meant eventually he would be able to do such himself. With that down Crylon set the first knife aside, taking the next one Jackson offered. One by one they worked through the knives, sharpening them each in turn. Crylon knew the man could have done it faster himself, but did not seem to begrudge the extra time to instruct Crylon in the craft. Turn this way. No not that much. A bit like this. Angle it as so... And then when its there do that... A bit faster keep up the speed. Almost. Careful, not too deep or you'll need to grind down a new layer. Watch that bit there. Over a bit. That blade there has... And over to the side... Knives seemed a bit easier than some weapons, or so Crylon felt. For one they only had one edge, rather than being dual edged like a sword or even a dagger. They were also using the reductive method, which meant simply grinding down to sharpen rather than the other more complex methods with swords to reforge and repair. Of course either of them could use their mark to imbue the item in question which would mean little or no repair work from normal use. But then, that would be as Crylon felt overkill. Some things needed to be as good as possible. A better weapon could mean life or death in combat, the difference between living to use something again or dying and being cut down... Whereas a knife just had to cut a carrot, and carrots did not cut back. One only had to be able to cut a carrot so well, having a better carrot cutter did not do much to improve cooking. Such was Crylon's reasoning on why it did not make sense to Izentor all of the knives. Careful there... Work the blade at that angle. Over that way... For Crylon it was a series of small motions. Tilting his hands and arms like so. Grinding like so. Getting the angles and things down and the proper method of doing things. One by one improving and getting better at the task of grinding and sharpening a knife. Not admittedly everything he needed to know, but enough. Enough perhaps to pass on to other more complex things that took more skill and finesse. And, Crylon reminded himself as he grinded another knife on the stone, one started with the floors. One did not put up ceilings and roofs before they put down floors. Floors, then walls or supports, then roofs. Each in their own turn rather than all at once or out of order. Each in turn, Crylon thought to himself as he worked through the knives with Jackson. WC: 537

[Crylon Stonecraft]

Once all of the knives that needed sharpening were done Crylon rose from the grindstone and turned back to Jackson. Last on their list was to finish the knife with the dent. It could not simply be ground down, but needed to be repaired first. "Alright, so this last one we could go about it a few ways. Honestly though with this I think reforging that bit might be the simplest method. Just bear in mind if not done well and you only reforge one tiny bit, it could damage the overall weapon. Less of an issue with a knife, but something to keep in mind. With a sword say you might be better off starting over and reforging the entire thing, depending on how damaged it is. This little bit though maybe not, you won't know until you try the lesser method and see if it works, and then pass on to another method." Crylon nodded, understanding his meaning. One tried the simplest method to fix things, and if that worked you were done. If it did not work, or did not work well enough, then you passed on to the next more extreme method. And then the next, and so on, until you got to the most extreme. With a metal item that would be basically reforging and remaking the entire thing, a lengthy process not much easier than just making a new item from scratch. A bit easier, but not much easier. Returning to the forge Crylon spent a bit of time watching the flames, checking its levels and making sure it was ready to have metal added in. After adding in some air to increase the heat and adding in some fresh wood Crylon watched for Jackson's direction and with a nod added the weapon in. As before when welding the metal for the ring Crylon focused on only heating up the small portion he needed. And so he focused on getting that part into the hottest part of the fire, and keeping the rest out of the fire if possible and if not in to the cooler parts. Cooler being a relative term when dealing with fire, as some parts were much hotter and other parts not so much. For awhile Crylon and Jackson stood in silence, both watching the fire. Neither felt the need to break the silence with chitchat or such, as they both saw the task at hand needing doing and were working to accomplish it. Jackson stirred before Crylon did, motioning at the fire. Crylon reached in with a hand to feel the metal and nodded as he confirmed it was heated well, taking the item out. Placing it on the anvil Crylon took a moment to look it over and check to see how the heat had affected it before taking out a hammer. Using his left hand to hold and position the heated metal Crylon measured the distance and impact needed and began to move. A heavy and solid strike but without undue force as he only wanted to reshape it a bit not make an entirely new weapon and pound it out flat from a thick wedge of steel. WC: 531

[Crylon Stonecraft]

The first blow aimed at the chink in the metal worked to spread it back out. Crylon understood that the metal had not been removed, simply bent and pressed inward. And so that area and the area around it that it had been pressed into needed to be pushed back out and into the proper shape to make it regain its intended form. With pressure and blows aimed well it could be spread back out and pushed back into the proper form he desired. In his mind Crylon mentally pictured the final product, a fixed and repaired knife. Then he worked out the plan of attack to take that image and make it a reality from the current form of the knife. Step by step, until the two merged. First he aimed a blow to spread back out the metal, flattening and making it misshaped. But pushing it out from where it had been compressed. Then he made some smaller taps, taking the flattened metal and working it back into a more proper shape. First on one side, then the other, coaxing it back and forth like a rower in a boat stroking on one side and then the other. Jackson spoke a bit in the background, giving some direction once he got closer to the final product. "Still uneven, you'll need to move that bit there so you end up with a uniform blade. Not quite straight, try right... No not there, right there.... Now flatten it a bit more here... Right, now work on the edge this way..." Crylon nodded and followed along, taking his direction but as with before reasoning out the directions and why they were given. He felt this was important in learning to do it himself, to understand the whys not just the whats. The more he learned the broader he felt his understanding would become, and the more easily he would be able to understand and work in new settings not exactly these. A good thing since a knife was only one version of a blade and a simple one, while there were many other forms of the item. Working the hot metal some more he pounded a few more times before finding it had cooled to much. With that the edge of the blade was back in the flame with a few motions, and more waiting followed for the blade to heat properly. Once more the two watched the flames and colors and considered the metal, waiting for the right time to pull it out. Once it had been in a proper amount of time by Crylon's reckoning he reached in and touched the metal that was heated, nodding and pulling it out when he felt it was right. This time, Crylon reminded himself, before Jackson had caught it. Or perhaps the man had simply noticed it was time and had given Crylon the opportunity to react first. Whichever the reason was Crylon had been first to react and felt he was learning, even if only slowly, a bit at a time. WC: 510

[Crylon Stonecraft]

Pulling out the heated metal Crylon continued his work, making some lighter taps of the hammer to finish the last bits of straightening on the blade. Once he felt he was done he waited for Jackson to comment, and also spent some tying moving his head and inspecting the blade from various angles. As Jackson did not comment and he found nothing at issue he took up the blade and set it in water to cool. This took a bit of time during which Crylon rested. Taking a sip of water, sitting for a few chimes, and stretching his muscles. Jackson moved about doing some small tasks, tidying up some bits here and there, sorting some of the finished items, picking up the ring Crylon had worked earlier and setting it aside. After a time the two returned to the current task and Crylon retrieved the knife from the water it had cooled in. As before the first step was to remove the scaling and burs, taking out the wire brush. The scaling was easiest to remove, coming off with some effort and brushing. Burs were more trouble, though considering that before they had begun there had been a large dent or chink in the metal this seemed an improvement. More scrubbing and brushing saw the last of the scaling off. Next Crylon took up a file and began to work on the trouble spots. A small stubborn bur here. And there. Over on the other side. Where the metal had met and cooled and poked out he rubbed there... Each one had to be filed down in turn, as Crylon turned the weapon over and inspected it bit by bit. This was one of the trickier parts and not one he planned to do poorly. Instead he slowly and methodically worked along the blade in bits, inspecting each patch for any problems and filing them down if he found them. Then passing on to the next spot and so on till the entire knife had been covered twice. Checking one last time he did a third run and found nothing, and so set the tool aside. Jackson smiled at Crylon, taking the knife as the Isur offered it. Jackson checked it over as well for a bit before handing it back, motioning then at the grindstone. "Okay, I think you have the metal worked back into shape, and flattened back out. And all of the burs are gone. All that is left now to finish the blade for use is to grind it back down. Go ahead." With that Crylon took the offered blade and sat back at the grindstone. Working his foot he spent a bit getting it moving, before finally placing the blade down on its surface and beginning the last step of their work. Sharpening. WC: 469

[Crylon Stonecraft]

With all of the rest of the tasks done, Crylon let his mind hone in on the one left and willed himself into that one thing. He did not multitask, did not spread himself out, instead focusing in on the one thing he was doing and closing himself off to all else. Jackson quietly spoke in the background, giving small tips and prods which Crylon followed, absorbing it in with the other things a part of the task but ignoring all else. His world was but the grindstone he worked, the blade in his hand, his arms working the task, his foot pumping the pedal to keep the stone rolling, and a voice behind him helping to guide. Turning the blade Crylon got it against the stone and felt the rasp as it began to grind. First on one side, keep slow and steady strokes while making sure to be even, moving slowly in bits along the blade. A gentle curve was its form, and he swept along its arch. He still kept the final items form in his mind, willing the blade in his hand to turn into it, and more than just willing but acting in such a way to make that a reality. In some ways, a sudden thought in his mind, crafting reminded Crylon of magic. Of working ones internal djed and making something happen. It was the same, pressing ones intent upon the world to make a change happen. The only difference here was a mundane substance being changed by mundane means, whereas with magic it was a more magical change. But otherwise it was the same. That was, Crylon reasoned, all magic was. Crylon kept at his work, grinding along the blade edge until he had worked his way down an entire side. With that down he turned back to the other side and began to work his way up and along it. Slowly, bit by bit, he shaped the blade into something that would cut and carve, renewing the intent imbued into the tool to express its ability. It was a item made for the express intent of cutting, chopping, of being sharp. By being damaged it lost its path, moved away from that ideal. That intent. And now he helped it be returned to its intent, its path. Slowly, steadily, the grind of metal on stone and sweeping motions. An inch, two, moving along bit by bit on the edge. Turning a bit as Jackson directed, subsumed in the task and unaware of time or anything else outside of what was needed to fulfill it. Finally the last stroke was made, and Crylon felt the rightness of the blade. Pulling the blade back he checked it on one side, then the other, inspecting it in depth. Letting the stone slow and stop he stood up, handing it back to Jackson. The smith looked it over, appraising it as only another smith could. He checked it one way, then the other, before finally smiling at nodding at Crylon. No further words needed to be spoken, as Crylon knew their task was done. An unspoken understanding between two people bonded in their task and trade. Anything else said would have been nothing but idle chattering. WC: 541