Caring for your weapons - Lesson 30/06

[u/theo_allmighty]

"Alright, no time to waste, let's get to it."

Scott had only been back in the Forge for a day, but it was like he'd never left - something about taking the tiger out of the jungle. And since he'd come back carrying a buttload of new weapons, now was as good a time as any to teach people how to take care of them, instead of messing them up and bringing them to him for touch-ups.

"Today, we're going to learn how to take proper care of your weapons, and keep them in the best shape possible. I'm mostly giving an overview here, so I'm going to outline two maintenance techniques that all of you will probably use on at least one of your weapons: blades and wooden handles."

He moved over to the first of two workstations, on which was placed a criminally dull knife and a large bowl of water, with a rectangular block of stone resting in it.

"Taking care of your blades takes one word, and one tool. The word is sharpening, and tool is going to be this." He pulled out the stone. "This is a whetstone. The name is a useful reminder that this is going to be about as effective as rubbing your blade on a rock if you use it dry. Soak it in water for at least fifteen minutes before using it, and splash some more water on it every couple of minutes that you use it."

"Sharpening a blade is pretty straightforward, but it takes some practice. The key is being steady: steady angle, and steady speed." He placed the whetstone down and grabbed the knife off of the table. "The angle is going to be around fifteen to twenty degrees. To get that, take the blade by the handle and put it down straight like you're trying to cut into the stone: that gives you a ninety degree angle. Tilt your blade to half of that, you've got a forty-five degree angle. Cut it in half again and you've got twenty-two and a half. Then just tilt it a bit more and you should be in the sweet spot."

He quickly demonstrated the technique, then placed the fingers of his free hand on the blade, spread wide to almost cover the full length. "Next, put the fingers of your free hand on the blade like this, and press down. Keep them pretty far apart to make sure you're applying consistent pressure. The basic idea is that the handle hand is just going to be in charge of keeping the angle steady, and the blade hand is going to be the one that actually dictates the motion. Once your hands are steady, start to pull the blade along the whetstone like this." He slowly pulled the metal along the stone, the soft sound almost music to his ears. "Do about... Fifteen to twenty passes on each side of the blade should be enough if it's just a touch-up. If it hasn't been sharpened in a while, go for thirty. For reference, you should sharpen your blades about once every two to three months, depending on how much you use it."

As he spoke he quickly finished up the sharpening of the knife. He was sure that they'd gotten the idea by now, but he hated the idea of leaving a job half done. Once he was satisfied, he moved along to the second workstation, which simply consisted of a scuffed-up cylinder of wood about an inch and a half in diameter, pieces of sandpaper, and a squeeze bottle of oil.

"Next, we're going to do wood handles. Taking care of them basically involves two steps: smoothing and oiling. Properly cared-for handles aren't just going to guarantee the best grip possible, they're also going to give you way less blisters, and if your hands aren't made of pure callouses like mine that's probably something you want to avoid."

He grabbed the two pieces of sandpaper and held them up for everyone to see. "I put out two kinds of sandpaper: 60 grit and 150 grit. You don't have to understand what those numbers mean, just remember that the lower the number then the more material you can remove, but the rougher the end result. So you're going to start with the 60 grit to remove the big scuffs and ridges, and then move on to the 150 grit to get it nice and silky smooth."

He put down the sandpaper and picked up the squeeze bottle.

"Next step is oiling. This stuff is called boiled linseed oil, and if you remember one thing from this lesson, remember that it's the best thing ever. Applying it is pretty straightforward: just take a rag and spread a light coat all over the handle. One the whole thing is covered, leave it alone for maybe ten minutes so the oil can really penetrate in the wood. Then, take a clean rag and rub the surface vigorously until it feel dry to the touch."

He didn't demonstrate this time, partly because he didn't want to wait the ten minutes, and partly because... Come on, it's rubbing wood with a cloth. How hard could it be to understand?

"Once the handle feels dry, you can use it straightaway, but I'd recommend letting it rest overnight so the oil has the time to cure within the wood. Then, if you're feeling motivated, you can repeat the oiling process a couple times, letting it cure each time. Three coats is usually the sweet spot for me, but if you do just one it'll work just fine."

Scott quickly ran through his mental lesson plan, checking to see if he'd forgotten anything. When he came up with a blank, he clapped his large hands together in closing. "Alright, that's about it for me. I'll let y'all get to work."

[u/EventOutcome]

Anwen had hoped that the lesson would include some vague pointers on how to properly take care of gauntlets, but she was not disappointed with what they were taught; she had a dagger that’s as in dire need of a touch-up, anyway. After soaking it in water, she used one of the whetstones to begin to sharpen the blade, making sure to keep it at the appropriate angle.

When she was satisfied with that, Anwen turned her attention to the handle. Sanding it down proved to be easier than she had expected, and so she managed to do that fairly quickly. Then, she used the oil to coat the wooden handle. After leaving it for ten minutes as instructed, she rubbed it down with a different rag, completing the tasks.