Cacstag - My Headspace

Hey! Are there blacksmiths in your story? I'm a hobbyist blacksmith and I'm here to help!

Blacksmithing is one of those things that a lot of people get wrong because they don't realize it stuck around past the advent of the assembly line. Here's a list of some common misconceptions I see and what to do instead!

Not all blacksmiths are gigantic terrifying muscly guys with beards and deep voices. I am 5'8, skinny as a twig, have the muscle mass of wet bread, and exist on Tumblr. Anybody who is strong enough to pick up a hammer and understands fire safety can be a blacksmith.

You can make more than just swords with blacksmithing. Though swords are undeniably practical, they're not the only things that can be made. I've made candle holders, wall hooks, kebab skewers, fire pokers, and more. Look up things other people have made, it's really amazing what can be done.

"Red-hot" is actually not that hot by blacksmith terms. when heated up, the metal goes from black, to red, to orange, to yellow, to white. (for temperature reference, I got a second degree burn from picking up a piece of metal on black heat) The ideal color to work with the metal is yellow. White is not ideal at all, because the metal starts sparking and gets all weird and lumpy when it cools. (At no point in this process does the metal get even close to melting. It gets soft enough to work with, but I have never once seen metal become a liquid.)

Blacksmithing takes fucking forever. Not even taking into account starting the forge, selecting and preparing metal, etc. etc. it takes me around an hour to make one (1) fancy skewer. The metals blacksmiths work with heat up and cool down incredibly fast. When the forge is going good, it only takes like 20 seconds to get your metal hot enough to work with, but it takes about the same time for it to cool down, sometimes even less.

As long as you are careful, it is actually stupidly easy to not get hurt while blacksmithing. When I picked up this hobby I was like "okay, cool! I'm gonna make stuff, and I'm gonna end up in the hospital at some point!" Thus far, the latter has yet to occur. I've been doing this for nearly a year. I have earned myself a new scar from the aforementioned second degree burn, and one singe mark on my jeans. I don't even wear gloves half the time. Literally just eye protection, common sense, and fast reflexes and you'll probably be fine. (Accidents still happen of course, but I have found adequate safety weirdly easy to achieve with this hobby)

A forge is not a fire. The forge is the thing blacksmiths put their metal in to heat it up. It starts as a small fire, usually with newspaper or something else that's relatively small and burns easily, which we then put in the forge itself, which is sort of a fireplace-esque thing (there's a lot of different types of forge, look into it and try to figure out what sort of forge would make the most sense for the context you're writing about) and we cover it with coal, which then catches fire and heats up. The forge gets really hot, and sometimes really bright. Sometimes when I stare at the forge for too long it's like staring into the sun. The forge is also not a waterfall of lava, Steven Universe. It doesn't work like that, Steven Universe.

Welding and blacksmithing are not the same thing. They often go hand-in-hand, but you cannot connected two pieces of metal with traditional blacksmithing alone. There is something called forge welding, where you heat your metal, sprinkle borax (or the in-universe equivalent) on it to prevent the metal from oxidizing/being non-weldable, and hammer the pieces together very quickly. Forge welding also sends sparks flying everywhere, and if you're working in a small space with other blacksmiths, you usually want to announce that you're welding before you do, so that everyone in a five-foot radius can get out of that five-foot radius. You also cannot just stuck some random pebbles into the forge and get a decent piece of metal that you can actually make something with, Steven Universe. It doesn't work like that, Steven Universe.

Anvils are really fucking heavy. Nothing else to add here.

Making jewelry is not a blacksmithing thing unless you want jewelry made of steel. And it will be very ugly if you try. Blacksmithing wasn't invented to make small things.

If there's anything here I didn't mention, just ask and I'll do my best to answer.

flying the original character artist flag with pride

Non-cutesy self-care tips

Have you been eating well? If not, eat a piece of fruit or a handful of nuts. You need vitamins and protein.

You’re probably not drinking enough water.

When is the last time you showered? Take a cold shower to wake you up or a hot shower if you need to relax.

Do the laundry that’s been piling up. You’ve been wearing that sweatshirt for too long.

Take care of the dishes in the sink that have been there for three days and have started to stress you out.

Did you brush your teeth this morning? How about your hair?

Listen to the messages on your phone that have been there for days.

Go outside for at least a couple of minutes. You don’t even have to do anything; just sit down. Breathe in the fresh air and get some vitamin D.

Open your blinds. Your room is too dark and it’s probably making you tired.

Spend some time with your pet. Pet them, feed them, take them for a walk or clean out their litter box. Caring for them will make you feel useful and responsible and give you something to do.

The self-care posts that tell you to take a bath and eat chocolate and read a book are good but do what needs to be done first. Eating chocolate when you haven’t showered in four days and you can’t remember when the last time you changed your underwear was won’t make you feel better. It will probably make you feel worse. Clean yourself up; clean your surroundings up. Then take care of the little things. Tackle life one thing at a time.

All ill say if the us supreme court decides to turn over the indian child welfare act and i don't see white people talking about it, especially white lgbt people, i will be pissed

i have no object permanence about myself. if i’m not in anyones eye sight i assume i have ceased to be. finding out people remember i exist, think about me, and even talk about me when i’m not actively in front of them is startling news every time it is brought to my attention

Viktor: Little one, give me something blunt.

Ivy: You have a hard time letting people in AND trusting individuals.

Viktor: ...I meant a weapon.

Gonna be participating in the #cotltober thingy this year - I plan on only doing one or two prompts a week though, too busy to fully commit lol

I love deepnest's aesthetic and enemy design however despise visiting it in game - this is a background for a silly little thingy I'm working on!

Shhh theyre reading manga in the teen section