[TheForge] blacksmith's boot dance

[peter fels]

This is an old article i wrote for the CBA many years ago


        
                  Blacksmith's Boot Dance
        
               An advisory for the B. S.ing tenderfoot
        
        
        
             Surprisingly. your slake tub needs to be large enough to 
        
        accommodate your entire boot. Space for two boots is seldom 
        
        necessary. Be thankful.
        
             You will realize the wisdom of this the first time some 
        
        lonely chunk of hot iron nuzzles its warm way down that little 
        
        gap in your boot top.  
        






             So as to save the beginner some very important seconds 
        
        trying to figure out what to do when there is a sizzling siren 
        
        going off in their footware; the inquiring tenderfoot is urgently 
        
        and rightly advised......
        
              Plunge the Whole Smoking Boot (be it right or left, his or 
        
        hers) Unhesitatingly Into the Quench Tank! 
        
             There is No suitable means of getting that boot off fast 
        
        enough! Do not even consider hesitating !  Plunk it ,sock and 
        
        all,right in there and never mind the laces or the laughter 'till 
        
        it's under and coooling!
        
             This lesson can be burned into the student's memory more 
        
        quickly by the wearing of cuffs , sneakers or shorts at the 
        
        forge. Fingers may be used to assist the flow of water into the 
        
        soggy shoe.A cold day can be worse than a hot day.
        
             The first time, I figured out the right move  a little late, 
        
        then my foot jammed in the bottom of the bucket.
        
        
        
             While we're on the subject of burns ; the novice smith is 
        
        probably working with fire and iron as a matter of choice and 
        
        thus is apt to have more than a wee bit of the pyromanical about 
        
        them (in a socially acceptable form, you bet). 
        
             This is a condition that results in frequent burns for the 
        
        enthusiast, as their mommy probably told them it would.
        
             Some practioners of our art rely on butter for the burn, 
        
        others lard or salves, aloe or what have you. More power to them 
        
        (wait, do we really want to give burn victims more power?).
        
             My own experience with burns (those that do not break the 
        
        skin) is...






        
             The Quicker you can quench that burn, the more you can limit 
        
        damage and the less it will smart ( we're smart enough that way 
        
        already). Individual seconds of delay seem to make a major 
        
        difference . 
        
             Unless your slake tub is septic or salted; plunk the hot-
        
        spot right in and leave it soak there a while. Pass the first 
        
        minute perhaps thinking about the nearest ice cubes (portable).
        
             To fend off boredom while swishing the burn around; 
        
        contemplate explaining to your significant-other why you have 
        
        your elbow in the quench tank and your butt in the air, as I have 
        
        done.
        
             Now that you know where the pit falls, take heart. Even 
        
        black heat is a fast teacher and after a while you won't fry bits 
        
        of your anatomy quite so often or maybe it's just that you don't 
        
        notice so much.