Tuesday, December 30, 2014
Changes
As ever, life keeps throwing curves in my direction. The placed I'd been living became untenable (it was really odd and at the end became a little creepy), so I'm out, back with the folks for a little while and searching for a new place. On the bright side, the lady wants to be there with me, so we're looking for a place together and that's fantastic. The "day job" is kind of smoothing out (though I've probably just jinxed that), but now I've got a commute for a while. No, I'm not trying to use this as an excuse for my slacking here. My regular writing has also taken a hit for a variety of reasons, including the items mentioned earlier in this little stream of consciousness. On the bright side, I can only imagine that this upcoming chapter of my life will lead to new insights and bursts of creativity. I'm very excited for this new chapter and hope that you'll all come along with me as life directs my evolution as a writer and as a man.
Friday, December 19, 2014
Secrets
Much to the surprise of many of my friends, when I went to college I joined a fraternity. No, I was never abused. I didn't even drink at the time. Some of the things I went through would probably be defined as hazing, indeed the brothers would joke about some events as such, but never did I compromise my morals or find myself in physical danger. Much later I recognized that many of these "pledge events" utilized team-building techniques popular in corporate culture. If you want to suggest that we drank more, then you clearly haven't worked for the right corporations. Anyway, once this team is built, you really don't want outsiders claiming membership (for a variety of reasons). My fraternity is a national organization. How does one recognize one's own if you've never met? I won't tell you exactly, but we can cover the principles.
Secret symbols: There is certain iconography that is associated with secret organizations. They generally represent a specific philosophy and are usually emblematic about how the organization views itself. While the full import of these symbols may not be understood by the general public, they do not tend to be important secrets, and the symbols themselves are not secret. These symbols are too iconic. If you see an eye in a pyramid, you recognize it. When you want to use them, simple symbols are best, used together (like a code) or in conjunction with some other form of sign (physical, auditory, whatever).
Code words: Like symbols, these phrases require simplicity. It is essential that these phrases remain unobtrusive to the people around you as well as the person you're speaking them to, if they are not members of the same organization. They should be universal. You don't want anyone on the outside to know you're looking for a coded phrase. You can ask a question, or make an observation that would seem perfectly normal to anyone on the outside, but (naturally) their response would not be correct. The correct response should be a little odd, but connected to the intro phrase. An additional trait is that the intro phrase should be easy to disengage from. If you ask directions and then don't follow them (because it's the wrong person), that individual might get suspicious.
example: "Have you ever been to Samarkand?"
"Yes, by way of Belgrade."
Both are perfectly reasonable. No one listening would be suspicious. An outsider could give the same answer, but it is extremely unlikely.
Coded gestures: Gestures are often the introductory code. If I rub my earlobe, you rub your hands together, or something. Mirroring is often the preferred method (I wiggle my nose, you wiggle yours, kind of thing, though perhaps something a bit more natural). Following this you may move on to the coded phrases. The most famous coded gestures are secret handshakes. These are not elaborate things, like those devised by children or athletes. They are subtle and easily disguised by those doing the shaking. Generally this is the final confirmation. It would be awkward to try to give a secret handshake to someone who didn't know it (especially a stranger).
The trick with secret societies is that they want to be able to function out it the bright sunlight with lots of people around. Clandestine meetings are all well and good, but dark alleys tend to be populated with all manner of ruffians. The favorite example these days is Hydra (thank you Marvel). How would it be possible for this organization to function with so many secret members? Well, it is pretty unlikely that they could keep that big a secret for so long, but these are pretty simple (almost foolproof) methods for assuring someone's membership in your secret organization.
Now you just need to ensure that no one ever shares the secret. Traditional secret societies have levels of membership, ensuring that only the most committed are entrusted with the deepest secrets of the organization (this is the main problem with the Hydra thing, since one of their biggest secrets is that they exist, which all of the members apparently knew). Those on the basic levels don't want to tell because the exclusivity of the organization is one of the essential draws (much like religion), they might also not realize that they know a secret anyone cares about. When you have deeper levels of commitment, these levels will have their own distinct signs and symbols known only to member of those levels.
Creating secret organizations can be extremely enjoyable. It makes me wonder about those who founded some of those traditional orders (Masons, Elks, fraternities, etc) and created all of their signs and symbols. Did they sit around with their friends thinking, "oh man, it'd be so cool if..." or was it all extremely serious as they assembled their symbology. I hope they had fun. Otherwise it all seems too bizarre.
Secret symbols: There is certain iconography that is associated with secret organizations. They generally represent a specific philosophy and are usually emblematic about how the organization views itself. While the full import of these symbols may not be understood by the general public, they do not tend to be important secrets, and the symbols themselves are not secret. These symbols are too iconic. If you see an eye in a pyramid, you recognize it. When you want to use them, simple symbols are best, used together (like a code) or in conjunction with some other form of sign (physical, auditory, whatever).
Code words: Like symbols, these phrases require simplicity. It is essential that these phrases remain unobtrusive to the people around you as well as the person you're speaking them to, if they are not members of the same organization. They should be universal. You don't want anyone on the outside to know you're looking for a coded phrase. You can ask a question, or make an observation that would seem perfectly normal to anyone on the outside, but (naturally) their response would not be correct. The correct response should be a little odd, but connected to the intro phrase. An additional trait is that the intro phrase should be easy to disengage from. If you ask directions and then don't follow them (because it's the wrong person), that individual might get suspicious.
example: "Have you ever been to Samarkand?"
"Yes, by way of Belgrade."
Both are perfectly reasonable. No one listening would be suspicious. An outsider could give the same answer, but it is extremely unlikely.
Coded gestures: Gestures are often the introductory code. If I rub my earlobe, you rub your hands together, or something. Mirroring is often the preferred method (I wiggle my nose, you wiggle yours, kind of thing, though perhaps something a bit more natural). Following this you may move on to the coded phrases. The most famous coded gestures are secret handshakes. These are not elaborate things, like those devised by children or athletes. They are subtle and easily disguised by those doing the shaking. Generally this is the final confirmation. It would be awkward to try to give a secret handshake to someone who didn't know it (especially a stranger).
The trick with secret societies is that they want to be able to function out it the bright sunlight with lots of people around. Clandestine meetings are all well and good, but dark alleys tend to be populated with all manner of ruffians. The favorite example these days is Hydra (thank you Marvel). How would it be possible for this organization to function with so many secret members? Well, it is pretty unlikely that they could keep that big a secret for so long, but these are pretty simple (almost foolproof) methods for assuring someone's membership in your secret organization.
Now you just need to ensure that no one ever shares the secret. Traditional secret societies have levels of membership, ensuring that only the most committed are entrusted with the deepest secrets of the organization (this is the main problem with the Hydra thing, since one of their biggest secrets is that they exist, which all of the members apparently knew). Those on the basic levels don't want to tell because the exclusivity of the organization is one of the essential draws (much like religion), they might also not realize that they know a secret anyone cares about. When you have deeper levels of commitment, these levels will have their own distinct signs and symbols known only to member of those levels.
Creating secret organizations can be extremely enjoyable. It makes me wonder about those who founded some of those traditional orders (Masons, Elks, fraternities, etc) and created all of their signs and symbols. Did they sit around with their friends thinking, "oh man, it'd be so cool if..." or was it all extremely serious as they assembled their symbology. I hope they had fun. Otherwise it all seems too bizarre.
Tuesday, December 16, 2014
Codes
No, I'm not talking about secret messages or systems of morality (though those are worthy topics (I already did some on Morality)). Today I'm sitting in a cafe, looking out of the window, and thinking about building codes. To clarify: there are many highly detailed rules (laws) governing the construction and renovation of buildings.
Building codes are essentially designed for the safety of occupants and the community that may interact with the building feature. These codes regulate lots of things we don't spend much time thinking about, like the height of railings or the thickness of the beams in the ceiling. Fire codes may require multiple modes of egress from any room (which makes being in the labyrinthine basement bars of Prague kind of freaky). Some early cities outlawed the use of wooden roofs, due to the potential to spread fires rapidly from building to building. However, most of these rules only came about as a result of catastrophic events.
While they may have started writing these rules a long time ago, builders and homeowners have been circumventing them for just as long. This is especially true with regard to things inside the house or within the walls that will be hidden from view. Knotty or warped wood might be used in construction, or a weak batch of concrete poured for a foundation. Ceilings without enough support might bow. Walls without enough support may crumble.
In many cases, early construction errors are simply a case of getting the physics wrong, or not knowing the long term effects of stress on materials. There were plenty of folks out there building homes who were not trained in the art. even those that were might have a tough time of it. Some grand cathedrals were simply built too tall and ten or fifty years later, bits fall off. When you see those metal stars on the sides of old brick buildings, they're to keep the walls from collapsing outward. Engineers today tend to over design, (allowing for unexpected stresses and providing a margin for error). In the past it was much more difficult to be sure of the materials you were working with and that they were being utilized properly. Imagine designing and constructing a cathedral without a computer or even a copy machine. Wonky lines and on-the-fly fixes were almost inevitable.
Older buildings are often exempted from new rules due to a "grandfather clause" (I guess that means they're too old to change, though it seems rather terrible to think of grandfathers that way). Grandfather clauses seem to mean that as long as you don't go changing things and nothing goes especially wrong, that you can just leave it alone. This tends to leave some eyebrow raising features in old homes (like old wiring or dangerous staircases). These clauses seem to exist so that new laws aren't too onerous for the entire population simultaneously.
So you're asking yourself why I'm writing about building codes, right? First of all, looking at old building codes can give us an idea what old buildings looked like. If something was outlawed, that must mean that someone was doing it. Secondly, shoddy workmanship is not something new. We often think of it as what gives a house "character" (like sloping floors). Finally, these differences between historical construction requirements and modern ones can make our worlds come alive. Thin walls make rooms cold, as does poor glazing on the windows. Wood rots. Floorboards creak. There is probably only one way out of the basement. Your buildings can be atmosphere as well as a vehicle for the plot. Now, go out there and design some buildings poorly!
Building codes are essentially designed for the safety of occupants and the community that may interact with the building feature. These codes regulate lots of things we don't spend much time thinking about, like the height of railings or the thickness of the beams in the ceiling. Fire codes may require multiple modes of egress from any room (which makes being in the labyrinthine basement bars of Prague kind of freaky). Some early cities outlawed the use of wooden roofs, due to the potential to spread fires rapidly from building to building. However, most of these rules only came about as a result of catastrophic events.
While they may have started writing these rules a long time ago, builders and homeowners have been circumventing them for just as long. This is especially true with regard to things inside the house or within the walls that will be hidden from view. Knotty or warped wood might be used in construction, or a weak batch of concrete poured for a foundation. Ceilings without enough support might bow. Walls without enough support may crumble.
In many cases, early construction errors are simply a case of getting the physics wrong, or not knowing the long term effects of stress on materials. There were plenty of folks out there building homes who were not trained in the art. even those that were might have a tough time of it. Some grand cathedrals were simply built too tall and ten or fifty years later, bits fall off. When you see those metal stars on the sides of old brick buildings, they're to keep the walls from collapsing outward. Engineers today tend to over design, (allowing for unexpected stresses and providing a margin for error). In the past it was much more difficult to be sure of the materials you were working with and that they were being utilized properly. Imagine designing and constructing a cathedral without a computer or even a copy machine. Wonky lines and on-the-fly fixes were almost inevitable.
Older buildings are often exempted from new rules due to a "grandfather clause" (I guess that means they're too old to change, though it seems rather terrible to think of grandfathers that way). Grandfather clauses seem to mean that as long as you don't go changing things and nothing goes especially wrong, that you can just leave it alone. This tends to leave some eyebrow raising features in old homes (like old wiring or dangerous staircases). These clauses seem to exist so that new laws aren't too onerous for the entire population simultaneously.
So you're asking yourself why I'm writing about building codes, right? First of all, looking at old building codes can give us an idea what old buildings looked like. If something was outlawed, that must mean that someone was doing it. Secondly, shoddy workmanship is not something new. We often think of it as what gives a house "character" (like sloping floors). Finally, these differences between historical construction requirements and modern ones can make our worlds come alive. Thin walls make rooms cold, as does poor glazing on the windows. Wood rots. Floorboards creak. There is probably only one way out of the basement. Your buildings can be atmosphere as well as a vehicle for the plot. Now, go out there and design some buildings poorly!
Friday, December 12, 2014
Stuck in a rut
So yeah, I'm a bit rutted at the moment, limiting my inspiration for blog posts. That twined with the holidays and trying to get all of the Christmas shopping in, as well as that little work thing and a special lady taking center stage in my life distracts me a bit from blogging. That being said, I do love this time of year. We've had very little snow to date, but it's coming. For that reason alone I have trouble imagining ever moving out to California.
Prague in winter is a season for depression. The sun only puts in periodic appearances and the days are short (then again, summer nights are long). It makes perfect sense that the Czechs love to get out in "the nature" come summertime. Winter is bundled up (though winter sports are also popular) walking as fast as possible iorder to spend time with friends in the pub. Slivovitze (and its cousins) and Becherovka become more popular at this time of year. Personal hygiene is not necessarily a priority at this time of year (it is getting better though), possibly folks don't want to go outside with a wet head. This isn't so bad on the tram, but once they get to the office... This also leads to some greasy hair during the season. However, I did have one student who believed in taking cold showers to start the day, or using the lake, so he was cleaner than most (though a little odd. He was also a beekeeper).
Spending six months in Brazil was a rather different thing. I only got to experience a very limited amount of the rainy season, but it made sense of a lot of Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Even in a planned city, like Brazilia, the storm drains couldn't handle the water. The ground just can't absorb the water and it flows along paths and down the streets. A five minute walk to work would leave me absolutely soaked (I wore flip flops and changed into shoes at the office). Most folks don't have clothes driers, so hanging on a line in the house, nothing really gets dry. It's not surprising that clothes wear out. Then again, it's a period of renewal and blooming flowers are everywhere. In the summer it's hot and dry, but things start to turn brown (hooray for drought resistant plants) and the dust kicks up.
It's the change of seasons more than the new calendar that makes me take stock of my life. It reminds me that things are changing, that I'm not accomplishing as much as I want to, that I'm getting older, and that we only have so much time allotted to us. I always enjoy putting old winter jackets and finding old receipts or programs to remember what I was up to the year before. Cookie baking before Christmas revs me up for the holidays. The cycle of the year helps to tie me into the world around me, to make me remember that each day is a part of the whole of my life. It reminds me that I need to take certain steps today so I can take more tomorrow to get out of this rut.
If you want to think about how to apply all of this to your storytelling, remember that at different times of year there are different tasks to accomplish. Daylight hours shift. There are different materials available to work with. Their routines change in response to the world around them. Assuming your characters aren't adventuring in Southern California, using seasonal changes is a great way to break them out of a rut. Hell, there is usually a festival around that time for some reason or another anyway, right? Every season can be a season of renewal. I hope you enjoy this one.
Prague in winter is a season for depression. The sun only puts in periodic appearances and the days are short (then again, summer nights are long). It makes perfect sense that the Czechs love to get out in "the nature" come summertime. Winter is bundled up (though winter sports are also popular) walking as fast as possible iorder to spend time with friends in the pub. Slivovitze (and its cousins) and Becherovka become more popular at this time of year. Personal hygiene is not necessarily a priority at this time of year (it is getting better though), possibly folks don't want to go outside with a wet head. This isn't so bad on the tram, but once they get to the office... This also leads to some greasy hair during the season. However, I did have one student who believed in taking cold showers to start the day, or using the lake, so he was cleaner than most (though a little odd. He was also a beekeeper).
Spending six months in Brazil was a rather different thing. I only got to experience a very limited amount of the rainy season, but it made sense of a lot of Gabriel Garcia Marquez. Even in a planned city, like Brazilia, the storm drains couldn't handle the water. The ground just can't absorb the water and it flows along paths and down the streets. A five minute walk to work would leave me absolutely soaked (I wore flip flops and changed into shoes at the office). Most folks don't have clothes driers, so hanging on a line in the house, nothing really gets dry. It's not surprising that clothes wear out. Then again, it's a period of renewal and blooming flowers are everywhere. In the summer it's hot and dry, but things start to turn brown (hooray for drought resistant plants) and the dust kicks up.
It's the change of seasons more than the new calendar that makes me take stock of my life. It reminds me that things are changing, that I'm not accomplishing as much as I want to, that I'm getting older, and that we only have so much time allotted to us. I always enjoy putting old winter jackets and finding old receipts or programs to remember what I was up to the year before. Cookie baking before Christmas revs me up for the holidays. The cycle of the year helps to tie me into the world around me, to make me remember that each day is a part of the whole of my life. It reminds me that I need to take certain steps today so I can take more tomorrow to get out of this rut.
If you want to think about how to apply all of this to your storytelling, remember that at different times of year there are different tasks to accomplish. Daylight hours shift. There are different materials available to work with. Their routines change in response to the world around them. Assuming your characters aren't adventuring in Southern California, using seasonal changes is a great way to break them out of a rut. Hell, there is usually a festival around that time for some reason or another anyway, right? Every season can be a season of renewal. I hope you enjoy this one.
Tuesday, December 9, 2014
Staircase pondering
Just a quick one for today.
I was doing some envisioning of passages in my underground world. Sitting here, I was working out just how far ahead the chambers would have been planned and designed. Would there be large open chambers, like in the Moria sequences from the LotR movies? How the hell would you do it? Who would design so many stairways without guard rails? (Okay, now I'm getting off track)
This reminded me of the little castle defense trick of having tower staircases curl upward in the clockwise direction to give righties the advantage in defending the high places. Yes, most of the world is right-handed and didn't they used to think lefties were devil worshipers or something? Did "sinister" always have a sinister connotation? Damn, off track again.
It also reminded me of a tour I took of St. Vitus Cathedral, in Prague. One of the really cool features was a paired staircase (think double helix). Standing on the rooftop, their entrances were essentially side by side, but one exits inside the cathedral and the other outside (yes, there was a locked door on the outside one). It was a little short on headspace, but it's a nice way to save materials and space. Sorry to say, but it's not on the regular tour (it helps to teach the staff).
The double helix design could be used for defensive purposes or for traffic control purposes. It'd certainly be confusing for an attacker to be faced with this configuration. With two adjacent staircases leading to two adjacent, but separate, rooms. They could also lead to different levels within the complex, kind of like the local and express trains (or, more aptly, those elevators in high rises that only access the upper floors). Hmmm kinda like that absurdly long stair that Gandalf climbs. You might not even know there is a staircase twined to the one you know. Thinking about it, I'm sure it's a common element in Mystery novels, but I can't say I've read many.
Oh, to continue the thought on defensive stairs, apparently they also used to design trap stairs. No, I don't mean stairs that would drop you into a pit of spikes. These would just have an stair with an uneven depth or height, which defenders would know, but attackers would trip up (since their attention is hopefully engaged by the defender's sword strokes). Here, I just thought I was a clumsy tourist. Seems it was a conspiracy after all.
Alright, alright, that's enough. As you can see, some of the details of construction can lead to beautiful little story details. The child who always counts the steps in transit, may escape the vile attacking knight chasing him/her on the trick one. Being a lefty has a number of advantages (as well as the potential stigma, depending on your world). Choosing the right or the left-hand stair might be more important than we thought. Knowing how the details fit together can help you envision your story, which may just help you tell it. I know it works for me.
I was doing some envisioning of passages in my underground world. Sitting here, I was working out just how far ahead the chambers would have been planned and designed. Would there be large open chambers, like in the Moria sequences from the LotR movies? How the hell would you do it? Who would design so many stairways without guard rails? (Okay, now I'm getting off track)
This reminded me of the little castle defense trick of having tower staircases curl upward in the clockwise direction to give righties the advantage in defending the high places. Yes, most of the world is right-handed and didn't they used to think lefties were devil worshipers or something? Did "sinister" always have a sinister connotation? Damn, off track again.
It also reminded me of a tour I took of St. Vitus Cathedral, in Prague. One of the really cool features was a paired staircase (think double helix). Standing on the rooftop, their entrances were essentially side by side, but one exits inside the cathedral and the other outside (yes, there was a locked door on the outside one). It was a little short on headspace, but it's a nice way to save materials and space. Sorry to say, but it's not on the regular tour (it helps to teach the staff).
The double helix design could be used for defensive purposes or for traffic control purposes. It'd certainly be confusing for an attacker to be faced with this configuration. With two adjacent staircases leading to two adjacent, but separate, rooms. They could also lead to different levels within the complex, kind of like the local and express trains (or, more aptly, those elevators in high rises that only access the upper floors). Hmmm kinda like that absurdly long stair that Gandalf climbs. You might not even know there is a staircase twined to the one you know. Thinking about it, I'm sure it's a common element in Mystery novels, but I can't say I've read many.
Oh, to continue the thought on defensive stairs, apparently they also used to design trap stairs. No, I don't mean stairs that would drop you into a pit of spikes. These would just have an stair with an uneven depth or height, which defenders would know, but attackers would trip up (since their attention is hopefully engaged by the defender's sword strokes). Here, I just thought I was a clumsy tourist. Seems it was a conspiracy after all.
Alright, alright, that's enough. As you can see, some of the details of construction can lead to beautiful little story details. The child who always counts the steps in transit, may escape the vile attacking knight chasing him/her on the trick one. Being a lefty has a number of advantages (as well as the potential stigma, depending on your world). Choosing the right or the left-hand stair might be more important than we thought. Knowing how the details fit together can help you envision your story, which may just help you tell it. I know it works for me.
Friday, December 5, 2014
Sharpen your knives
Multiple inspirations for today's post. First was a friend at work talking about bringing his various cutting implements back up to full working order and second was the enjoyment of the "Oliver!" soundtrack. Obviously, with a lifetime of Fantasy reading, I have a certain affection for bladed items (tools, weapons, outfits, etc). Many blades you might buy today are designed with the collector, the reenacter, or the athlete (traditional or more full contact fencing) in mind. They all have their place, hell, I own a few, but to understand what a sword really is, you have to put an edge on it.
Any good craftsman knows how important it is to take care of his tools. Their workshops are carefully arranged and organized, even if they appear cluttered to you or I. For a warrior, the care and handling of their personal weapons and armor are of primary importance. These are not just weekend playthings or dress up items, but how they earn a living and guard their own lives in the process. Any warrior worth his/her salt will be well aware of the appropriate care and maintenance of these items.
As might be expected, different weapons call for different edges (well, maces don't tend to have any edges, but that's not the point right now). Tougher materials call for blades of a wider angle (like axes for chopping wood) while soft materials require a much narrower angle of blade (razors have a very narrow angle on the cutting edge). The overall geometry of these cutting devices can be left up to the smith, but the shape and materials used will influence how often and what style of maintenance will be required.
Edge making occurs in three general steps:
1) sharpening - this is the process of removing metal to create a new edge. Many different stones of increasing fineness may be used in this process. This step is required both for a new blade and when removing nicks or gouges from a damaged blade.
2) straightening - this is the process of truing the existing metal of the blade, but not removing significant amounts of metal. This is the step chefs are performing when they use the steel in the kitchen on their knives.
3) polishing - this puts a mirror finish on the blade without significantly altering its edge.
Fine blades (referring to the narrow angle) are straightened with great regularity, razors may be stropped before and during a shave, but only need a fine sharpening every few months and a coarse sharpening every few years. Similar attention is paid to kitchen knives that see heavy use.
An axe used for chopping wood may not need to be sharpened more than once per year, depending on use. However, axes used for hewing limbs and cutting through armor are rather different and would require maintenance on par with a sword blade (though having a shorter blade, it'll take less of your free time). Please remember that while tools can be used as weapons, they are not always ideally suited to the task of slaughter and may result in breakage or inconvenient sticking in bones.
Sharpening is traditionally done with the use of a whetstone. This process is called "stoning." These stones are typically lubricated with oil or water (see your handling instructions). Whetstones may have a flat or slightly curved surface and require a consistent grain throughout to produce the desired edge. For simple tools a large grindstone (pictured above) may be perfectly adequate, but for a real swordsman, that is just the startingplace.
Japanese swords have a very different tradition than those of Europe. The smiths have long been considered great artists, training for years to hone their craft. Today, apprenticing to become a sword smith takes eight years. Apprenticing to become a sword polisher takes ten. Sword polishers in Japan were not tinkers wandering the streets looking for work. They were (and are) respected craftsmen who enabled warriors to practice their own craft at the highest levels.
It is important to remember that polishing is an essentially destructive act. The more you sharpen a blade, the less material remains. Using a stone on your sword every night may keep it sharp, but you'll grind away that expensive tool. Only after use do you need to test it for sharpness. Otherwise, just keep it freshly oiled to keep your blade from getting rusty and enjoy years of troublefree usage. Happy maiming everybody!
Sharpening Wiki - http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knife_sharpening
Japanese sword polishing - http://www.nihonzashi.com/diy_sword_sharpening.aspx
Japanese sword polishing - http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_sword_polishing
| http://chestofbooks.com/home-improvement/workshop/Handy-Man/The-Grindstone.html#.VIH15cu9KSM |
As might be expected, different weapons call for different edges (well, maces don't tend to have any edges, but that's not the point right now). Tougher materials call for blades of a wider angle (like axes for chopping wood) while soft materials require a much narrower angle of blade (razors have a very narrow angle on the cutting edge). The overall geometry of these cutting devices can be left up to the smith, but the shape and materials used will influence how often and what style of maintenance will be required.
Edge making occurs in three general steps:
1) sharpening - this is the process of removing metal to create a new edge. Many different stones of increasing fineness may be used in this process. This step is required both for a new blade and when removing nicks or gouges from a damaged blade.
2) straightening - this is the process of truing the existing metal of the blade, but not removing significant amounts of metal. This is the step chefs are performing when they use the steel in the kitchen on their knives.
3) polishing - this puts a mirror finish on the blade without significantly altering its edge.
Fine blades (referring to the narrow angle) are straightened with great regularity, razors may be stropped before and during a shave, but only need a fine sharpening every few months and a coarse sharpening every few years. Similar attention is paid to kitchen knives that see heavy use.
An axe used for chopping wood may not need to be sharpened more than once per year, depending on use. However, axes used for hewing limbs and cutting through armor are rather different and would require maintenance on par with a sword blade (though having a shorter blade, it'll take less of your free time). Please remember that while tools can be used as weapons, they are not always ideally suited to the task of slaughter and may result in breakage or inconvenient sticking in bones.
Sharpening is traditionally done with the use of a whetstone. This process is called "stoning." These stones are typically lubricated with oil or water (see your handling instructions). Whetstones may have a flat or slightly curved surface and require a consistent grain throughout to produce the desired edge. For simple tools a large grindstone (pictured above) may be perfectly adequate, but for a real swordsman, that is just the startingplace.
Japanese swords have a very different tradition than those of Europe. The smiths have long been considered great artists, training for years to hone their craft. Today, apprenticing to become a sword smith takes eight years. Apprenticing to become a sword polisher takes ten. Sword polishers in Japan were not tinkers wandering the streets looking for work. They were (and are) respected craftsmen who enabled warriors to practice their own craft at the highest levels.
It is important to remember that polishing is an essentially destructive act. The more you sharpen a blade, the less material remains. Using a stone on your sword every night may keep it sharp, but you'll grind away that expensive tool. Only after use do you need to test it for sharpness. Otherwise, just keep it freshly oiled to keep your blade from getting rusty and enjoy years of troublefree usage. Happy maiming everybody!
Sharpening Wiki - http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Knife_sharpening
Japanese sword polishing - http://www.nihonzashi.com/diy_sword_sharpening.aspx
Japanese sword polishing - http://en.m.wikipedia.org/wiki/Japanese_sword_polishing
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