Jewellery Tool Making - Lesson 1

After walking for 40 minutes in the pouring rain (with a 20 minute train ride in the middle) - I wasn't really in the mood for the lesson, and I was absolutely soaked.
However, as soon as I saw the selection of sample tools - either hand made or modified existing tools - I regained my enthusiasm...

The class is with Rae Duncan. We discussed the various samples, and then made a  buff stick, the correct way, and also a leather strop which we charged with rouge (polishing compound).
Then we started working on a split pin - measuring and sawing tool steel.
 After that was a demo of working a steel blade - heating it to golden yellow, plunging it in oil, cooling and cleaning, then polishing - then tempering to straw yellow to remove the brittleness.

You already know I'm into hand made tools (for example) - so this course is my idea of heaven...
It was lovely to meet other enthusiasts as well - I thought I was a bit of an oddity, it appears there are a few of us :-)

Here are my double sided buff stick and strop:

Click for a larger image