[Jewelry making - Article 00421] - Re: [Orchid] Proper tattoo for a goldsmith

[Marty Hykin]

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    I wrote to D Huffman off-line in response to his suggestion of a
    crossed chasing hammer and jeweler's saw, but since several others
    have also suggested these i thought I'd share my first impression.. 

        I liked the reasoning behind your tattoo suggestion, but
        couldn't help noticing that the image that comes to my mind bears
        a more- than-passing resemblance to a somewhat squared-off or
        stylized rendition of the the old Soviet hammer and sickle.
        Somehow i am inclined to think that didn't escape your notice
        either, you sly devil. 

        As for things being made by nanorobots on Mars, i feel like
        we're just about there as far as most folks are concerned. So
        many things are made elsewhere, essentially invisibly, that if
        you wanted to take yr kids to see how things are made you'd have
        to buy a plane ticket to China. I can't help but wonder if
        kiddies these days think things just grow on trees, already
        blister-packed. I recall years ago when i was teaching a high
        school intro-to-  industrial arts class. I had just chucked a
        chunk of something in a lathe and turned a little shoulder on it
        just to show the darlings a bit of what a lathe does. When i
        finished I looked up to see one of the youngsters standing with
        jaw dropped in a perfect portrayal of shocked disbelief. What was
        the problem? "You mean you can cut metal?!" she blurted out. She
        had managed to reach the age of 16 or so, in our world, without
        that fact ever having occurred to her. Her shock and disbelief
        was as nothing compared to mine. 

        Even in the trades practiced where we can see them happen, it
        would be a hard call to know which tools will be iconically
        recognizable to the world at large in a few years. Carpentry is a
        good example, where ordinary hammers and handsaws have almost
        become rare exotics in the hands of a few stubborn old geezers -
        replaced by nail guns, adhesive goop, and an endless assortment
        of electric gadgets. I expect that "where things come from" is
        beginning to look in the public's mind like a generic "black box"
        with the objects of desire popping out onto a conveyor belt,
        whether they be donuts, rubber tires, or golden rings. 

    With all that in mind I do like the inclusion of a hammer as the
    "smith" in goldsmith comes from "smite" which is what we do with
    hammers. But I don't have any brilliant suggestions. 

    Marty Hykin in Victoria where it is raining again so maybe I'll just
    stay home and sharpen my hammers today.
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