A guy at the Tucson forge-in told me my fire management was 'cute' and it lit a fire under me, in a good way.

3 comments

3 Comments

Ugh, that kind of comment is such a backhanded compliment. I read an interview once with a female blacksmith who said people would call her work "delicate" as a dig, like it wasn't as strong. But she said her precise fire control was what made her joinery so clean. So maybe "cute" really means he noticed your technique was careful and controlled, and he just has a terrible way of saying it. That kind of thing would make me want to prove him wrong by being even more technically perfect.

lucasw821mo ago

That Tucson guy sounds like a real piece of work.

wadem891mo ago

Reminds me of how people call things "simple" when they actually mean elegant and well thought out. It's a weird way to dismiss skill.