Rob wrote: >I have never considered placing a damp cloth over hammers for steaming. >This is used in conjunction with a heat gun, correct? How long does this >take? Roger can tell us, but my feeling is that the (BARELY) damp cloth is used with a hammer iron, reversed, so that the convex curve touches only the strike point. The advantage over regular steaming is that the steam wouldn't go all over the place and affect the shoulders too. By having the cloth barely damp, I would think that most of the effect would be on the superficial layers. Therefore, hardening, etc., wouldn't be needed. The amount of softening, in an ideal situation, would be just enough to reverse the normal brightening through hard use. Hopefully, one might end up almost where one started when the hammers were last voiced. Roger, is this the general idea you have in mind? I've found that steaming lasts pretty well. The heat and moisture makes the fibers twist and matt, like when you wash a sweater and don't block it afterwards. Wool is a very curious material. Susan Susan Kline P.O. Box 1651 Philomath, OR 97370 skline@proaxis.com "Enormous amounts of information are available, including, however, very little reliable data on what it all means." -- Ashleigh Brilliant
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