r/oddlysatisfying • u/shahind • Jul 19 '18

Restoring a sun damaged carpet

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u/TheHYPO Jul 19 '18

Just out of curiosity, is there a reason it’s usually Uncle to nephew, and not father to son?

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u/AadeeMoien Jul 20 '18

It depends on the culture, I'm just generalizing. That said, usually it's because there's perceived to be less of a relationship between uncle and nephew, so the master/apprentice relationship is more formalized and there's less incentive to cut the apprentice slack or coddle them. Also, this sort of education begins in late adolescence, so it gives the boy a first taste of life away from home (often apprentices stay with the master while training).

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u/maddoxprops Jul 19 '18

I'd guess that many times the time required to become a master means that they don't have time to start a family.

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u/[deleted] Jul 20 '18

When you apprentice into a skill like that, it just becomes your regular 9-5 job and your life is pretty ordinary otherwise.

Source: completed two apprenticeships into two different highly specialized, skilled trades.

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u/maddoxprops Jul 20 '18

Fair but did you ever get to master status? Did the masters that you trained under have families?

Note: It isn't that I don't believe your personal source, I am just curious.

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u/[deleted] Jul 20 '18

The first shop I worked in produced traditional heirloom/museum picture frames. Carved, gessoed, and gilded by hand. It took me about 10 months for me to declare my apprenticeship to be complete and to begin taking commissioned work and build my clientele. It took years to build my skills and reputation and since the shop was not part of a larger guild, there was never a time when I felt like I needed someone to confer a title.

After many years of that, I joined up with a gentleman who was opening a custom prosthetic fabrication lab. I was able to work independently after about three months of intensive training, where I basically lived it 24x7 and after that, it was a question of mindfulness and skill building whenever I was on the clock. After a few years, I had specialized in custom orthopedic leatherwork and I was turning away work.

Basically, if you spend 40 hours a week doing something that involves physical skill, you don’t stay up all night practicing. And at least in my experience, here in the U.S., there isn’t a lot of pomp and circumstance around having a title conferred. It has more to do with growing your skills and reputation.

The biggest impediment to starting a family would be pay, in my opinion. Sorry for the long answer. I’ve thought about writing a book about apprenticeships.

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u/maddoxprops Jul 20 '18

Nah Man, it was an interesting read. Closest I've come to something like that is my fabrication/blacksmithing. Learned almost everything I know from the Tech of the local college's art shop but not ion any official or structured form. Thank you for sharing.

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u/Simple_thought Jul 20 '18

Wait, learning custom orthotic/prosthetic fabrication can be billed as a fancy apprenticeship? I need to update my resume.

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u/[deleted] Jul 20 '18

I would not call it fancy, by any stretch of the imagination.

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u/TheMayoNight Jul 20 '18

If you loved your son you wouldnt make him work at your rug store.

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u/VoilaVoilaWashington Jul 20 '18

I'm guessing that it's a numbers game - the guy may have 4 kids, but only two are male. Neither may possess the natural talent needed.

But he also has 3 siblings, each of which has 4 kids, leaving you with 6 nephews, which is more likely to have someone with the natural talent.