By Defessus Lector

Bardus,

You are, no doubt, celebrating my sudden turn to ill health. I don't believe that you purposefully poisoned me with that sweet roll you made, only because I don't believe you have the skill to make anything on purpose.

Nevertheless this brush with death has brought one element of your education to the fore. An element that I have previously avoided broaching because, to be frank, my lack of success in teaching you has provided me a well paying job, courtesy of your parents.

I speak of how to improve yourself in your chosen skill.

In the end it is the responsibility of all crafters to train themselves. Most craftmasters just allow their apprentices to use their tools in exchange for work. They do not share their secrets.

So what to do once I am gone? Well, the traditional way is to make something and then test it until it falls apart. Then you see where the item failed and the next time you make it you avoid that mistake.
Of course, making the same thing over and over, only to destroy it, really doesn't improve your skill very much. It also fills the store room with broken iron daggers.

The key is to gain examples of others' works, and see how they made them. See their points of failure and compare them to how you make the same item. And then make them better.

That is how you learn, both in crafting and in life. Study and research your failures and the failures of others. Take those lessons to heart and apply them the next time you craft something or solve a problem.

And of course this approach fits in well with your own destructive personality. I am sure you will do well.