Interview · 12 min
Interview: Reza Ghaffari on the discipline of the rod
Oral history project · updated 2026-08-25
On training
"My grandfather had me filing rods for two years before I was allowed to bind a bundle. I thought it was a way of keeping a child busy. It was not. Everything that goes wrong later goes wrong in the filing."
On quality
"People ask how many pieces are in a star. That is the wrong question. Ask whether the star is the same at the top of the lid as at the bottom. If the rods were true, it is."
On the future
"There is work. There are buyers. What there are not, are apprentices willing to spend two years on a file. If that does not change, the fine grades will end with my generation in this bazaar."