glass well with a simple gravity-closing hinged lid; glass well with a silver snap-close hinged lid; metal well with glass insert and a hinged outer cover (thus with space between the insert and the cover); wooden well with glass insert and an unhinged cloth-lined wooden lid; glass writing-box bottle, with threaded brass lid; pottery ink […]
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The Great Inkwell Experiment Part Two—The Subjects
We are happy to announce that the experiment is up and running, starting on February 18, 2011. Details of the Inkwells are as follows: glass well with a simple gravity-closing hinged lid metal well with glass insert and a hinged outer cover (thus with space between the insert and the cover) glass writing-box bottle, with […]
The Great Inkwell Experiment
There have been several thoughts expressed to us recently, showing concern about how useful old inkwells actually are, due to evaporation rates. It occurred to us that it might be useful to have some empirical evidence either for or against (or, more likely still, both) this feeling. We have a number of inkwells in our […]
Breaking Down a Parker Vacumatic Filler Unit
One of the giants of American pen manufacturing, Parker, produced millions of pens using the vacumatic filling system. It proved to be reliable, provided for a huge amount of ink storage, but also intimidates many collectors. We hope that this complete tear-down will remove much of the mystique from this venerable but reliable piece of […]
The Humble Bamboo Skewer
One of the most versatile, and cheap, tools in our shop is the humble bamboo skewer. Familiar to most of us as the disposable vehicle for grilling kebabs, bamboo skewers have several qualities which make them an unparalleled shop tool. a bamboo grove Creative Commons photo by: Crystalline Radical Bamboo is a tough plant, technically […]
Tools: an Introduction
Ah, tools! A tool is a thing which can do what your hands can’t: spin at 8000 rpm, slam bits of metal with great force, reach down a wee hole to pluck a delicate part out. There are even tools (my favourite) for making more tools! And we love them. They can be clean or […]
