Book Conservation
Be sure to tighten the blade holder with the blade in place!
Almost every bookbinder I have met uses 9mm Olfa snap off knives. Simply by squeezing the blade holder a bit tighter with a needle nose pliers, the performance and feel of any Olfa knife is greatly improved: it doesn’t wiggle around so much, it is easier to place more accurately, the knife feels more solid, there is no more annoying rattle, and the blade breaks off more consistently. Why didn’t I think of this 25 years ago?
Some of my dividers.
Sara Bryant of Big Jump Press wrote a breathlessly enthusiastic ode to dividers last month on her blog. Apart from extolling the virtues of comparison measurement, she wondered aloud if she perhaps was becoming a hoarder beause she has six pairs, and if it might be a problem.
My dear Sara, rest assured, you do not have a problem.
My favorite dividers, a 19th century Stevens & Co. Note the unusual, and extremely elegant position of the adjustment screw above the pivot point.
Charles Tomas Jacobi The Printers’ Handbook of Trade Recipes, Hints & Suggestions (London: Chiswick Press, 1891), 265.
Yes, yes, and yes. Note there is no mention of a litho stone. 18th century paring surfaces seem to generally be marble, I suspect the only reason litho stones became popular was that they were a cheap plentiful source of a flat surface in the late 19th. Save the litho stones for the printers or your beautiful bookbinding photography.
Peachey Conservation 