Owner of Knops Boekrestauratie. Book conservator in private practice. Munstergeleen, Netherlands.
These are my five favorite tools for book conservation.
1. Stitch Cutter. This is a Swann-Morton disposable stitch cutter blade mounted in a cheap hobby shop handle. The blade is razor sharp and ideal to cut the sewing of books. You can easily cut the threads without any damage to the paper. The blade is also useful for many other delicate cutting operations. I don’t sharpen these blades: when blunt I mount a new one.
2. Olfa Cutter SA-C 1. This is my favorite snap-off blade knife. The blade angle is 30 degrees instead of the more common 60 degrees. Because of the sharper angle, it cuts delicate paper like Japanese paper without fraying. What I also like is the very slim dimensions of this knife. It’s only 11,5 wide x 4,3 mm thick, and without the blade 136 mm long. Also the non-coated stainless steel finish is very enjoyable to hold.
3. Curved Tweezer. Very fine and precise pointed tweezer. It allows you to pick up the finest things, and you might be surprised what you find in the gutter from books….
4. Curved scissors. This little scissors is only 117 mm long. Not so visible on the picture is that is has curved blades. This makes it ideal to cut in hard to reach places. Also nice is the metal spring which open up the scissors by itself. [Note: these are called “conjunctival scissors” in the US]
5. Dental Pick. I have many, many spatula and all kind of other small tools to ‘fumble’ with. But this miraculous tool is quite unique. It has two identical end tips. But the angles are opposite, so when releasing leather from a leather binding for instance, the funny thing is you can flip the spatula in one movement in your hand and the ‘angle of attack’ changes. It needs some practicing but it helps to work more efficiently.
This week I am guest blogging on the The Book and Paper Gathering, a site which delivers conservation information in a light-hearted, easy-to-digest manor. A conservation magazine, rather than a peer reviewed journal. It is well worth spending some time reviewing their previous posts.
The Most Beautiful Tool in the World: A Japanese Burnisher
Exactly twice in my life I’ve seen a tool and immediately felt such a keen a desire to possess it that my secular observance of the eighth commandment was severely tested.
Drooling over Robert Minte’s collection of Japanese hera at the Bodelian Library in 2010 was the first time. They were so elegant, simple, beautiful — perfect tools, I thought. It was the longest flight of my life back to New York City, my fingers itching to make some for myself. Over time, I learned more about bamboo, shaping bamboo, and continue to keep making them today.
The object of desire the second time was also a Japanese tool, though in this case a burnisher, and… READ THE REST AT THE GATHERING
Peachey Conservation 