Polymathematica The Cleaning and Preservation of Metals - Resources
 
 

HAND TOOLS

This section simply lists the hand tools and their characteristics: their use and abuse are dealt with under Treatment in the Mechanical section.

Since all the action takes place on the working surface of the tool there are three key questions to be asked in selecting the appropriate weapon for the cleaning job:

  1. How hard is the tool face?
  2. How sharp is the tool face?
  3. How can the tool face be sharpened?
Subsidiary questions: What handle/how do I hold it? are usually answered with practice. Improperly mounted fine tools held between fingertips lead to the equivalent of writer's cramp. Ballpoint pen tubes, modeller's pin vices or (6mm dowel handles will usually provide something decent to hang on to, allowing many hours of unbridled fun (pah!) whilst hunched over the binocular microscope.

Before listing the tools, their hardness and sharpness requirements, a short note on sharpening: those tools that do need sharpening are often suitably cleaned-up on the face of a whetstone/oilstone. Even sandpaper/emery paper/alumide or carbide paper is satisfactory. However it is essential to wipe any abrasive from the tool face once cleaned - transferring some of the hardest materials known to man to the surface of your most expensive coin by the newest kid on the block is a painful experience. Other sharpening techniques include 'throwing-away-and-getting-a-new-one' and 'snapping-off-the-old-bit and-starting-again'. These and others are highlighted in the Polymathematica Very Vague Tool Table. For more unusual tools and apparatus, jump to Specials.

The Very Vague Tool Table
Tool TypeHow Hard?How Sharp?How to SharpenFunctionComments
Wooden cocktail sticknot verynot veryget new one or sharpen with fine bladeremoval of soil, heavy greasesgood starting tool to get a feel of the surface hardness
Burnt matchsticknot verynot at allget new one or re-burnfor burnishing fine scratches in silvernot a lot one can say about this
Dried rose thorns/cactus spinessurprisinglyouchget old onepicking out scale, heavy greases, tenacious deposits ion crevicessurprisingly good at times. Needs mounting for ease of handling
Dried spaghettinot at allsharp enough around the perimeterbreak offscraping soft scale and heavy grease from silver and gold coinsuse like a snooker/pool cue and shave it across the metal surface
Silver rod 1 sq mm cross sectioncan damage silver if roughly handled, usually OK for bronzeas sharp as you wantwith an oilstone/wetstonescrapping and pulling heavier encrustations on silver and bronzeneeds a lot of regular sharpening
Steel needle/hypodermic needleharder than any coin you'll ever own (except Tongan rock money)ouchwith an oilstone/wetstonepicking out hard deposits and tenacious deposits in crevicesfor the skilled surgeon only
Glass bristle brushmegahard fine glass strandsdeceptive deep scratching avoided by its constant breakingget new one (preferably don't)rubbing away fine patination that has taken hundreds of years to growawful, awful, awful. Bristles get everywhere but folk still insist on trying it. It does scratch the artifact

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Last Update, 1-July-96