The Cleaning and Preservation of Metals - Resources
The Cleaning and Preservation of Metals - Resources
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:
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.
- How hard is the tool face?
- How sharp is the tool face?
- How can the tool face be sharpened?
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.
| Tool Type | How Hard? | How Sharp? | How to Sharpen | Function | Comments |
|---|---|---|---|---|---|
| Wooden cocktail stick | not very | not very | get new one or sharpen with fine blade | removal of soil, heavy greases | good starting tool to get a feel of the surface hardness |
| Burnt matchstick | not very | not at all | get new one or re-burn | for burnishing fine scratches in silver | not a lot one can say about this |
| Dried rose thorns/cactus spines | surprisingly | ouch | get old one | picking out scale, heavy greases, tenacious deposits ion crevices | surprisingly good at times. Needs mounting for ease of handling |
| Dried spaghetti | not at all | sharp enough around the perimeter | break off | scraping soft scale and heavy grease from silver and gold coins | use like a snooker/pool cue and shave it across the metal surface |
| Silver rod 1 sq mm cross section | can damage silver if roughly handled, usually OK for bronze | as sharp as you want | with an oilstone/wetstone | scrapping and pulling heavier encrustations on silver and bronze | needs a lot of regular sharpening |
| Steel needle/hypodermic needle | harder than any coin you'll ever own (except Tongan rock money) | ouch | with an oilstone/wetstone | picking out hard deposits and tenacious deposits in crevices | for the skilled surgeon only |
| Glass bristle brush | megahard fine glass strands | deceptive deep scratching avoided by its constant breaking | get new one (preferably don't) | rubbing away fine patination that has taken hundreds of years to grow | awful, awful, awful. Bristles get everywhere but folk still insist on trying it. It does scratch the artifact |
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Background Binocular Microscope
Hand Tools Chemistry Set Specials
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Last Update, 1-July-96
