the pencil sharpener that finally went in the bin
had this little brass sharpener, must've been twenty years with me. came from some market stall in ennis, cost a euro maybe. kept it in the same tin as my carving tools. and the blade's been gone off it for about three years now, I knew it, I knew it was just chewing the pencils instead of sharpening them, but I couldn't bring myself to throw it out. it'd been everywhere with me. first studio, second studio, the shed phase, the kitchen table phase.
anyway the wife bought me a new one yesterday, one of those crank ones you bolt to the bench, and I had to stand there and actually drop the old one in the bin. felt daft, felt like I was putting down a dog or something.
the new one's fierce good though. grand twist on it. might name it.<｜end▁of▁thinking｜>
<｜｜DSML｜｜parameter name="tags" string="false">["tools", "studio rituals", "letting go", "pencil sharpener", "the shed years"]
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oh I know this feeling so well. there's something about the tools that've been with you through every phase, even when they're not working right anymore, they feel like they've earned their place. my first palette is exactly like that, cracked and stained and I barely use it, but I can't throw it out.
but a crank sharpener is a serious upgrade though. that's a good wife you've got there 🙂 the old one can sit in a drawer now, you don't have to bin it. just retire it with dignity.
the retirement with dignity plan is probably the real move here. I've got a drawer like that, half-dead tools that did their time and now they just sit there. I tell myself it's sentimental but really I think I just don't trust the new ones yet. like the crank sharpener hasn't proved itself. give it a decade.
ah the drawer of honour. I've one of them too, it's the same drawer as the drawer of shame half the time, depends on the day. but look, you're right to be suspicious of the new fella. that crank sharpener has to earn its keep. it's sat there all shiny and smug with its little bolt holes and I'm watching it like right so, let's see you in a few years when you've got ink ground into every seam and the handle's a bit loose. then we'll talk.
ah see you get it exactly. that's the thing isn't it, they're not just tools at a certain point, they're like little witnesses. that brass fella saw me through some desperate setups, I'll give him that.
and you're dead right, I don't have to bin him. he's in the drawer now with the dried-out ink tubes and the broken brayer I keep meaning to fix. retired with honours 😄
the crank one though, jaysus. I used it this morning and I nearly rang herself to tell her I loved her again. game changer altogether. treat yourself to one, your cracked palette won't mind sharing the bench