How I Became a Lock Picker
Shayla Love on lock picking and the sport of opening locks.
craftsmanship
8 Best Stationery Designs for People With a Slightly Unhealthy Obsession With Pens & Notebooks - Yanko Design
Nobody needs their fortieth pen. That has never stopped anyone who truly loves stationery from buying it anyway, because a new notebook still feels like a small event no matter how many already sit in the drawer. This list is for that person, not the casual note taker, but…
America’s machinists are retiring, and two startup founders want to salvage what they know
Neuramill is building software that captures how experienced machinists decide to make a part, then applies that knowledge to new jobs at aerospace and defense machine shops. The company was founded last year by two engineers in their 20s who started their careers in Seattle.
Henry Disston (1819-1878)
Some more on a Philadelphia success story and institution.
https://www.tokyoweekender.com/japan-life/japan-sewer-day-manhole-cover-sale/
The Kitchen a Cook Would Build
no designer needed
Fourteen Thousand Omelettes
It takes ten years to make a chef, a man told me once. it took me two just to learn how to make an omelette.
The deep satisfaction of doing work that lasts | Psyche Notes to Self
In Studs Terkel’s oral history ‘Working’, some of the people happiest with their work have something in common
There are various things that workers seem to be seeking, and sometimes finding, in Terkel’s book, such as respect, autonomy or a way to be themselves. But the builders and other stories suggest that a big one is the desire to make something that lasts in the world. Perhaps this is an extended form…
5 Japanese Pens & Notebooks So Beautifully Made You’ll Never Want to Type Again - Yanko Design
There is a specific quality to well-made Japanese stationery that is difficult to name and easy to recognize. It is not about price or brand recognition. It is the sense that the object was designed by someone who used a pen every single day and got quietly frustrated with…
What Happened to Talenti?
Over the past 20 years, Talenti has changed from a small, independent brand to a piece of a corporate conglomerate. Has that affected its quality?
Taste Is All That's Left | Blog
On what is left to do once the machine can make anything, and why taste is the last craft worth keeping.
Signature Profile - Chef Knife (K-tip)
Each knife is made to order and ships in approximately 1-2 weeks. When Geoff started designing knives, he wanted something classic. The k-tip has a straight spine, and the last 2” from the tip breaks down to the end. Exactitude and finesse come together in the K-Tip blade, ideal…
Trigger: The Life of Willie Nelson's Guitar – Texas Monthly
Most guitars don’t have names. This one has a voice and a personality, and bears a striking resemblance to his owner.
Better Than Free
In the analog world, it takes great effort to make a copy.
The Hunt for the Counterfeiter Trying to Make the Perfect Bill
On the trail of the world’s best counterfeit artists.
Replacement Windows to the Soul - Nautilus
For millennia, artisans have been trying to capture the mystique of the human eye
Where did all the good sculptors go?
Episode 17 is about carving a new sculpture tradition.
The Founding Story Behind Japan’s Oldest Whisky Maker
In 1899, a young Osaka merchant named Shinjiro Torii opened a small wine shop with an idea that would change the spirits world. More than 125 years later, the company is a global drinks conglomerate. Here is the full history of the House of Suntory.
7-in-1 Titanium Ruler That Draws Perfect Circles, Measures Angles, and Works as a Caliper. Yes, Really. - Yanko Design
https://youtu.be/MhqH6AyYn3I EDC and stationery have been moving closer together for years. Pens became precision objects. Rulers became desk jewelry. Pocket tools started borrowing the language of industrial design, while analog work tools picked up the portability and finish…
Handmade Designs: The New Trust Signal
In an era of AI-generated-everything, AI-fatigued users want designs that look like they were made by a person.
What It's Like to Be...a Baker - By Dan Heath - Behavioral Scientist
Tinkering with the recipe for gingerbread cake until it's right, adjusting to the variability of local grains, and cherishing the quiet mornings when the sun fills the bakery windows with Sophie Williams, a baker in Bellingham, Washington.
The Art of Taking It Slow
Anna Wiener interviews Grant Petersen, the owner of Rivendell Bicycle Works, who has amassed an ardent following by urging people to abandon the spandex and personal bests, get a comfortable bike, and go easy.
The Wizard of Vinyl Is in Kansas
Chad Kassem is on a mission — saving listeners “from bad sound” — at the rural factory where he pores over LPs from some of music’s most important artists.
The Golden Age of Japanese Pencils, 1952-1967
It was the summer of 1952, and the executives of Tombow Pencil were about to revolutionize the Japanese pencil industry—or, possibly, fall flat on their faces. Hachiro Ogawa, the son of founder Harunosuke Ogawa, was Tombow's managing director, and he had just finished a…
My Quest to Find the Owner of a Mysterious WWII Japanese Sword
When I was a kid, I was fascinated by a traditional katana my grandfather had brought home from Japan in 1945. Years later, I decided it was time to find the heirloom’s rightful owner.
How Japanese Masters Turn Sand Into Swords: The Art of Traditional Sword Making from Start to Finish
We made sand think: this phrase is used from time to time to evoke the particular technological wonders of our age, especially since artificial intelligence seems to be back on the slate of possibilities.
A Knife Forged in Fire
The author wanted a Japanese-style kitchen blade made for him by hand. What he witnessed was a combination of artistry and atomic magic.
‘A good knife is not only about the steel’
Founded in 2022, the knife-making process at Isamitsu Knives differs from industrial manufacturers in small but significant ways.
About Us
Why America’s Largest Tool Company Couldn’t Make a Wrench in America …
archived 22 Jul 2023 03:08:13 UTC
See Inside One of America’s Last Pencil Factories
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The family-owned facility in Tennessee produces more than 70 million pencils annually
To rebuild Notre Dame's fire-ravaged roof, carpenters use centuries-old tec
When fire engulfed the Paris landmark in 2019, the intricate maze of medieval beams supporting the roof fell to the cathedral floor. Experts are working to restore the church by the end of 2024.
The other "Phillips" head screwdriver you might not know about - Shop Press
Not every Phillips head fastener is a Phillips head fastener. If you don't know about Japanese Industrial Standard, now you'll know.
The Man Who Fixes the World's Finest Violins
He’s trusted to repair some of the world’s most fabled — and expensive — instruments. How does John Becker manage to unlock the sound of a Stradivarius?
A Glimpse Inside a Florentine Silk-Weaving Workshop
The Antico Setificio Fiorentino, which relies on looms from the 18th and 19th centuries, has been producing precious textiles since 1786.
The Dark Art of Mastering Music
Shedding light on the elusive studio practice that’s all but necessary to make music sound great.
Shop Class as Soulcraft
Our rejection of craftsmanship wrongly ignores the cognitive, social, and remunerative rewards of skilled manual work, and wrongly assumes that white-collar work always engages the mind. Matthew B. Crawford recounts life as a motorcycle mechanic and makes a case for the manual…
Seams pretty good: how to know you’re buying quality clothes
From rubbing fabric on your neck to checking stitch size, there are ways to test how well made clothes are before you try on
Toledo’s Last Swordmakers
Famed since Roman times, the Spanish city’s artisans are all but extinct. But a reprieve is at hand from the TV and film industry
A Hypnotic Look at How Japanese Samurai Swords Are Made
Paper, books, wooden joints, tea whisks — Japanese culture has, for seemingly all of its long recorded history, greatly esteemed the making of objects.