I was politely waiting for a man to dig through the items in a box of tools at the weekly church thrift shop (beautiful day with outdoor shopping available again) but when I watched him pick up this item, push the lever and make the blade appear, push the lever again and slide the blade out of sight … and then … put it back in the box - I immediately leaned forward (said, excuse me, of course, hardwired for this as a Canadian) and reached it out of the box.
I had never seen such a thing before. I have – many times! – used that kind of blade to scrape paint from glass and the fact that it came in such a nifty holder which would make it safer and easier to use and disappeared into its own dear little space for storage – well!
I wondered – aloud – how to replace the blade. The man showed me. It just slides out. No need to risk a thumbnail or get a screwdriver.
Another man (waiting politely to take my place in line at the tool box) mentioned that I could get rid of the paint by soaking it in water with dish detergent for a few hours. It was quite clogged with paint. Tsk. Tsk. I did as he suggested and it worked a treat.
I couldn't find any paint specks on glass to scrape off. But I did use it to sharpen a pencil.
This case for documents feels and smells as delightful as it looks; it has that nice scent of old, of use, of time.
I don't know what I will put in it.
Maybe nothing. Maybe just let it carry the memory of all the Valuable Papers it has held over the years.
And notice the two extents of closure – for thin and thick.