The Humble Pin.

One of the nice things about events such as the IRM, or other fairs, is that you meet up with colleagues and get to chat with them about all kinds of things. Which includes learning about stuff...

When I met up with the guy who makes my bronze sewing needles and bronze pins, he told me about having had trouble with his arm (which had kept him from working for several weeks); and he also told me about having counted the tools and aids and other items that he uses to make a single humble pin.

Can you guess how many?

Twenty-one. Twenty-one items are used to produce each single pin, ranging from general things such as hammer and anvil and abrading medium to several special items such as the tool to wind the wire into spirals for the heads, and the special tool to compress the wire coils into the nice round shape they are supposed to have.

I think this is fascinating - and it shows again how easy it is to underestimate production procedures for small, everyday things.