Care and feeding of your Dressing Pins

Dull dressing pins needing some TLC.

I have been raving to anyone who would listen about the dressing pins made by Irene Davis of The Treasury. After a few years of steady use my brass pins were getting dull. The Tudor focused group I play with called F.I.R.E. was starting to bend pins while dressing me and other ladies. I took this problem to to Irene, as the maker and asked about the card and feeding of my pins.

Problem 1- My pins are dull. what is the best way to sharpen them?

Answer- Don't use a metal file use sand paper. I tried a few different weights and a regular nail file for the bluntest pins. For sharper pins wet or dry sand paper of 400 grit works well. I just sharpened 32 pins this way in less than 2 hours. The technique will take time to get down.

Sharpening pin on sand paper strip.

Problem 2- My pin heads are coming loose.
Answer- Put down a piece of wood or an acrylic board used for leather tooling and smash the heads a few times. This should secure the pin heads in place again. Fix pinheads before sharpening pins for safety.

Problem 3- How to I make my pins shiny?
Answer- The two easiest ways to keep your pins shiny are polishing with either a jewelry cloth or with a few quick swipes of the 400 grit wet-dry sandpaper.

Problem 4- How do I store pins.
Answer- This is something I worked out for myself. Pin books made of wool felt are a convent way to keep your pins safe while you are not using them. Other people I know use pin cushions or small boxes for their pins too.

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