The E-Sylum:  Volume 10, Number 15, April 15, 2007, Article 8

PAGE CUTTING QUERY: WHAT TO DO WITH VIRGIN BOOKS

Ray Williams writes: "I received a book as a gift from a friend
yesterday - it is a reprint of Swift's Drapier's Letters.  Many
of the pages have not been cut and I was hoping to get a recommendation
as to the best way to cut them open.  My initial thoughts were to
use a razor knife but I thought I'd check here first."

[You've got a great friend there, and you've come to the right place
for advice.  We had a discussion on this topic a couple years ago,
and here are links to the items in our archive.  The definitive answer
came from George Kolbe:  do NOT use a sharp knife, as it can easily
cut things you don't want to.  It is far better to use a DULL knife
(and an ordinary table knife will do). See the E-Sylum excerpt below.
-Editor]

  Alan Luedeking writes: "I was intrigued by Steve Woodland's
  success story in opening his "virgin" book. I have often been
  faced with this dilemma with Latin American numismatic
  literature (a classic example being Burzio's "Diccionario", an
  essential read, often encountered unopened.) The first time,
  I did what Steve did: I took a "very sharp knife" and failed
  dismally. Careful as I was, nothing could change the fact that
  I'm basically a clumsy oaf, so of course I slipped and slit a
  page away from its natural fold. Belatedly recognizing my
  shortcomings, I stopped and did what I should have done
  from the start: ask George Kolbe for his advice! To my
  great surprise, George said to use a very dull knife (an
  ordinary table knife), and voilá!-- this has worked
  successfully every time.

  WHAT TO DO WITH VIRGIN BOOKS
  esylum_v08n11a13.html
  WHAT TO DO WITH VIRGIN BOOKS
  esylum_v08n12a27.html

  GEORGE KNOWS HOW TO HANDLE A VIRGIN
  esylum_v08n13a13.html

  Wayne Homren, Editor

	coinbooks.org Web

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