March 27, 2004
#50 :: Pencil sharpener
Feisty. Steadfast. Small. Kitschy. Voracious. Cast in brown-toned potmetal, a dimestore pencil sharpener embedded in his belly, this triceratops is one of those elegantly simple tools that delights in efficiency and feel. Shove a pencil in his mouth, spin it, pull it out - it's sharper. He continues his silent roar whether I leave him on the desk or stick him back in his drawer. Craftsman wrenches have a cold efficiency - they don't try to be fun. They're just tools. This is a mass-produced wonder, which - had it been crafted 200 years ago as a one-of-a-kind demonstration of a toolmaker's creativity and craft - might have been presented to royalty.
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