11 thoughts on “I love a good office supply store”

1. How does one use the paper cutter? It looks like a hand tool for shaving a sheet off of a block of cardboard, not trimming the edge of a sheet.

2. Eric, my best guess after lots of googling, is this: The picture shows only a two-inch end of a 12-inch ruler (such a short thing on its own could hardly have been a practical ruler). The edge opposite the viewer has a brass strip set into the wood, like many high quality rulers today have. The paper it was designed to cut was, I think, limited to the pages of a book that had not been fully cut — you would slide the ruler into the uncut page, and the brass edge, carefully manipulated, would have been sharp enough to cut open the page without leaving a jagged edge.

   Insights and corrections welcome.

3. Is it also possible that you could simply place the cutter on a piece of flat paper and then pull the paper up against the sharp edge to cut/slice it as you’d like? (Otherwise, it’s basically a very sharp letter opener?)

4. Now that you point it out I can see the break markings on the top left edge indicating that the rest of the object is not shown. That makes sense. Thank you.

5. Come to think of it, Gary, that’s exactly how I played with my mother’s similar ruler when I was a kid. And it *was* sharp — when I’d draw a line with a pencil using that edge, it would cut a little groove in the pencil lead.

6. I’ve always wondered what the difference is between a tablet and a notebook.

7. To me, a tablet is usually bound at the top and a notebook at the side, and often tablet paper is much cheaper quality. That’s just my gut impression, though. Don’t know if there’s a formal difference.

8. Patent #159,294
   The description does not clarify how it is to be used, as I suppose this sort of paper cutter may have been in more common use at the time, and didn’t need instructions. As best I can tell, you could lay the ruler flat against the paper and then draw the paper upwards against the sharp edge. Or you could use the front edge to cut the paper with a knife. The back edge is raised above the paper for ruling, presumably so ink isn’t drawn under the ruler by capillary action. If the front edge is to be used with a knife, the idea might be that the knife cuts a straighter line because it won’t be prone to wobble under the metal edge.

9. I thought a notebook was bigger and had more memory ( 🙂 ) Sorry, couldn’t resist.

10. I’ve been reading ruler patents!
    Here’s another one that mentions cutting paper. This one says the cutting edge is for “cutting or tearing.” Cutting with a knife perhaps?

    “The uses of the article are too apparent to need further description.”

    Okay, then.

11. I love how geeky the comments can get here. I feel so at home! Thank you, everyone!

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