Convergence

In the Goodwill shop in Martinsburg (of all places), i stumbled upon a vintage Speedball linoleum cutter set: wooden handle and five blades. I figured there was a fair-to-middling chance the blades would be dull, though they didn't appear to be nicked or otherwise damaged. They can (theoretically) be sharpened, and the whole thing was a buck, so i didn't have much to lose - as soon as i finished being astonished, it went into my basket, and i laughed at the notion of my vintage shop and my print shop converging.

It was interesting to compare it to the new blades i've used, even ones of the same brand and style - when i tried it out on a lino block, i was delighted by the smoothness of these blades in cutting. I also think the #1 blade (the tiny V-cutter i use so much) has a more acute angle, so you can get a finer line... i still have to look at new and old blades side by side to check that, but that's my initial impression. While i admit that the newfangled plastic handles that unscrew to store blades are handy, i'll definitely be hunting for a stash of the vintage blades to use!