Warning: I was cleaning a Roman coin hoard with a soft brush and my mentor told me to switch to a bamboo skewer.

We were working on a find from a field in Norfolk, and the dirt was packed into the lettering. The brush just pushed the crud around. I spent an hour on one coin with zero progress. My mentor, Dr. Evans, handed me a pointed bamboo skewer and said 'pick at it, don't scrub.' Under a magnifier, I gently picked and the packed soil came out in chunks, revealing a clear 'IMP CONSTANTINVS' legend in about ten minutes. Has anyone else found that a simple pointed tool beats a brush for really caked-on field dirt?

3 comments

3 Comments

cole_flores443mo ago

You're totally right about picking versus brushing. But what about the pressure you use with that skewer? It's not just the tool, it's the weight of your own hand. A brush lets you be sloppy because the bristles spread the force. A point focuses all of it. One shaky push and you're adding new scratches to the patina. Doesn't that make the skill all about control, not just picking the right stick?

the_susan3mo ago

Hold up, you're saying the brush is for being sloppy? A soft brush needs a light touch too, or you mash dirt into the grooves. But yeah, a metal point is brutal. Ever tried a wooden toothpick? It's got some give, so you can press without gouging. Makes me wonder if the real trick is matching the tool's hardness to the crud you're removing.

james_bell3mo ago

Pick at it like you're picking a lock, not digging a hole. I think about this with everything from getting stickers off glass to scraping burnt cheese off a baking sheet. The tool matters less than the angle and the feel of when to stop. @cole_flores44 is spot on about control, it's like the difference between using a butter knife and a razor blade, one lets you be clumsy and the other punishes you for it. Same thing with a credit card vs a fingernail for dried glue, you have to match the force to the task or you wreck the surface.