..and that's exactly why I always say any volunteer handling artifacts needs to be supervised like a hawk, even after basic training. A quick 20 minute orientation isn't enough when you've got fragile lithics or bone with visible use-wear. I've seen folks accidentally scrape off patination or break a point just by picking it up wrong. Your mileage may vary, but most places I've worked have a "no unsupervised handling" rule for the first season at minimum. It's not about being rude to volunteers, it's about protecting the stuff we're all there to study.

Wait, is this really true across the board though? @emery10 I hear so many people saying the same thing about wire brushes, but I feel like there's still a solid place for them on certain stuff. On really tough or uneven surfaces, a wire brush can get into spots those power tools just can't reach, you know? And yeah, arm ache is real, but sometimes the control you get with a manual brush makes up for it, especially if you're just doing a small spot or a detail job. I think everyone's quick to toss them out, but they're still handy to have around for the right tasks.

See I gotta disagree a little bit here. That 2% rule has been a rock solid base for me across probably a hundred batches of kraut and kimchi. The trick isn't changing the salt percentage, it's adjusting your process for the veg's water content. When spring radishes are super juicy, I just give them a longer drain time after salting or squeeze out a bit of the liquid before packing them in. The salt is doing double duty - it's pulling water out AND controlling what bacteria grow. If you drop the salt too much, you're asking for trouble with slimy ferments or mold. Your grandma's scale was probably measuring pretty close to that same 2% by weight anyway.

Man my buddy Dave had the exact same thing happen with a no-name brand head. He was trimming a maple in his front yard and the whole thing snapped right at the locking collar, dropped the pruner head on his truck hood. Left a nice dent too. He finally went and bought a Fiskars replacement head and it's been fine for two years now. Sometimes you just gotta pay the extra for the ones that actually work.

Burned my thumb learning that lesson last month." Yeah, I've got the scars to prove I tried the torch method too. Here's the thing nobody talks about: you can use a cheap heat gun instead of a torch. It melts the jacket without ever getting hot enough to damage the copper or set your jacket on fire. I keep one of those little $20 harbor freight heat guns in my bag just for those stupid stapled coax situations. Way more control, and you don't risk melting the copper itself or burning your thumb off. You ever try that route?