Editorial policy

Every entry on this bench follows the same rules, and they are written here so a reader can hold the desk to them.

One question per entry

An entry is built around a single question about a tool or a gesture. If a second question cannot be answered inside the first without losing the reader, it becomes another entry. The answer is stated in the opening paragraphs, before the background.

Sources are named

The material comes from published standards, manufacturers' instructions, trade manuals and archive catalogues. Each source is named at the foot of the entry. Where two sources disagree, the entry says so and gives both. Where a source does not settle the question, the entry says that instead of filling the gap.

Dates say when an entry was checked

The date on an entry is the day it was last checked against its sources, not the day it was first written. A corrected entry is republished with a new date, and the correction is not hidden.

No selling, no ranking, no superlatives

The bench does not sell tools, stones or compounds, does not rank brands, and does not accept payment for a mention. It does not describe a tool as the best, the finest or the only one worth buying. A price appears only when a named source published it.

Safety belongs to the bench that is trained

An entry explains what a tool does and where a gesture stops. It does not instruct a reader to use a torch, an acid, a pickle or a polishing machine, and it does not describe the setting of a stone in a way that invites an untrained reader to attempt it on a valuable piece.

Language and name

The bench writes in English. It does not invent a person, a workshop, an address or a history for the domain, and it does not claim a relationship with any business that may have used the name before.