Satisfying Old Brass Pin Drill Gauge gold hearts This old hand-drawn lion looks

This old hand-drawn lion looks as if it must have been inspired by a heraldic one

and ever--what a marvelous combination of functional form and exuberant expression

then the straight ends were inserted one by one into the face of the "brush

I can never resist an archeress

sturdy on her base--mounted to lean back a little--and to my eye really beautifully aged

Satisfying Old Brass Pin Drill Gauge gold hearts This old hand-drawn lion looksI believe this small brass gauge would have been used for measuring pin drill (pin vise) bits; pin drills are like miniature drills, used for precision work by machinists or jewelers, etc. This is a fairly old one, with just the center row of holes stamped: 0 10 in progression, the largest number for the smallest hole. The shape of it when I first saw it made me think of a hornbook (a small paddle of sorts, usually bearing an alphabet, used for