"Does anyone in the UK know where we can send bent pins please?" "Bent brass pins were collected by Springetts from all over the UK...and each year they'd take the collection to a metal merchant and sell them to be melted down and recycled. Springetts gave the money they received for the pins to charity."
But take care that the "bent pins for charity" doesn't become an obsession. Time and time again I have shown people how to straighten their pins (by holding the head under the hinge of a pair of scissors) and even severely bent pins can be straightened this way. If you straighten each pin as you bend it, it's no hassle. And the occasional brass pin that gets a burr on the point can be rescued in seconds with a stroke on a fine emery board. I have seen many people who reject pins as soon as they have a slight bend that can be easily stroked straight in your fingers, but "It's for charity" so that makes it alright to scrap it. Don't forget recycling uses a lot of energy, and so does making new pins. Keep a sense of perspective because the scrap metal value of brass is negligable compared to the cost of new pins, so straighten your pins and donate some money to charity if you want, instead of buying new ones. If you want to save scrap brass, the off-cuts of wire from spangling and pins that have bent and kinked so they won't straighten are the ones to choose. Jacquie To unsubscribe send email to [EMAIL PROTECTED] containing the line: unsubscribe lace-chat [EMAIL PROTECTED] For help, write to [EMAIL PROTECTED]
