The Complete Handbook of Tacks & Pushpins

Finally, a handbook that treats tacks and pushpins like the engineered tools they are. I manage supplies for a 40-person design studio, and before this book I was just guessing which types to order. Chapter 1 alone changed how I think about fastening—the explanation of why material and head style matter was exactly what I needed. My only wish is that there were more photographs showing the actual differences between types side-by-side, but the specifications section makes up for it.

I've been doing display work for 15 years and I've never seen anyone actually explain the difference between a T-pin and a map pin in practical terms until now. The selection framework in Chapter 3 is exactly how I make decisions, except now I have the language to explain it to clients and junior staff. Solid reference—I keep it on my desk next to my suppliers' catalogs.

This is what every reference handbook should be: specific, grounded in real work, and written for people who actually care about doing the job right. The troubleshooting chapter alone—why fasteners fail, what to check, how to fix it—saved me hours of wasted trial and error. I wish I'd had this book five years ago. Highly recommended for anyone who specifies or uses fasteners regularly.

I manage a school supply budget and I'm responsible for making sure classrooms have what they need without blowing the budget. This handbook gave me the knowledge to make informed decisions instead of just reordering what we always order. Chapter 2's breakdown of types and specs is practical and clear, and Chapter 6 on suppliers and bulk ordering is invaluable. This is exactly the kind of professional reference I needed.

The book delivers what it promises—practical knowledge for professionals. That said, I expected more depth in the troubleshooting chapter, and the business opportunities section in Chapter 6 felt a bit brief for someone actually trying to build a reselling operation. The core content is solid, though, and the glossary is genuinely useful. Worth buying if you use tacks and pushpins regularly in a professional context.

I appreciate that this book doesn't treat tacks and pushpins as trivial, but some of the technical detail in Chapter 2 felt overwhelming for what I actually need—I just need to know which ones work best in cork and which ones work in fabric, which the selection chapter covers. If you're specifying for a business or managing complex inventory, this book is worth it. If you're just a casual user, you might not need this level of detail.

This is the kind of reference handbook that makes you realize how much you didn't know about something you thought was simple. The chapter on why fasteners fail—rust, bent shanks, why they slip—finally explained problems I've been dealing with for years without understanding the cause. My only critique is I would have appreciated more on cost analysis and total-cost-of-ownership thinking when choosing between options.

Outstanding. I run a craft studio and I was ordering random assortments of tacks and pins based on what looked good at the supplier. After reading this, I now understand material properties, holding power, and why certain fasteners work on specific surfaces. The book is clear, practical, and solves real problems. This should be required reading for anyone managing supplies or doing precision work.