Does anyone else here collect these? I'm not sure whether to go for one of these new e-fingerboxes: Also, has anyone tried the stainless steel ones? I like them but I'm not sure if they're worth the extra money: I've got a collection of all sorts, and I have to say that one of my favourites is a 170-year-old scrimshandered palm fingerbox from Rehoku which features part of a dendroglyph and was crafted by British sailors stuck on the island from HMS Prophetess. The overall feel is very good as it was lined inside with lambskin and felt. The mechanism is in tip-top condition because, even though it's basically a wooden Heidelburg design, the actual wood used is, like the case, palm and thus can be kept beautifully clean and functional with palm oil, which also brings out the lovely dark finish. It's locked with an ivory key (cut from whalebone) engraved with the intials A.E., and in a niche inside the lid is a Gold Sovereign, which I only found when examining the fingerbox after I inherited it from my grandfather. It's a gorgeous bit of work and so beautiful.
I've seen a lot of pretty intense modern designs that seem really complex. I hear a lot of good things about them, but some of them are pretty hard to find. Me, I prefer the craftsmanship of a good ol' Esteban design. You really get a sense of what the maker was going for once you get that digit in there.
Sad to say but the fingerbox I found I'n the antique store probably 13 years ago just broke, and I have no idea where to send it for repair?! I hadn't even been fingering it very much lately, but when I did it would get quite intense.
Was it the lid? PM me I can turn over someone to contact about replacing the lid. I had my lid replaced a few years ago. They did an amazing job. After they fixed the lid it was fingering like new again.
That's absolutely beautiful. Looks like teak & mahogany on the sides, but I have no idea about the top.
I found an artisan who hand lathes travel, or "pocket" finger boxes, but he only sell directly out of his shop in Macomb, NY. It's about a two hour drive north of Syracuse, and I'm thinking of heading out there later this Summer. If any of you wanted to caravan or carpool for the trip, hit me with a PM and we can get a thing going.
Alice please remove that offensive image--^ ((ELCTRNC F.B.) The wooden one is beautiful BTW)) Personally, I'm getting a little sick of some of these young kids who think that the electronic fingerbox provide's even a quarter of the neural sensations that a classic fingerbox like Alice's will. Don't even get me started on the Chinese vs. Japanese fingerbox debate... I think we all just need to remember how helpful these little boxes of joy can be... True Story "Researchers at UC Berkeley decided to do an experiment to see if hand preference could be changed. They took 33 right-handed people and using a Distal interphalangeal box (Commonly known as the fingerbox) applied transcranial magnetic stimulation (TMS) to the posterior parietal cortex region of the brain. The parietal cortex plays a role in understanding spatial relationships and planning movements." This research is being done at Berkeley folks... Makes you stop and think about what a big deal these little "Toys" are, doesn't it...
Got these boxes in January. Seemed like I was doing everything ok but was just getting mediocre results. Bought some 2700's which helped but then noticed my screen had started to separate at the left trench rim. I asked someone about it and they said to try and push it down with a toothpick, which I did. It worked for awhile but the tear then expanded. I was getting weak hits and was ready to write it off thinking that a small tear shouldnt affect the performance that much. Regardless, I decided to send in pics and ask for more advice on how to fix my box. Instead I received a new one 2 days later!! It works 100% better!!! I was amazed how much better than my original, even before the tear. Not sure if the old one ran cold or the new one runs hotter but I'm very pleased now.
Just found this in my local library ~ May be out of print now, but whole chapter devoted to Finger Boxes! :
Does not exist? Oh, really? http://en.wikipedia.org/wiki/Ay-O Last set of these on eBay went for $145,000 (as if money could ever make me part with mine):
