• Solid cast brass
  • Waitlist now open
  • Twelve objects, no more
The ALUXAN emblem.

The collection

Letter Opener

Waitlist open · Price at release

A blade with no edge, which is the point.

Be first to hear when the Letter Opener is released, with its price. One message, nothing else.

Material
Solid brass
Dimensions
210 × 24 × 5 mm
Weight
260 g
Finish
Raw cast surface, honed bevel
Lead time
4–6 weeks

How it is made

Northern India

Almost nobody needs one, which is exactly why it reads as a considered gift rather than a useful one. It is the object on a desk that says the desk belongs to someone.

The bevel is honed but never sharpened. It parts paper by wedge and weight, and it will not cut a finger.

01 02 03 04
I The mould

River sand fine enough to hold an edge is packed around a pattern, then the flask is split and the pattern withdrawn.

II The pour

Brass is brought to a little over a thousand degrees and poured in one continuous movement. Hesitation shows in the finished surface.

III The break

The mould is destroyed to release a single casting. Each one is made from sand that has never held this shape before.

IV The hand

Only what must be worked is worked. The cast surface keeps the grain of the sand it was formed against.

This object

Sand-cast in one piece, then the bevel alone is honed on a stone.

A four-century brass-casting tradition, recognised with a Geographical Indication for the fine river sand its moulds are packed from.