How we choose
Rather Particular picks one object per thing for people who are hard to buy for. We prefer things with a reason to exist: a design that has lasted, a detail that solves something real, a maker who publishes what it actually does.
We read the maker's specifications, manuals and published documentation, and the record around the object. That record is where it's held in collections, how long it has been made, and what's included and what isn't. Every pick page lists its sources and the date we checked them.
We haven't tested these objects in hand, and we don't pretend to. You won't read "we tried it for a month" here. When a page says what something does, that's the maker's own specification, and we name the maker. The pick and the "skip if" are our judgment.
Buy through our links and the retailer may pay us a commission. Your price stays the same. No maker has paid to be included, and none has seen a page before it went up. If that ever changes, the page will say so.
Prices move and listings sell out. Each page shows a rough price and the date we checked it. The retailer's page is the one that counts.