I bought the first edition of this book, skipped the second and now I have the third.  There are many changes.  The third edition is much larger, 280 pages to 194.  Though there are some new sections, most of this increase in size comes from expansion of the chapters that were there in the first edition.  The inside front page is a detailed contents list and there’s a useful index at the back.

Though the book now has a smart outer cover, it retains it spiral-back format, which means that it lies flat on your bench if you need to consult it during a repair.  It’s not for repairers alone, though, there’s a mass of fascinating information about, for instance, different filling methods and about British pens.

Having only received the book today I can’t give a thorough review but I thought it was important to write about it right away.  If you want one, now’s not the time to hesitate – go and get it, because the last new edition went pretty fast and a lot of people were disappointed.  It will be £30 well spent.