Containers

Static and scratching

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The static failure Which affects the lightest parts most And polypropylene is worse than PET for it Glass does not do it at all The scratching failure Which hazes the container 91 of the 251 containers are clear Glass does not haze And brass swarf accelerates both Against which glass has one weakness So the trade is clean And a van is where the one wins The shelf lets you do either References

One holds the part and the other marks it.

The static failure

A plastic wall takes a surface charge from handling, and a light steel part clings to it above the heap and does not tip out.

Which affects the lightest parts most

A tumbler spring is a few millimetres of wire and is the article most affected by anything other than gravity.

And polypropylene is worse than PET for it

78 containers against 117. A polyolefin holds a charge more readily, which puts the PET group in the middle.

Glass does not do it at all

56 containers. Which is the clean answer and is a fifth of the shelf.

The scratching failure

A key blank has a profile and a finish, and the inside of a plastic jar is softer than steel. Shaking marks the jar.

Which hazes the container

And a hazed container stops being something you can see into, which for a sorted set is half the value.

91 of the 251 containers are clear

So the hazing matters on more than a third of the shelf, and it is progressive rather than sudden.

Glass does not haze

Which is the second reason the 56 are the right answer for this group, and it is the same reason the small collectibles property gives for a display container.

And brass swarf accelerates both

Debris from a cut blank is abrasive and scores the jar and the parts together.

Against which glass has one weakness

It breaks. Our material ratings put glass at 1 of 5 for impact, which the compounding property sets out, and that is the only low rating in either material set.

So the trade is clean

Static, scratching, hazing and washability against breakage. Four against one.

And a van is where the one wins

Which is why a trade kit is usually plastic and a bench set is usually glass.

The shelf lets you do either

56 glass and 195 plastic, with the same capacities and the same necks on both.

References

The Davis Pack Supply catalog, measured 19 October 2026. The 251 containers on this shelf are 117 PET, 78 polypropylene and 56 glass, so 195 plastic against 56 glass, a little over four to one. For a small metal part the difference is practical: glass does not scratch, does not haze and does not take a static charge, and both plastics do all three.

The Davis Pack Supply catalog, measured 19 October 2026. 539 rows: 251 containers and 288 closures. This is the store-small-dry shelf, shared identically by nine groups, and the sewing notions property enumerates the inventory. 5 to 500 mL with a median of 177, with 60 containers under 60 mL and 22 under 30. 210 jars, 27 bottles, 12 tubs and pails, 2 tubes. Buyability, a snapshot: 159 of 251 available, 91 not, 1 unrecorded; 93 quote only; 65 full case only, with case packs from 12 to 6,370 and a median of 288.

Written from 18 U.S.C. 1704 and from the catalog as it stood on 19 October 2026. That section is a theft and forgery statute about keys to Postal Service locks and says nothing about containers, labeling or packaging; it is quoted because it is the federal provision that names a key. Nothing here addresses the lawfulness of making, holding or selling any key or key blank, locksmith licensing, restricted keyways, key duplication, or whether any mark has legal effect, and nothing here would assist anybody in defeating a lock. This shelf is shared identically by nine groups and the sewing notions property enumerates the inventory.