A ring that he uses to gird his loins, or which he binds between his shoulders, is pure, and no [ring] is impure except for a finger-ring. A [finger] ring, whether it is engraved or whether it is not engraved, is impure, but [if] it is plated, it is pure. Said one student among the students of the Upper Galilee before Rabbi Eliezer: "I heard that they distinguish between one ring and another ring." He said to him, "Perhaps you only heard about that matter in reference to Shabbat, that one who goes out with an engraved [ring] is liable, and if it is not engraved, he is exempt." A needle: Whether it has an eye or whether it does not have an eye, is impure, but [if] it is plated, it is pure. Another thing that one student among the students of the Upper Galilee said before Rabbi Eliezer: "I heard that they distinguish between one needle and another needle." He said to him, "Perhaps you only heard about that matter in reference to Shabbat, that one who goes out with a needle with an eye is liable, and if it does not have an eye, he is exempt."

The chain of a double saddle-bag -- behold, it is pure, and [the chain] of a surveyor -- behold, it is impure, because he stretches out tents with it [and thus it is presumed to have corpse-impurity]. And [the chain] of a padlock, and of all other vessels, that which serves the impure is impure, and that which serves the pure is pure. The chain of the wholesale merchants is impure because it is made for tying up the cattle of homeowners (contra Kel. 12:1 ("A chain for tying up cattle is pure")). If one modified it for protecting [one's property] it is impure. Rabbi Yosei says, the same principle applies to a needle, a chain, and a rope. [If] he had two [doors to which he attached the chain], or if he attached a snail-shaped piece to the end [of the chain], it is impure.

The beam of a hatcheller's scale, if it has ounce-measures (unkiyot) but does not have hooks (unklaot), [or] it has hooks but does not have ounce-measures, it is impure. [If] its hooks were separated [from the beam], it is pure, and once he reattaches them, [the entire beam is considered] joined for purposes of impurity and sprinkling. The case of a lock and so too the fastening (klaustra) of a lock, it is joined for purposes of impurity but it is not joined for purposes of sprinkling. A steelyard balance (a type of scale used for weighing merchandise by sliding weights along a rod to balance the load suspended from hooks on the chains) that has a [hidden] receptacle for coins is impure, and it only defiles that which services the purpose [of deceit]. Its metal arches, whether they serve as receptacles, or whether they do not serve as receptacles, they are impure. And those of wood or of bone or of glass that serve as receptacles are impure, and those that do not serve as receptacles are pure. [If] he joined it to the beam and joined the beam to the steelyard balance, all of it is [considered] a single joined unit. A glass lantern* that has a receptacle for oil is impure; a receptacle for a candle, it is pure, and it only becomes defiled [when the receptacle acts] in service of [the glass lantern's] primary purpose. The supporting pillars* of [a glass lantern], whether they have a receptacle or whether they do not have a receptacle, are impure, and those of wood or of bone or of glass with a receptacle are impure and without a receptacle are pure.

A candelabra that has a receptacle for oil is impure; a receptacle for a candle, it is pure, and it only becomes defiled [when the receptacle acts] in service of [the candelabra's] primary purpose. And a nail from which one hangs funnels is pure, and the funnels are impure, and they are not [considered] joined to it. Decorative arched vessels*, e.g., ornamental vases (see Jastrow, אֲקוּנְבִּי) that are on a cupboard [or] that are on a four-post bed, and their [decorative] "galleries" and "colonnades"*, behold, they are pure, for they are only made for ornamentation. The hook of a strongbox is impure, but if it was oversized, it is pure. Said Rabbi Yehuda, for what reason is the spice-peddlers' [hook] that is in front of him impure (Kel. 12:2)? Because he suspends [merchandise] from it. And of [the hook] behind him, it is pure, because it is only made for protection. § The metal cover of homeowners' baskets (Kel. 12:3): Rabban Gamaliel says it is impure, and the Sages render it pure. And a wooden [cover] is pure. If it had a concave [receptacle] up to half its size, or up to a third of its size, it is impure, because it is like the lid of a cauldron. Less than that, it is pure, because it is like the cover of a clothing chest (see Kel. 16:7). And for what reason is the door of physicians' cupboards impure? Because he places medicinal compresses on it, and he hangs his scissors on it. Rabbi Yosei son of Rabbi Yehuda says, because he molds [the limbs of] a baby on it. They said to him, if so, it would have midras-impurity.

And these are the "unfinished metal vessels that are pure" (Kel. 12:6): All that he intends to sand over, or to saw off [a portion], or to form a rim, or to adorn with designs, or to beat with a mallet. [If] they were missing a rim or a handle or a knob, they are pure. [If] they were missing their cover, they are impure. These are the "tongs" (Kel. 12:3): Those that the shopkeepers use to stir the pot. What are the "crushers"? Those which are attached to the portable stoves*. A shopkeeper's bowl studded over with nails: Even if all of them are of wood and one is of metal, it is impure, and of homeowners, even if all of them are of metal and one of them is of wood, [it is pure,] for it was only made to service the earth. Rabbi Shimon ben Yehuda says in the name of Rabbi Shimon, a scraper's nail* is pure because it was only made to service the earth. Said Rabbi Natan, Rabban Gamaliel and the Sages did not disagree about the hanger of the strigil* (Kel. 12:6) of public bath attendants, that it is pure, for it was only made to service the earth (i.e., the dirt on one's body). About what did they disagree? About metal basins* of homeowners that are fashioned like an arch* a wicker basket") (Zar Zahav), for Rabban Gamaliel renders it impure because the servants rub [their feet] with it, and the Sages render it pure. Said Rabbi Yehuda, Rabban Gamaliel and the Sages did not disagree about [an earthenware tray] that is divided into two parts, one of which is twice as large as the other, that the large one is impure and the small one is pure. About what did they disagree? About [a tray] where one part is not twice as large as the other, and where both of them are equal [in size], for Rabban Gamaliel renders it impure and the Sages render it pure.

A nail that they bent in order to unlock and lock (i.e., to pick a lock) is impure. [If] they modified it to provide protection, it is pure. [If] they modified it to be used in a shoe or a sandal (see GR"A), it is pure. [If] they placed it in a sickle so that the blade does not loosen, it is impure, and Rabban Shimon ben Gamaliel renders it pure. [If] they placed it in a hand-millstone, or in a donkey-millstone, it is impure. Pivots that are added to the upper millstone, behold, they are pure, for they are only made to strengthen it. A workbench and a block of metal are impure. Weights that broke: Even if they bring them back (i.e., after repairing them) and weigh with them, they are pure. If he designated [the broken pieces] as weighing a half-liter, a third-liter, or a quarter-liter, they are susceptible to impurity. And these are the "unfinished wooden vessels that are impure" (see Kel. 12:8): All that one intended to smooth, to to scrape, to hollow out, or to plane*. [If] they lack a cup, a rim, an ear, or a hand, they are [nonetheless] impure. [If] they lack being hollowed out, they are pure. A seah-measure that one intends to level off from below is impure; from above, it is pure. Rabban Shimon ben Gamaliel says, wooden vessels are not susceptible to impurity until their manufacture is complete, and a seah-measure, once the ropes are attached to it. All unfinished wooden vessels are impure except those of boxwood, because they do not require boiling [before being used]. Rabbi Yehuda says, one who fashions vessels from olive branches -- they are pure because they do not require boiling, and they cause whatever is in them to become bitter.