Dem im Dezember 2019 auf den Markt gebrachten uni Jetstream Edge, mit seiner Spitze von nur 0,28 mm der am feinsten schreibende Kugelschreiber der Welt, folgt Ende Februar der Edge mit 0,38 mm. Ich erkenne jedoch nicht ganz die Neuheit, denn die Jetstream-Minen gibt es bereits in 0,38 mm, und diese passen auch in den Edge. Oder sind es die neuen Schaftfarben?
Nach der Zusammenarbeit von Tombow Japan und der Modemarke Middla, aus der Kleidungsstücke hervorgingen, gab es nun eine weitere. Dabei entstanden sind Masken mit Schmuckelementen in der klassischen Mono-Farbkombination.
Zum 60-jährigen Jubiläum des Pentel-Druckbleistifts hat das japanische Unternehmen drei neue Farbvarianten des TUFF auf den Markt gebracht. Das im wahrsten Sinne herausragende Merkmal dieses Stifts ist der 30 mm lange Radierer. – Außerhalb Japans ist dieser Druckbleistift unter dem Namen „Twist-Erase III“ bekannt.
Einen besonderen, nämlich 138-fach vergrößerten Blick auf die aus dem Führungsröhrchen eines Druckbleistifts herausschauende Mine bietet Thermo Fisher Scientific mit diesem beeindruckenden Foto.
Die Publikation1 zum Symposium „The Future Of Text“ enthält im Anhang eine „Text Timeline“ mit Erfindungen zu Schrift, Schreibsystemen, Standards, Software und verwandten Themen von 7500 v. Chr. bis heute. In dieser gibt es auch zahlreiche Einträge rund um den Bleistift, z. B. den Zimmermannsbleistift von Simonio and Lyndiana Bernacotti (1560), den Bleistift von Gessner2 (1565), den Radierer von Nairne (1770), den mechanischen Bleistift von Mordan und Hawkins (1822), den Spitzer von Lassimonne (1828) und den Radiertip von Lipman (1858). Ich finde es spannend, diese Erfindungen im zeitlichen Kontext mit anderen zu sehen, die auch mit Schrift und Schreiben zu tun haben.
That magnified picture of the mechanical pencil is fantastic! I was expecting some sort of „outer layer“ to be visible on the lead, but I guess I was wrong.
The book by Keith Houston also sounds very promising. I keep buying some used old HB calculators as they fail on me, but I would be hard pressed to change my habits!
That image is indeed fastastic, and the surface surprised me too.
It’s great to hear that you like calculators too! I hope your calculators will serve you well for a long time to come.
I’ve never heard of Keith Houston before, but The Book and Empire of the Sum both sound like books I’d enjoy.
Calculators are something I haven’t given any real thought to in perhaps ten years – I consider the question conclusively answered for me. On a whim, after reading about RPN, I got my then-work to buy me an HP-12C, and I’ve never been without one since. I have four, of varying vintage, and leave one anyplace I’ll spend much time or expect to do any work. I have the excellent PCalc on my phone, which has RPN, but I find the HP-12C far superior – buttons make all the difference. I also have two HP-11Cs, both of which I got quite cheap, but have never really had cause to use them yet.
That photo of the dissected Carl Angel-5 is wonderful. Very much of its time; not much plastic at all. No wonder they last. Mine, sadly, was thrown out at my last workplace and I’ve never got around to replacing it. After some years as a vocal ‘toothmarks don’t matter’ advocate, I’m completely flipped positions and now can’t bear them. I’ve limped along since with a loaned United Office (Lidl) desktop sharpener, but I’m open to suggestions for another desktop that produces points as acute as the Angel-5 without bite-marks.
Thank you for the details regarding your calculators. I’m happy to hear that you like the HP-12C! It’s a classic. – I still have (and enjoy!) my HP-32S bought in 1988.
So far I haven’t heard of Carl sharpeners breaking quickly, and mine still work perfectly. – If you don’t mind buying two Carl sharpeners and making one from them: The Angel-5 Royal has rupper-padded grips, and its milling unit can be replaced by the one of the standard Angel-5; this way you get the perfect crank sharpener.
I was a little too young for calculators in 1988! I remember in my last years in high school, we used TI-81s and TI-82s in class – I hated them. I’m glad now that I have a reliable tool that I enjoy using.
I can’t imagine one of the all-metal Carls ever breaking. I suppose, eventually, the sharpener element would wear down, but I imagine that would take a long, long time – most people would likely buy a new sharpener on a whim long before reaching that point. Mine would still be in use today if not for an idiot throwing it in the bin!
I ended up having a good long read of Matthias’s excellent guide to sharpeners. I very nearly bought a Carl CC-2000 (on Amazon for ‘just’ £35 delivered!), but managed to restrain myself. I ended up buying myself a Deli 0635 from Ali Express for about £6 delivered. Hopefully that will keep me going until I inevitably give in and buy the CC-2000 in a month or two!
Wow, a T-81! When we got calculators at school we could not even dream of this. I belong to the generation who witnessed the switch from slide rules to calculators. We were taught both, and my first calculator was the TI-30. Later I upgraded gradually and left school with a TI-59.
I have the impression that the rubber on the grips (e. g. of the Angel-5 Royal) ages and discolours, at least a bit, but I have to look closer. However, the mechanism looks as if it was built to last forever. – I’m sorry to hear that your CARL was binned!
Yes, Matthias’s guide is indeed excellent. The CC-2000 is amazing – you won’t regret the purchase!
That magnified picture of the mechanical pencil is fantastic! I was expecting some sort of „outer layer“ to be visible on the lead, but I guess I was wrong.
The book by Keith Houston also sounds very promising. I keep buying some used old HB calculators as they fail on me, but I would be hard pressed to change my habits!
That image is indeed fastastic, and the surface surprised me too.
It’s great to hear that you like calculators too! I hope your calculators will serve you well for a long time to come.
I’ve never heard of Keith Houston before, but The Book and Empire of the Sum both sound like books I’d enjoy.
Calculators are something I haven’t given any real thought to in perhaps ten years – I consider the question conclusively answered for me. On a whim, after reading about RPN, I got my then-work to buy me an HP-12C, and I’ve never been without one since. I have four, of varying vintage, and leave one anyplace I’ll spend much time or expect to do any work. I have the excellent PCalc on my phone, which has RPN, but I find the HP-12C far superior – buttons make all the difference. I also have two HP-11Cs, both of which I got quite cheap, but have never really had cause to use them yet.
That photo of the dissected Carl Angel-5 is wonderful. Very much of its time; not much plastic at all. No wonder they last. Mine, sadly, was thrown out at my last workplace and I’ve never got around to replacing it. After some years as a vocal ‘toothmarks don’t matter’ advocate, I’m completely flipped positions and now can’t bear them. I’ve limped along since with a loaned United Office (Lidl) desktop sharpener, but I’m open to suggestions for another desktop that produces points as acute as the Angel-5 without bite-marks.
I think you will enjoy these books!
Thank you for the details regarding your calculators. I’m happy to hear that you like the HP-12C! It’s a classic. – I still have (and enjoy!) my HP-32S bought in 1988.
So far I haven’t heard of Carl sharpeners breaking quickly, and mine still work perfectly. – If you don’t mind buying two Carl sharpeners and making one from them: The Angel-5 Royal has rupper-padded grips, and its milling unit can be replaced by the one of the standard Angel-5; this way you get the perfect crank sharpener.
I was a little too young for calculators in 1988! I remember in my last years in high school, we used TI-81s and TI-82s in class – I hated them. I’m glad now that I have a reliable tool that I enjoy using.
I can’t imagine one of the all-metal Carls ever breaking. I suppose, eventually, the sharpener element would wear down, but I imagine that would take a long, long time – most people would likely buy a new sharpener on a whim long before reaching that point. Mine would still be in use today if not for an idiot throwing it in the bin!
I ended up having a good long read of Matthias’s excellent guide to sharpeners. I very nearly bought a Carl CC-2000 (on Amazon for ‘just’ £35 delivered!), but managed to restrain myself. I ended up buying myself a Deli 0635 from Ali Express for about £6 delivered. Hopefully that will keep me going until I inevitably give in and buy the CC-2000 in a month or two!
Wow, a T-81! When we got calculators at school we could not even dream of this. I belong to the generation who witnessed the switch from slide rules to calculators. We were taught both, and my first calculator was the TI-30. Later I upgraded gradually and left school with a TI-59.
I have the impression that the rubber on the grips (e. g. of the Angel-5 Royal) ages and discolours, at least a bit, but I have to look closer. However, the mechanism looks as if it was built to last forever. – I’m sorry to hear that your CARL was binned!
Yes, Matthias’s guide is indeed excellent. The CC-2000 is amazing – you won’t regret the purchase!