I bought these erasers when I was in Germany over Easter.
The manufacturers of both erasers like to emphasise that the erasers are phthalate-free. A while ago plasticisers were a big topic in the news in Germany. I think there might have been a scandal regarding plasticisers in toys – or maybe this started another way. Both erasers were €0.79 (~ $1; £0.63).
Prices: April 2012
Exchange rates: May 2012
Two Guys From Andromeda
One of my favourite type of computer games were always adventure games. Even though I knew about the adventure games from Sierra On-Line, I played the games from Lucasfilm Games much earlier, as I didn’t have a 16-bit machine at the time [1]There were of course also other companies making great adventure games, e.g. ICOM, Infogrames, Software 2000, …. When finally did have a 16-bit machine (an Amiga) I played all their games I could get my hands on, including the remakes – and I then did the same again when I switched to a PC (which was quite late, in 1996).
The Two Guys From Andromeda, the creators of the Space Quest series, recently started a Kickstarter project and the first prototype they released shows the Staedtler Mars technico (see picture) next to a sheet of paper within which the protoype is running. Nice to know that they, or someone from Q42, is using this lead holder.
Print Ad of the Week
Speaking of Staedtler, an advertising magazine made one of Staedtler’s ads their “Print Ad of the Week” this week. Here’s a link where you can see the photos as part of a critical article (in German). The criticism is that Leo Burnett, Hong Kong, who is behind this ad copied the idea from Dalton M. Ghetti. There has also been a reply to the criticism (in English) where you can see both, Ghetti’s and Burnett’s, pencils.
You can find a review of the Staedtler Mars technico at Lung Sketching Scrolls and some nice, vintage technico photos at Lexikaliker.
The screenshot of the Staedtler Mars technico has been taken from the The Two Guys From Andromeda SpaceVenture Prototype. I believe that the use of this image falls under “fair dealing” as described by the UK Copyright service.
References
| ↑1 | There were of course also other companies making great adventure games, e.g. ICOM, Infogrames, Software 2000, … |
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Two Guys From Andromeda Read More »
Today I want to show you KUM’s Correc-Combi, a sharpener in an eraser case, which I bought this April for €2.79 (~$3.65; £2.25) in Müller in Volkach, Germany.
The eraser
The blade of the sharpener is fixed to a plastic body which in turn is encase by (quite a large) eraser. I am sure it will take quite a long time to use this eraser up.
The sharpener
The performance of the sharpener is quite good, certainly much better than the performance of KUM’s 400-1K. The sharpener produces thin shavings with an average thickness of 0.2 mm [1]I recently bought a calliper in Lidl, so I thought the thickness of the shavings would be a good thing to measure, especially since Lexikaliker mentions the thickness of shavings in his blog..
I also saw a set square from Globus by KUM for 49c (~ 65¢; 40p) in the same shop and couldn’t resist buying it. You might remember the list of sharpening angles of the different sharpeners in the KUM 400-1K blog post. When I figured these angles out, two years ago, I didn’t have a set square – so this time figuring the angle out was much easier. With about 22° the sharpening angle of the KUM Correc-Combi is very similar to the sharpening angle of Möbius+Ruppert’s grenade.
Conclusion
A very good sharpener/eraser combination. The lid fits well, despite being a ‘click in’ lid (no screw thread) . The performance of the eraser is similar to that of KUM’s Correc Stick. It could be better, but is by no means bad. The performance of the sharpener is quite good and overall this eraser/sharpener combo offers very good value for money.
Prices: April 2012
Exchange rates: May 2012
I would like to thank Hen Chung from RAH for the Staedtler norica 132 46 HB you can see on the photos. It’s the less purple version with blind stamped “SRP” [2]My more purple version is blind stamped “SRL”..
The Correc-Combi is part of KUM’s Blue Ocean series. You can read a review of KUM’s Blue Ocean pencil set at pencil talk. You can also read a review of Staedtler’s norica at pencil talk.
In a previous blog post I wrote about Faber-Castell’s sharpener-eraser pen.
References
| ↑1 | I recently bought a calliper in Lidl, so I thought the thickness of the shavings would be a good thing to measure, especially since Lexikaliker mentions the thickness of shavings in his blog. |
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| ↑2 | My more purple version is blind stamped “SRL”. |
You might remember my blog post about the Carrefour Bloc-notes. Today I want to talk about another Rhodia-style notepad, the Oxford Bloc [1]I’m not sure what the official name is. There is a similar products, the Bloc Idéa, which seems to have the same format and the same 80g satiné extra blanc Optik Paper, but the cover of the … Continue reading. I bought this notepad for €1.05 (~ $1.39; £0.85) at J. A. Hofmann Nachfolger in Würzburg, Germany. I haven’t seen it in any other brick and mortar shop yet, but I have seen several online shops that sell this notepad.
The company
Despite the British-sounding name Oxford belongs to Groupe Hamelin, a French manufacturer of paper and stationery with roots that go back to 1864 and with plants in nine countries.
Rhodia Oxford Carrefour
Just like the Rhodia and the Carrefour notepads this notepad is made in France and just like the Rhodia and the Carrfour notepad, the Oxford notepad is held together by a staple, too, and features a orange fold-around cover. The notepad is available in the same common formats – the one on the photo is the 74 x 105mm version.
The paper
The paper feels less yellow and more purple than the Rhodia paper and less grey than the Carrefour paper. The grid printed on the paper is similar to the one on Rhodia paper, much less blurry than the Carrefour grid. The paper feels very smooth – no wonder the name of the paper has satiné in it.
It is a fantastic paper for fountain pens and ink, the inks I tried don’t show through on the reverse side at all, even though one of the nibs was rather wet. For pencils it is a different matter though. The paper is so smooth that the graphite from the point of the pencil doesn’t seem to want to stick to it as much as on most other paper. As a result the line from the pencil feels slightly lighter than on other paper. Lines also feel lighter than on the previously discussed Oxford Black n’ Red polynote notepad. Both Oxford products use Optik Paper, but the Black n’ Red’s paper has a density of 90 g/m², compared to the orange notepad’s 80 g/m². Just as with the Black n’ Red it is also easy to erase graphite from the Rhodia-style notepad’s paper, but there is a chance that you will still be able to see the indentation where the pencil line used to be.
Price and exchange rates: April 2012
As mentioned in the Black n’ Red blog post Hamelin / Oxford doesn’t react to query sent through their web site’s “Contact Us” form, therefore I’m unable to provide more information about the Optik Paper used.
References
| ↑1 | I’m not sure what the official name is. There is a similar products, the Bloc Idéa, which seems to have the same format and the same 80g satiné extra blanc Optik Paper, but the cover of the Bloc Idéa is different |
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Oxford’s Rhodia-style notepads Read More »
Today is the UK’s first National Stationery Day – with retailers all across the UK taking part in special events.
You can find more information at nationalstationeryday.com or on Twitter.
Happy National Stationery Day everyone!
National Stationery Day Read More »