2015 - Page 12 of 18

KUM Masterpiece

10 Comments / KUM, Sharpeners / 7 June 2015 / KUM, Masterpiece, sharpener

Introduction

I have used KUM’s Automatic Long Point sharpener, a two-step sharpener, for six years now, but I can’t say that I’ve ever been very happy with it. In the end, it didn’t use it much at all – saying that: it is a good sharpener for Staedtler’s Wopex, though.

After reading Lexikaliker’s blog post about the KUM Masterpiece, a very similar sharpener with a magnesium body, I couldn’t resist and had to try it. I’ll spare you most details about the sharpener as I’d never be able to write them up as well as Lexikaliker anyway.

The Masterpiece

The Masterpiece is quite expensive. I paid €9.25. Luckily Lexikaliker was kind enough to help me get my hands on one. No wonder it’s expensive: There is a lot of manual work involved and that doesn’t come cheap in Germany (but in this case it’s much cheaper that products from another German company involving a lot of manual work).

It’s a two-step sharpener, meaning that in the first step you only ‘sharpen’ the wood away. You then move to the second part of the sharpener where you sharpen the actual lead of the pencil.

The Masterpiece comes in a plastic container that is in a neoprene case.

Actually, the first time I used it I damaged the lid of the plastic container that sits inside the neoprene case – closing the snap fastener needs so much force that the case under it got a crack.

Conclusion

I can’t say that I get much better results with the masterpiece – compared to KUM’s Automatic Long Point sharpener, but it was slightly easier to achieve good results. Another benefit of this model: You can also slide the blue plastic stop off to expose the lead even further before sharpening in the second step. One last point to mention: The Masterpiece has an even more acute angle. Technically the angle for wood and graphite are different. In reality, assuming you used the built-in stop to expose just the right length of graphite, you get an angle of just over 15°. This is the most acute angle I know.

Step 1 completed – look at the beautiful shavings from my Noris.

It’s a nice sharpener, top marks for beautiful shavings, and I’m sure it will see more use than it’s Long Point sibling, but I still prefer my Deli 0635.

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Nock Kickstarter

4 Comments / Pencil cases / 3 June 2015 / Hightower, Kickstarter, Nock Co., pen case, The Pen Addict

Just arrived this morning: The Nock Co. Hightower Pen Case in Forest Green/Yellow with Union Jack tag and a Nock Co. Dot Dash Notebook.

Nock Hightower Case and Notebook — Nock Hightower Case (outside) and Notebook

I backed The Pen Addict‘s Kickstarter in January and got the pen case today ^[1]Funnily enough it was addressed to MEMM, instead of my first name / surname, but I assume I must have messed this up in my Kickstarter settings.. I paid $45 (~£29; €40) ^[2]I have since stopped buying expensive stationery (>£10) for more than one reason. I might even sell some of my more expensive stationery, but I still have some stuff coming in I ordered in the … Continue reading.

Nock Hightower Case (outside) and Notebook. The Noris was not part of the Kickstarter. — Nock Hightower Case (inside) and Notebook. The Noris was not part of the Kickstarter.

Price: January 2015

Exchange rates: June 2015

References[+]

References
↑1	Funnily enough it was addressed to MEMM, instead of my first name / surname, but I assume I must have messed this up in my Kickstarter settings.
↑2	I have since stopped buying expensive stationery (>£10) for more than one reason. I might even sell some of my more expensive stationery, but I still have some stuff coming in I ordered in the past, plus there is still a lot of expensive stationery I bought recently that I want to write about.

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Erasers, pencils and 3D pens

6 Comments / Links / 27 May 2015 / 3D printing, erasers, pencils

I just found out that Erasers are ‘an instrument of the devil and should be banned’. That came as a surprise.

Not only did erasers turn out to be evil, apparently you can summon demons with pencils.

Come on, what’s going on with British newspapers this morning‽ No need to sell stories in such a sensationalistic way.

Since we’re talking about surprising things anyway: I was also surprised to find out that 3D pens are very cheap now. You can now get one for under £30 / under $45. I think they started out costing more than three times that. Of course the more expensive ones might be better, but I wouldn’t know – I haven’t tried any.

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A visit to Fred Aldous

5 Comments / Uncategorised / 22 May 2015 / Field Notes, Fred Aldous, Generals, Leuchtturm, Manchester

Earlier this month I went to Fred Aldous, an art/craft/stationery store in Manchester that has bee around for more than 100 years.

Visiting this store is a great step up from visiting the usual chain stationery shops that all tend to offer the same items. Instead of finding what you can find everywhere you’ll find items that are usually only available in online shops or from abroad.

On the ground floor you will find imported, novelty and quirky stationery. This includes Field Notes, the first time I’ve seen them in a brick and mortar shop.

Field Notes at Fred Aldous — Field Notes

Less of a rarity: Rhodia …but I have never seen so much choice in one shop.

I was also able to stock up on Leuchtturm loops and saw pencils ‘live’ that I had to mail order in the past, like the Perfetto pencils mentioned previously.

The basement did remind me of a Hobby Craft store (an arts and craft chain in the UK). Lots of pencils, inks, etc, but of the less exotic kind. It’s still exciting to see so much choice in one place.

Parking isn’t easy in the centre of Manchester, but one of the side streets just next to Fred Aldous didn’t have double yellow lines all the way through, so I was able to park free of charge in a convenient location.

I also managed to buy a few exciting items.

You can find review of the Field Notes Shelterwood at The Writing Arsenal and at The Gentleman Stationer. The Field Notes I bought is the Cherry Graph, which is nearly identical.

Explosive Ltd, the company behind the Blacking Limited Edition video and running the Wood & Graphite blog, has a video review of the Cedar Pointe, bought in the same store.

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History of the pencil

Leave a Comment / Links / 15 May 2015 / youtube

A friend of mine ^[1]I used his camera to take the Staedtler Welt pictures. sent me this link to a video about the History of the Pencil.

I’d like to thank Vernon Antcliff for the link.

References[+]

References
↑1	I used his camera to take the Staedtler Welt pictures.

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