As established in many previous blog posts the Staedtler Noris is THE common pencil in British schools. It’s no surprise then that (stock) photos used by British newspapers heavily feature the Noris.
I guess I should add this sighting to the Noris in the Wild page.
It’s nice to know that British schools recognise a good pencil when they see one and that Staedtler’s Noris is, as far as I can tell, by far the most common pencil in British schools. If I could only have one pencil for the rest of my life it would be the Noris, without a shadow of a doubt.
In this school scene from the British TV series Catastrophe (Season 4 Episode 2) you can see ten Staedtler Noris in nine seconds
(It’s an animated gif, so you might depending on the browser you use you might have to click on it first.)
Since we’re on the topic of Staedtler anyway: have a look at this drawing tube (to transport drawings, etc.) in a Mars Lumograph look. Cool.
ステッドラーのアートチューブです。図面などを折り目をつけずに持ち運べるケースです。 pic.twitter.com/zRUlkyYsRC
— 画材たんぽぽ (@GTanpopo) January 24, 2019
The school scene in this blog post has been added to the Noris in the Wild page and is from the Channel 4 series Catastrophe. I believe that the use of the animated GIF shown in this blog post falls under “fair dealing” as described by the UK Copyright service.
The new 2017 Noris eco (on the right) is capped
This blog had quite a few Wopex related blog posts over the years – and here’s the latest one: about the new generation of Wopex pencils. This is the third generation I know of, but there might have been more.
I got the sheet from the 2010 blog post out and added the new 2017 grades.
Just a quick reminder. Staedtler introduced the Wopex (pencil) in 2009 – it’s an extruded pencil and its body is made from a wood-plastic-composite (which consists of more wood than plastic). In 2010 Staedtler introduced the Wopex in 2B and 2H. I had a closer look at the 2B and 2H version in a 2010 blog post and couldn’t find much difference between the 2B, HB and 2H version. Fast forward to 2016. By now Staedtler is using the term Wopex only to describe the material used to make these pencils. Wopex is not used anymore as a name for the pencil itself – at least not by Staedtler. At the Insights X 2016, they had a few prototypes of the new ‘Wopex material’ Noris eco in 2H, H, HB, B and 2B. At the Insights X 2017, they showed the final product.
Close up of the 2010 vs. 2017 comparison
The design of the Noris eco is clearly inspired by Staedtler’s European staple pencil, the Noris, but like other Wopex material pencils, the surface of the extruded Noris eco feels rubberised. It is also eco-green, but has the same black stripe pattern as the yellow Noris or the red Tradition: The two opposing, labelled sides (let’s call them top and bottom) of this hexagonal pencil are black. The four sides (let’s call them the two right and the two left sides) are green with a think black stripe in between. I am mentioning this because some of the prototypes had a different pattern.
Unlike previous Wopex material pencils, the new Noris eco has a cap. It’s cool, man.
Watch on YouTube for high definition.
Great news. There’s a proper difference between the different grades in the new 2017 version. In terms of darkness and in terms of point retention. Compared to the Mars Lumograph in 2B, which is a very easy to erase pencil, the new Noris eco in 2B is more difficult to erase.
Eraser test – the bottom right square has been erased
If you see them in a shop I urge you to give them a try.
The pellets before they’re extruded into a pencil. From the Wopex sharpener blog post.
In case you can’t get enough of the Wopex. Here are some links:
2009: The world’s first blog post about the Wopex (Lexikaliker, in German)
2010: Staedtler WOPEX pencil review (Pencil Talk)
2012: Pencil Review: Staedtler Wopex HB Pencil (East…West…Everywhere)
2012: Staedtler Wopex Pencil (The Well-Appointed Desk)
I think the Pen Addict never had a Wopex review. If he did please let me know.
Some more post-2012 Wopex reviews can be found at Pencil Revolution, Comfortable Shoes Studio, The Weekly Pencil, The Finer Point, Pens Paper Pencils, Office Geek, Scribomechanica.
At the top, you can see the alternative black and green Wopex pattern. A picture from the ‘epic fail’ blog post.
I would like to thank Benedikt Schindler for his help in getting me the new 2017 Wopex. I still haven’t seen them on the high street in the UK.
It’s no secret that I’m a big fan of Staedtler’s Noris…
…so I was very excited to see that there’s a Noris pencil case!
Noris Pencil Case (Image copyright probably Staedtler)
I first thought this a UK only set, but when I checked Amazon US I saw that it is also available in the USA.
There are even different sets with different pens.
Noris Pencil Case (Image copyright probably Staedtler)
You can find one of the UK versions here and the US version here and here.
By the way, Daan De Winter’s Noris in the Belgian TV series Professor T. is visible in many episodes. It is also used to remove the seal of a crime scene and for other tasks. Nice.
The screenshot/animated GIF in this blog post has been taken from Episode One of Season One of the original Professor T. TV series. I believe that the use of Staedtler’s image shown in this blog post and the use of the animated GIF from Professor T. falls under “fair dealing” as described by the UK Copyright service.
Since Summer I’ve been trying to write a blog post about real, fake and imagined Staedtler Noris pencils in the UK, but I didn’t manage yet to get all the information together.
Luckily, it’s the holiday season, so even though the blog post about the real, fake and imagined Noris is still a while off, we managed to have a bit time to spare and watched some telly.
Discovering another Noris is of course a great bonus if you watch telly and this time the Noris makes its appearance in several episodes of the Belgian TV series Professor T.
Here’s an animated GIF. If it isn’t animated on your device you might have to click on it first.
Just to set the record straight. The TV series is called Professor T., but the Staedtler Noris belongs to inspecteur Daan De Winter, played by Bart Hollanders. Here he’s seen playing with his Noris while waiting in the hospital. He seems to like this pencil as he is using it in other episodes, too.
While writing this blog post I realised that there’s a German remake. I wonder whether the remake also features Staedtler’s Noris.
In the UK Professor T. is being shown as part of Channel 4’s Walter presents series. Walter presents started with Deutschland 83, a TV series with Faber-Castell’s 9000.
Here a proper video, depending on your device it might play better or worse than the animated GIF.
I have added this Belgian Noris to the Noris in the Wild page.
The screenshot/animated GIF in this blog post has been taken from Episode One of Season One of the original Professor T. TV series. I believe that the use of the screenshot shown in this blog post falls under “fair dealing” as described by the UK Copyright service.
