Staedtler

Happy Belgian National Day!

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Belgium. Home of our president, home of The Pencil Case Blog, home of the chips (and moules-frites), home of SG-1’s favourite toy, home of many fantastic comic artists and comic strips [1]from Macherot, Turk, Morris, Hergé, Peyo, …, home of some crazy music and home to some of the best [2]imho notebooks in the world…

…and today is the Belgian National Day!

In a perfect world I’d now show you a picture of a Belgian pencil sharpened with a Belgian blade. Unfortunately I have to make do with no Belgian pencil, but at least some fantastic Belgian paper. For the photo I could even choose between different brands, but I picked Atoma paper. Regarding the blade, I chose a Dutch one, from Apeldoorn – the Netherlands is a neighbour of Belgium. About the pencil, I chose a German one, again it’s a neighbour of Belgium, plus the National Day “commemorates the day on which Leopold I took the constitutional oath as the first King of Belgium, on July 21st 1831” [3]see http://www.belgium.be/en/about_belgium/country/belgium_in_nutshell/symbols/national_holiday/. Leopold I of Belgium was born in Coburg, which is in Franconia – and this pencil was made in Franconia, too. Happy Belgian National Day

 

 

References

References
↑1 from Macherot, Turk, Morris, Hergé, Peyo, …
↑2 imho
↑3 see http://www.belgium.be/en/about_belgium/country/belgium_in_nutshell/symbols/national_holiday/

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Noris of the Woods

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More Noris spotting!

I was lucky enough to spot several Staedtler Noris pencils in the BBC’s national and regional news in the last couple of days. One of the regional news clips was even filmed just around the corner.

…but Sean has sent me an even more exciting Noris spotting:
The 6-part series from the BBC called The Story of England by Michael Wood features Staedtler pencils in several shots. Here’s a photo from this series, featuring a Welsh-made Noris.

Image © Maya Vision / BBC
Image © Maya Vision / BBC

I believe that the use of the the screen shot of the Noris pencil, taken from Michael Wood’s Story of England falls under “fair dealing” as described by the UK Copyright service.

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Uncle Noris

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As you might have guessed after reading The Noris, then and now or any of the other Seen in the wild posts: I’m always happy when I see the Staedtler Noris on somebody’s desk or in a shop (not really worth a blog post: “Did you know, my local bank is using Noris pencils”) or on telly (probably more interesting for you, so maybe worth a blog post).

Last time I spotted a Noris was in Episode 3 of Uncle.  This episode gives you the opportunity to admire the Noris in Nick Helm’s right and left hand and in his mouth (maybe the production company  shouldn’t have picked the bacon flavoured Noris).

Uncle (Image © Baby Cow Productions / BBC)
Uncle (Image © Baby Cow Productions / BBC)

I believe that the use of the screen shot of the Noris pencil, taken from episode three of the first season of the TV series Uncle falls under “fair dealing” as described by the UK Copyright service.

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Royal Sovereign Briton

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Royal Sovereign Briton

I have touched on the complicated history of the Royal Sovereign Pencil Co in a previous blog post. Today I want to show another pencil made by Royal Sovereign: the Briton.

Royal Sovereign Briton

To put this pencil into context: it was made in the early 1970s, i.e. after Staedtler’s partnership with the British Royal Sovereign Pencil Company started in 1960 and after the owner or Royal Sovereign, the Charnaud family, offered Staedtler their shares in 1966. I guess there’s a chance these pencils were made on the same machines as the early Staedtler Tradition pencils shown here.

Royal Sovereign Briton

The Briton pencil was available in five different degrees: 2H (yellow), H (green), HB (red), B (light blue) and 2B (dark blue), but towards the end of the Briton line, before it was replaced by the Staedtler Tradition, only the HB and B pencils were still in production.

Royal Sovereign Briton

Just like the earliest Staedtler Tradition pencils, it has golden lettering and was pre-sharpened on the right side. This means that the text is upside down if you hold the pencil (the normal way) in your right hand.

Royal Sovereign Briton

The Briton is easy to sharpen and erase. Sharpening was tested using a Maped Metal sharpener, made in Suzhou [1]That’s one of the nice things in Chinese supermarkets: the label on the product or shelf will tell you which city a product is made in., near Shanghai.  In terms of darkness, the lead produces a line similar to modern Staedtler pencils but feels a bit scratchier. It is definitely a good all-round and everyday pencil.

Royal Sovereign Briton

I would like to thank mrsnuffles for telling me which other Briton degrees were available at the time.

References

References
↑1 That’s one of the nice things in Chinese supermarkets: the label on the product or shelf will tell you which city a product is made in.

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How to sharpen a Wopex

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After Pencil Revolution’s Wopex post and the following discussion on how to sharpen a Wopex: a photo of a Deli 0668 sharpened Wopex.

Deli sharpened Wopex
Typical pattern created when sharpening a Wopex with a cylindrical sharpener. Click to enlarge.

For many months now I have hardly ever sharpened my Wopeces with anything other than a Deli 0668. For that purpose I have one Deli 0668 at home and one in the office. The 0668’s angle of 20° is more suitable for the Wopex than the more acute angle of ~17°-18° the Deli 0635 will produce.

One warning though, the hardness of the Wopex can make the auto-stop fail. If you notice that the sharpener doesn’t stop, release the pencil holder (back to it’s original position) to avoid more of the pencil being fed further towards the burr cylinder. To finish the sharpening process just keep turning the handle until there is no more resistance .

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