Zebra

A most suitable pencil for desk work

3 Comments / Mechanical pencils, Seen in the wild, Zebra / / , ,

The manga series Oh My Goddess was originally published from 1988 until 2014. I am only familiar with the early comics from this series, so the following might not apply to comics from the later years – but there was always exceptional detail on products and technology. Specific products and their features were often being mentioned or hinted at. A lot of this information was about cars, motorbikes, cameras, but you can also see calculators and mechanical pencils in this series, as seen in the examples below.

Keiichi using a Sharp PC-1401 calculator/computer and a so far unidentified mechanical pencil (Oh My Goddess #5, p.39, read right to left)

I am not sure if the pencil from page 39 is supposed to be the same as the one from page 71, but it’s a great close up drawing. The sleeve seems, proportionally, rather slim, though.

There were many different version of the Zebra Knock Pencil. Some versions of the M-1300 had the text “A most suitable pencil for desk work” printed on the side. As far as I can tell the Zebra Knock Pencil is not being sold anymore and Zebra has replaced this model with more high-end mechanical pencils.

Urd is using a Zebra Knock Pencil (Oh My Goddess #5, p.71, read right to left)

The images have been taken from the English version of Oh My Goddess, published by Dark Horse Manga as Volume #5. I believe that the use of these images falls under “fair dealing” as described by the UK Copyright service.

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Zebra’s Tiny TS-3

4 Comments / Mechanical pencils, Zebra / / , , ,

Ten years ago I bought Zebra’s tiny TS-3 mechanical pencil. Back then it cost £2.50. These days it’s a bit more expensive, but is still quite affordable.

You’d think that a pencil with such a small size, it’s only 10 cm long and has a diameter of just over 5 mm, it can only be used if no better pencil is available..

..but the truth is that it’s much more comfortable to use than many other emergency pencil, i.e. the kind of pencil that comes with some of the Swiss Army Knives.

In May I put a video review online that provides some more information about this pencil.

Compared to a selection of other mechanical pencils the Zebra TS-3 is tiny

It might not be your best choice for a daily writer, but it’s certainly a good choice for a pencil you can store in a pocket or bag so that you have a mechanical pencil when you need it. The comfort to size ratio is certainly better than what you might expect.

 

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Zebra Sarasa - Chupa Chups Flavour

Smelly Pens – Zebra Sarasa Chupa Chups Edition

1 Comment / Staples, Uncategorised, Zebra / / , , , , ,

Welcome to what is probably my first gel pen focussed blog post: a quick look at the Zebra Sarasa Chupa Chups Scented Pens – and at the Staples gel pens.

Staples Sonix gel

The Staples Sonix gel pens were on offer and only 50p each: they are a mixed bag. The fluorescent pink usually writes well, other colours do sometimes smudge and don’t always have a good ink flow… This is very different to the experience Bob from my pen needs ink had. I’m not sure whether this is because of poor quality control, the difference between different colours, declining standards or the fact that my pens were too old, i.e. stored too long in the store before I bought them.

Staples Sonix Gel
Staples Sonix Gel

The performance of the Staples Sonix made me think of this video from the Wall Street Journal:  What Took China So Long to Master Ballpoint Pens?

Zebra Sarasa – Scented Chupa Chups pens

The Sarasas, on the other hand, are excellent performers. My green / yellow / red pack, bought from this seller, smells very nice, but the orange / blue / black pack has an artificial, bought here, slightly unpleasant smell to it. $9.50 for a pack of three seems a good price.

Zebra Sarasa - Chupa Chups Flavour
Zebra Sarasa – Chupa Chups Flavour

In the video review, you’ll also see my first scented pen, or at least the first I remember – a Hello Kitty Pen I got in the early or mid-1980s.

Scented Hello Kitty Pen
Scented Hello Kitty Pen

You can watch the video review here.

Or in full screen on YouTube.

More Sarasa Chupa Chups goodness at The Well-Appointed Desk. There are also several other smells, including from the Mister Donut series reviewed at The Pen Addict.

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