Uncategorised Archives - Page 19 of 30

Anton-Wolfgang Graf von Faber-Castell

What a sad occasion to write a blog post. As you have probably already heard: , our favourite count ^[1]Usual disclaimer as mentioned previously: He is not really a count. According to Part 2, Section 1, Article 109(2) of the Weimar Constitution privileges based on birth or social status and titles of … Continue reading died today.

His influence on the pencil world has been immense: In 1978 he started running Faber-Castell and among other things he introduced the Perfect Pencil and the Graf von Faber-Castell product line.

A signed book from the count. I got it from Sean.

Goodbye. I will miss you.

If you understand German and would like to know more about him and Faber-Castell: there is a 45 minute documentary from German broadcaster ARD online.

…and there’s of course also Sean’s amazing adventure in Stein.

References[+]

References
↑1	Usual disclaimer as mentioned previously: He is not really a count. According to Part 2, Section 1, Article 109(2) of the Weimar Constitution privileges based on birth or social status and titles of nobility were abolished in the Weimar Republic in 1919. Graf (Count) is just part of his surname. In reality no one seems to care about this rule though.

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More pencil stuff…

1 Comment / Uncategorised / 19 January 2016

Top Gear

Top Gear seems to be a world wide phenomenon. If you haven’t come across it yet, it’s a car show. One of the hosts of the UK version, James May, is not only reviewing cars on the official Top Gear web site… Here’s his review of Ferrari pencils ^[1]Some images of the Ferrari pencils would have been nice, though.

Pen and paper apps

When I went to the Google Play store on my Android phone I noticed an app that promises to make your handwriting look nicer in-app than on paper. I tried it out and it looks as the app just does what made me interested in flex nib fountain pens in the first place. It makes upward strokes thin and downward strokes wide. An effect you can also get with pencils, but it requires more control compared to using a flex nib fountain pen. The writing produced by this app reminds me very much of the ‘handwriting’ used in products an in promotional material by British supermarket chain Waitrose. Until I saw this app I thought the Waitrose material is done with a flex nib, but now I think it was done using software… Things look much ’rounder’ when written with the software, compared to a fountain pen.

As far as I can tell this app is not available for iOS, but I am sure there is similar stuff out there.

Pencil art

I usually restrict posts about pencils used for art to the Bleistift Facebook page, like this post, but since I’m posting today anyway: Some fantastic pencil works from Taiwanese artist Chien Chu Lee are pictured in this My Modern Met article.

I believe that the use of the image from Chien Chu Lee, shown in this blog post, falls under “fair dealing” as described by the UK Copyright service.

References[+]

References
↑1	Some images of the Ferrari pencils would have been nice, though

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Sharpener for sale

4 Comments / Uncategorised / 11 January 2016

Sharpener for sale: the Deli 0620 in white or blue. If I was cheeky I would call this sharpener “office and classroom friendly”.

Brand new, £9 plus postage, comes with desk clamp.

Leave a comment or email m.meckel@gmail.com if you are interested.

Sharpening a Korean TiTi T-Prime with the 0620

Postage to the USA:

Royal Mail International Standard (5-7 days): £10.30
Royal Mail International Economy (42 days): £6.65

Postage to the UK:

1st class: £3.30
2nd class: £2.80

Postage to Germany:

Royal Mail International Standard (3-5 days): £6.85
Royal Mail International Economy (15 days): £6.65

I’m happy to check postage to other countries.

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Pencil stuff!

Leave a Comment / Seen in the wild, Uncategorised / 9 January 2016 / Boots, CPC, FuZhou road, Rhodia

Seen in the news

A pencil factory for Nigeria. If it really provides employment for 400,000 people it must be one heck of a factory.

Seen in the supermarket

A magazine that comes with pencils. Int he past I’ve only seen (and bought) ‘children magazines’ (Simpsons, Disney) that came with pencils.

Seen in a shop on FuZhou road in Shanghai

A ‘graphite object’.

From the description:

Please Use! Functional Graphite Object writes like a pencil while resists staining your hands. Handcrafted using a proprietary technique that San Francisco artist Agelio Batle invented. With daily use they should last 7-9 years.