Very thin erasers

Very thin erasers

Here are a couple of amazingly thin erasers.

The Tombow Mono zero is a 2.3mm diameter cyclindrical eraser, dispensed by clicking the cap. It really does seem like a mechanical pencil in both form and function.

I thought this eraser was probably a borderline novelty, but it worked quite well over a period of days. You wouldn’t use it to erase several lines of text, but it is great for smaller tasks such as changing a line fragment, digit or letter.

I like the portability as well.

Very thin erasers

The Pentel Clic Eraser Hyperaser is a rectangular metal housed eraser. It has a dispense mechanism similar to that of most stick erasers, such as the Staedtler 528 50. A clip as well!

This is an ink eraser. It seemed to work well on tests with ballpoint ink, and less well with fountain pen ink.

I wasn’t expecting much, but both seemed pretty good.

The main problem I see it that both require yet more proprietary refill types. The Mono zero in particular seems like it will require a replacement eraser soon enough.

Very thin erasers

My thanks to der Lexikaliker for the Pentel eraser.

Musgrave 90th Anniversary pencil

Musgrave 90th Anniversary pencil

We are late by two years – the Musgrave Pencil Company’s 90th anniversary was in 2006. Yet, it was still a true delight to recently receive a box of Musgrave’s 90th anniversary pencils.

Round pencils, they have gold coloured ferrules, with white erasers. All have dyed wood – red, green, or yellow, with corresponding varnish.

The pencils are marked:


Musgrave Pencil Company Inc.
90th Anniversary
1916-2006

Among the American pencil companies, I think Musgrave must be acknowledged to have an advantage in lead quality. The Musgrave HB is possibly the sole American pencil in the same league with the top pencils from the rest of the world. The situation is all very strange – by some measures, Musgrave is a “small business”, yet (and tell me if you think I am wrong!), the quality of their best pencils surpasses those of Sanford and Dixon.

Musgrave 90th Anniversary pencil

The quality of the 90th Anniversary pencil seems to be even better than that of the HB – the lead is even smoother in a side-by-side comparison. The round vs. hexagonal shape is obviously a personal preference. Musgrave has pulled out all the stops for their Anniversary pencil!

Goukaku pencil

Goukaku enpitsu

Here is a fascinating and mysterious pencil. Take a close look – it is a gold pentagonal pencil!

Goukaku enpitsu

If this explanation has errors, please forgive me. Any errors are on my part.

Some Japanese-English vocabulary:

?? – Goukaku – to pass an examination

?? – Gokaku – pentagon

This pencil is thus a visual pun!

Goukaku enpitsu

My sincere thanks to isu of the uncomfortable chair for this unique pencil and assistance in unravelling the hidden meaning!

Mucu Type RN-B Notebook

Mucu Type RN-B Notebook

This is a super-lightweight yet fun and practical notebook.

Made of cardboard with paper that is called “comic” (from comic books?), it has a bright removable elastic band.

It has that look of a found or reclaimed object, though there is clearly quite a bit of design in this functional notebook. It may be part of a larger movement that seems focused on used basic materials, yet incorporating design principles.

Mucu Type RN-B Notebook

The paper takes pencil without problem. A Pilot Petit1 fountain pen saturated the page to the other side, though didn’t noticeably feather.

The pages are ring-bound.