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The Golden Age of Japanese Pencils (2022)

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Re: The Golden Age of Japanese Pencils (2022)

#101

Post by pklausler »

ernesth wrote: post #80
pklausler wrote: post #54

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I use Quo Vadis Habana blank notebooks with (mostly) Lamy fountain pens and Sailor inks. They have Clairefontaine paper that just works wonderfully -- it both dries quickly and doesn't bleed through. If you haven't tried them, you're in for a treat; enjoy! (I believe Quo Vadis to be a Canadian company that mostly makes planners and such, and their notebooks are getting harder to find. Even the good folks at Goulet Pe…

Quo Vadis is french and in fact now belongs to the Clairefontaine group, just like Rhodia.

Thanks!

Re: The Golden Age of Japanese Pencils (2022)

#103

Post by picture »

mauvehaus wrote: post #60
jerieljan wrote: post #47

> Masaki had the idea to register a three-diamond trademark, along with the "Mitsubishi" name, which means 'three diamonds.' (It may surprise you to learn that this was ten years before the much better-known Mitsubishi Group of heavy industry companies registered its name and identical mark. Mitsubishi Pencil has no connection to the numerous other Mitsubishi companies in Japan; it is and has always been a manufactur…

Upon learning of a third Asahi branded thing, I once made the observation that Asahi must make everything. There's Asahi Pentax cameras, Asahi beer, and now this forgotten other thing. At which point someone kindly informed me that Asahi means rising sun, and seeing it in a company name is roughly equivalent to seeing "federal" or "national" in a US company name.

"Union" is another good example

Re: The Golden Age of Japanese Pencils (2022)

#104

Post by wrp »

fallinghawks wrote: post #93
WithinReason wrote: post #83

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Here is an article from the same blog about mechanical pencils: https://paperwhisper.com/blogs/blog/write-smarter-the-hidden... Seem like the Uni Kuru Toga Dive is the peak mechanical pencil.

Ooh, thanks for finding that. I'll definitely want to try out the Orenz models and the Uni as well.

I'm also a heavy user of sliding-sleeve mechanical pencils. I prefer metal-bodied ones from the 1970s-80s, but among what is currently available new, I think Orenz are the best.

I have several of all the models, and I prefer the basic model, as it is slim and sturdy. You can get them in 0.2, 0.3, 0.5, and 0.7 mm. I think the 0.2 is not worth it, as it is rather fragile. If you want a really fine line, it's easier to just use a harder lead in a 0.3. The 0.7 is rather pointless, because 0.7 mm lead is so sturdy. The 0.3 is great, as it allows you to press harder and write longer between clicks. I've found them very reliable. I also use the 0.5 for colored leads, which are generally more brittle than graphite leads.

The Uni Kuru Toga gets mixed reviews. It has an auto-advance mechanism that works when you press and lift the tip. The amount of advance is geared for writing with very short strokes, as you do when writing Japanese. It can be awkward for writing cursive. Also, the mechanism rotates the lead, so it's hard to orient on the edge of the tip.

Re: The Golden Age of Japanese Pencils (2022)

#105

Post by username_here »

Henchman21 wrote: post #99
teddyh wrote: post #94

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Fascinating. This shows, beyond any doubt, why BIMI is such a scam.

Apologies, but what is “BIMI” in this context? I am unfamiliar with this acronym.

I think the poster is referring to "Brand Indicators for Message Identification[1]". A new(ish) protocol to display branded avatars for messages in email clients.

1. https://bimigroup.org

Re: The Golden Age of Japanese Pencils (2022)

#106

Post by teddyh »

username_here wrote: post #105
Henchman21 wrote: post #99

Earlier quoted context omitted.

Apologies, but what is “BIMI” in this context? I am unfamiliar with this acronym.

I think the poster is referring to "Brand Indicators for Message Identification[1]". A new(ish) protocol to display branded avatars for messages in email clients. 1. https://bimigroup.org

Yes. We’ve had black-and-white low-resolution images in emails using the X-Face header since basically forever, and the Face header (allowing color a image) since 2005. The whole deal with BIMI is, purportedly, that the logo shown can be relied upon to not be faked, since each sender gets issued a (very expensive) certificate to sign e-mails with that logo. This certification (incidentally issued by all the old X.509 certificate issuers, whose business model imploded by free certificates from Let’s Encrypt and others) are reportedly based on verification of (visual) trademarks. But if, as in the linked article, different companies can have the same logo even if their name is the same and they are in the same country, then the supposed security of the BIMI logo is an obvious scam.

Re: The Golden Age of Japanese Pencils (2022)

#107

Post by Henchman21 »

teddyh wrote: post #106
username_here wrote: post #105

Earlier quoted context omitted.

I think the poster is referring to "Brand Indicators for Message Identification[1]". A new(ish) protocol to display branded avatars for messages in email clients. 1. https://bimigroup.org

Yes. We’ve had black-and-white low-resolution images in emails using the X-Face header since basically forever, and the Face header (allowing color a image) since 2005. The whole deal with BIMI is, purportedly, that the logo shown can be relied upon to not be faked, since each sender gets issued a (very expensive) certificate to sign e-mails with that logo. This certification (incidentally issued by all the old X.509…

I appreciate the explanation; thank you!

Re: The Golden Age of Japanese Pencils (2022)

#108

Post by getlawgdon »

freilanzer wrote: post #86
vjust wrote: post #62

I have a bunch of these pencil brands Tombow, Mitsubishi. I usually buy them on ebay. Its an amazing experience to write with them... I usually use the H, HB to write, and its fascinating, how the premium ones H differs from an ordinary H. There is some paraphernalia that goes with it - sharpners, erasers. I had lost the writing habit..coding invariably takes you to the keyboard. Gradually I'm writing more, and it sl…

Next step: fountain pens.

Don't do it. Want to buy some pens?

Re: The Golden Age of Japanese Pencils (2022)

#109

Post by dbtc »

nedt wrote: post #90
mrweasel wrote: post #88

Earlier quoted context omitted.

17 to a pack seems like an odd number. Was it originally 18 and then they removed one to keep the price down.

In Japan numbers have meaning. Haiku have a 5-7-5 pattern - which gives you 17 as a sum. And saying the number 17 in Japanese sounds like youth and vitality. Might not be so odd after all.

Well, it will always be odd ;)

Re: The Golden Age of Japanese Pencils (2022)

#110

Post by zck »

mrweasel wrote: post #88
buildsjets wrote: post #34

There is an FAA accepted test of paint film hardness that requires special calibrated pencils, available ONLY from Mitsubishi pencil company, in packages of 17 for $224. Each pencil comes with an individual certificate of calibration shows that it meet's it's specified hardness level. The test is ASTM D 3363, "Standard Test Method for Film Hardness by Pencil Test" https://www.gardco.com/Products/Hardness-Testers/Scra…

17 to a pack seems like an odd number. Was it originally 18 and then they removed one to keep the price down.

This pack contains one pencil of each hardness 9H through 6B. There are 17 hardnesses in that range.
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