Rolling Ruler

The other day I was down in the basement of the supply room looking for new items to post and I found these two. We all remember the original Rolling Ruler from the early 90s. The top one is the Rolling Ruler made in Taiwan and the one on the bottom is the Ultimate Rolling Ruler made in Australia. New versions of the rolling rulers can still be bought today and are useful items around the desk or office but I prefer the original. Both should be in your collection.

Apollo 11 Commemorative Fountain Pen

I have a subscription to the Smithsonian Magazine and I saw this ad that might be of interest to fans of the fountain pen. You can see them at http://www.smithsonianpens.com/. I also found a nice story in the August 3, 2009 Time magazine page 48. The article is called "I'm 26 years old and I Can't write cursive". Good reading. Next post, the Famous Rolling Ruler.

Pentel R-4s with Friends

Here are my favorite pens. Starting on the left you have four R-3s, then a Green R-4, Black R-4, three Blue R-4s and three Red R-4s. Next is a gold brushed R-6 followed by three gold with black stripes R-7s. The next three are Excalibur's, P400, Black and Blue P300 and a brushed chrome Excalibur and a black Excalibur. This brushed aluminum Excalibur, second to the end on the right was bought at Harrod's of London in 1977 while I was on vacation.The last Excalibur on the right is up for debate. It has the same grip as a Pentel Kerry Mechanical Pencil. Next to my black Kerry pencil it is a matched set. Pentel USA told me that the Kerry had no matching pencil but here it is. It is the only one I have seen and is locked away in the basement of the supply room along with the rest of the Pentel rollerballs.

Pentels and More

Just got a package in the mail from Sam at Future; Nostalgic blog over in England. This is a very exciting time down in the supply room because we got some Pentel R-50s and a extra fine point Pentel R-56 with some friends. Most of you do not remember these but they were one of the first rollerball pens put out by Pentel. They have been around for over 30 years. Still used in offices and schools all over the world except here in the USA. To commemorate this addition to the supply room stock I will be posting my favorite pen of all time. The Pentel R-4 rollerball with their friends the R-3 through R-7s and my Excaliburs. Again I want to thank Sam for making my day here in Texas.

More Schools

School supply season is in high gear. More stuff for the supply room. The pencil in the tube on the left is scented. I would also like to point out the erasers on the bottom right. The Maped Eraser that comes in a plastic holder. I like the holder but not the eraser. I looked through the supply room and found two 25 year old Staedtler Lumoplast AV Model #526 56 erasers from Germany and put them in the plastic holders. I like plastic erasers and they work fine.

Scripto Pencils

Here are a good variety of scripto pencils from my collection. In many cases I do have more then one of each. There are a few that are not here that are on cards and a few that I do not know what their model number is yet. I will be breaking these down into smaller groups so they are easier to see in future posts. They are in order starting with the P1250 on the top left followed by the P1150, P1050 ( Looks like a Penel S55), three variations of the P1000, P950, M900 Wordmaster, P870, P850, K780, K770, K760 and the K750. Then we start bottom left with the P670, P650, P580, P580G, P560, P560G, T520, P400, Two P360As, P360 ( New Type P360 has two types, one made in USA and one made in Korea), older P360. The plastic case has a T220G pen and a P360G pencil. Then we move to the top right which is your P350 .05mm, P350 old type, P350G old type, P300, CB300Y, P210, P200, P150, Thinline 49, K21, Skilcraft K-21 solid color, W660 Eraser, W620 Marker. Bottom right are extras except for the red/blue pencil, typewriter eraser and the K780 Classic Mexico in blue. This is by no means a complete set. Top left number seven is a P950 ( looks like a Pentel Sharp) but they also had a P930, P970 and a P990 which you can find over at Roger Russell's website. Many of these pencils had different models and lead size and there are still some undiscovered models and types being found all the time. All of these need to be in your collection.

Woodstock Moleskine

Here is a nice limited edition moleskine notebook marking the 40th anniversary of woodstock. I know most of you have read about woodstock in your history books but I was 16 years old at the time. There are four different notebooks to pick from. I could not find the first woodstock album so I used the second album as a backdrop.

New Supplies

Here are some new items I just picked up last week. Some of these supplies you will recognize from Jetpens but they are now in your local store. There are some new Papermate Flair Expressions that are nice and a two pack of Uni-ball Fusion that has clear ink then changes to a color, in this case it is purple and blue. I do like the Staedtler Graphite 771, 1.3mm pencil. Some of these items have been reviewed before but they are new to the old supply room. I need more space.

Scan Card System

This is the Scan Card System. Some time ago I had ask both the Pen Addict and Office Supply Geek about this system. Then to my embarrassment they go out of business. I have had this system since 1995. This system uses cards instead of lined paper notebooks. It is great for projects. You could also get your cards color coded for priorities. The top two notebooks were called the Diplomat with cards on both sides. Bottom left uses both cards on the left side and a notebook on the right. Bottom right were insert sleeves for binders where you could put cards. My problem now is that I am running out of cards. Still a great system. The cards measure 3 1/4" by 3 1/4".

DYMO Label Maker

I am sure that I have missed old posts somewhere reviewing the DYMO Label Maker but I will show my DYMO anyway. Not the best picture in the world. Here is an item we should all have around our desks. A DYMO Label Maker. This one is a old Executive 3 model. It will take 1/4", 3/8" and 1/2" tape. The company has been around since 1958 and was founded in California as DYMO Industries. The tape is still available at Walmart and on eBay so there is no reason why one of these is not in your collection. The best place to get the old label makers is also eBay.

Ferber Vu-Riter Pen

Here are some nice old Ferber pens from the early 50s to the early 60s. I only have a few sets that do not write anymore and this is one of them. It is however a great example of a cardboard counter display that is complete. I have always like pens that you can see through and these have great color. To bad they do not work.

Wearever TRANS-VUE

Here is a Wearever Trans-Vue Mechanical Pencil from the 60s. This pencil was modeled after the Scripto K780 Pencil and Wearever did a good job of it. I only have four of these but they all work well. The pencil on the bottom is a Scripto K780 so you can compare. They both use the same 1.1mm lead and the same eraser. The Wearever is clearer and you can almost see through the pencil. It also has a removable pocket clip which the Scripto does not. Wearever has made many good pencils over the years but this is a must have for Scripto and Wearever collectors.

Wearever Writing Kits

These writing kits are near 40 years old and I do not remember a more complete set by a major producer of pens and pencils for only $1.00. The difference between the big 8 and big 10 is the two fountain pen refills. You got a stick pen, fountain pen, mechanical pencil, ball point pen plus refills. These were great deals for $1.00. Most of these items were on the low end of writing items but still a nice set for school. I want to bring your attention to the mechanical pencils which were modeled after the Scripto K770 just not as good. I have pulled some of these out and they do not work real well. Wearever did however make a good one that was modeled after the famous Scripto K780. It was call the Wearever TRANS-VUE and I will show them on my next post.

Wearever Fountain pen

Here is a pen made for school. You got the 12 cartridges for a dollar and the pen free, what a deal. Wearever had been making fountain pens since before the 1920s and have always been underrated. This one is from the late 60s or early 70s. Wearever was noted for putting together good low cost school supply packs. I always used the Sheaffer school fountain pen but for those who liked Wearever this was a good pen. Fountain pen lovers should look for this one. More to come.

Who needs a MP3?

Who need a MP3 when you had these? On the left you have a Panasonic ball and chain AM transistor radio. In the middle you have a Panasonic portable plunger 8 track tape player and on the right you have a classic Panasonic cassette player. These are all you needed in the 60s and early 70s and all of these work. When the MP3 and the iPhone go away I will be ready. Will you?

Scripto Pencils

Here are more Scriptos in their original packs that you will not find at the store. The two on the left are different versions of the P1000 .07 mm pencil. The three on the right are K21s which were the replacement for the Scripto K780 pencil. These K-21s only were available in the three colors. These pencils used the 1.1 mm lead and were made in Japan. All of these would be a nice addition to your collection.

School Supplies from Walmart

Here are two items I picked up at Walmart today. I did not see any new pens and pencils but I did find this plastic 10 piece Math set which will be going in the box with the date marked on the back. The notebook is new this year with the cover by Ed Hardy. Eight different covers are available on notebooks and file folders. I do like the art work. The notebook is no big deal with standard school paper and 70 sheets but the cover is nice. Made in te USA.

Here are some nice older Scripto pencils that you will not find in the stores. The first one on the left is the Scripto push point pencil with .07 mm lead. The second pack is a set of three which included an early version of the GiGa ball point stick pen, a fiber point pen and an original K780 pencil. The blue K780 pencil is one made in Mexico in the 90s. The gray pencil is a P360 and the erasable pen is a T520. All nice pencils from the past.

School Supplies

Here are some supplies you will not find in the store today. Many of you will remember the Sheaffer school fountain pen on the left. The next three posts or so will all be items that are still on their card.

It's School Supply Time

It's school supply time again. One of my favorite times of the year. I have not started looking yet because stores are still setting up but here are some items from 2007 and 2008. I started this collection in 2007. I look for those items that could be considered a collectors item in the future or have a theme that I am interested in. I also look for those items that are marked "school packs" because they are only available at the start of the school year. I do not sell items from my collection but I do have to use sites like eBay because there is just no catalog that covers the older school supplies. Some of these items are never going to be a key part of my collection but that is part of the fun. These item pictured all have the year written on the back and except for the Pentel set all get put in a box. I use a sharpie stainless steel refillable marker for the job. Most of these items are inexpensive except for the Pentel set which was $13.00. My next 4 or 5 posts will all be old school supplies from years past. I am also looking forward to reviews from others on the new items for 2009.