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posted by martyb on Thursday June 18 2015, @02:32PM   Printer-friendly
from the do-not-use-on-a-pool-cue dept.

This spring, an 80-year-old Japanese chalk company went out of business. Nobody, perhaps, was as sad to see the company go as mathematicians who had become obsessed with Hagoromo Fulltouch Chalk, the so-called "Rolls Royce of chalk."

With whiteboards and now computers taking over classrooms, the company's demise seemed to mark the end of an era.

Being neither a mathematician nor a chalk artist, I heard about Hagoromo through my friend Dan, a mathematician finishing up his Ph.D. at Stanford. He recently appeared on a Japanese TV special about the demise of Hagoromo Bungu Co., where a TV crew came out to Stanford to interview mathematicians about the legendary chalk. One professor described hoarding enough of the stuff to keep him in chalk for the next 15 years. Dan is in the special too, calling the end of Hagoromo "a tragedy for mathematics."

Okay, he was obviously joking. But it is true that mathematicians are fanatics for this obscure Japanese chalk. Here you can see a long discussion online where mathematicians are hunting for Hagoromo chalk suppliers in the U.S. Satyan Devadoss, a Williams College math professor, even wrote a blog post calling it "dream chalk." He explained:

There have been rumors about a dream chalk, a chalk so powerful that mathematics practically writes itself; a chalk so amazing that no incorrect proof can be written using this chalk. I can finally say, after months of pursuit, that such a chalk indeed exists.

Similar reactions have been noted in the past from artists about the demise of Pearl Paints, or from photographers about Polaroid film. Any mathematicians care to weigh in?

[Editor's note: Here is a story link for those clamoring for one.. :) ]


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  • (Score: 3, Interesting) by mechanicjay on Thursday June 18 2015, @03:55PM

    I feel this way about the Pentel p205. If they ever go out of production, I will stock pile them. Thankfully, they tend to last a hella long time, so 10 of them should be an adequate lifetime supply, assuming the consumables are still available.

    http://www.pentel.com/store/sharp-mechanical-drafting-pencil-config/ [pentel.com]

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  • (Score: 0) by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 18 2015, @04:55PM

    by Anonymous Coward on Thursday June 18 2015, @04:55PM (#197885)

    You should try the GraphGear 500 http://www.pentel.com/store/graph-gear-500tm-mechanical-drafting-pencil [pentel.com] . You may take back that statement. 8-D

  • (Score: 2) by Phoenix666 on Thursday June 18 2015, @05:15PM

    by Phoenix666 (552) on Thursday June 18 2015, @05:15PM (#197891) Journal

    This is a question that will arise more as waves of innovation compress. How do you work such that it will make you more productive?

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  • (Score: 3, Informative) by DECbot on Thursday June 18 2015, @11:12PM

    by DECbot (832) on Thursday June 18 2015, @11:12PM (#198022) Journal

    I share your feelings, but for the Pentel Quick Clicker [pentel.com]--the 0.5mm transparent black version. I have one that's at least 15 years old that still works fine. Having replaceable erasers is a bonus too. Though losing the eraser cap is why I generally replace this pencil, aside from when a loaned pencil is never returned.

    If pentel ever discontinued the Quick Clicker, I'd probably convert over to this guy for everything, not just drawing: Staedtler Mars Technico 780 Leadholder [staedtler.us].

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    • (Score: 3, Informative) by RedBear on Friday June 19 2015, @02:37AM

      by RedBear (1734) on Friday June 19 2015, @02:37AM (#198075)

      I share your feelings, but for the Pentel Quick Clicker--the 0.5mm transparent black version. I have one that's at least 15 years old that still works fine. Having replaceable erasers is a bonus too. Though losing the eraser cap is why I generally replace this pencil, aside from when a loaned pencil is never returned.
      If pentel ever discontinued the Quick Clicker, I'd probably convert over to this guy for everything, not just drawing: Staedtler Mars Technico 780 Leadholder.

      Ha! I loved that side-clicker style pencil. Picked one out in black for school in 1990 and still have it 25 years later. I think. I know I've seen it around here somewhere.

      I had a tendency to twiddle my pencil back and forth rapidly between thumb and forefinger in class and that plastic eraser cover would go flying. I found that cutting a foam pencil grip [amazon.com] in half and sliding it over the plastic end cap would keep the cap on quite effectively. Never had mine come off accidentally after that. Try it.

      Also inherited a Staedtler Leadholder and a Pentel Sharp that are both probably much older than I am.

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