what are your industrial design favorites?

[Somafunk]

Are you using this hybrid pen/pencil for math work on paper?

Not used for such since uni, i had a light touch (learned the hard way after suffering trigger finger syndrome) on the barrel so paper tears were not really an issue, I find it hard/awkward to hold a pen these days due to spms finding new ways to f**k with me , still like to have it around on my desk along with a wire bound A5 graph pad for the usual daily stuff.

Cult pens is good website to satisfy your stylophile needs,

 

[Doodski]

Not used for such since uni, i had a light touch (learned the hard way after suffering trigger finger syndrome) on the barrel so paper tears were not really an issue, I find it hard/awkward to hold a pen these days due to spms finding new ways to fuck with me , still like to have it around on my desk along with a wire bound A5 graph pad for the usual daily stuff.

Cult pens is good website to satisfy your stylophile needs,

Ahhh. I do that too. Keep my favorite writing stuff for general purpose use. Wow! Cult Pens is amazing. Nice stuff!

 

[EJ3]

This is an industrial design thread, and you bring up the Subaru Crosstrek!

I bought a Crosstrek (fully loaded with the less weak engine and ridiculous STI badges) during the pandemic, and I don't mind how it drives. But boy is it ugly....

The 2024 Touring seems to be a bit less ugly (by a smidgen). It's for my wife and I tried to convince her that she needed the Wilderness Edition (she wanted the height but was just not having any of the gaudy (as she put it) gold trim. She said that if they had an edition that was a blackout version of that trim, she'd have been OK with it.
Dagnabit, now I have to get a limited slip differential for her CrossTrek & both of my trucks.
EJ3

 

[DLS79]

Ahhh. I do that too. Keep my favorite writing stuff for general purpose use. Wow! Cult Pens is amazing. Nice stuff!

JetPens is my stationery supplier of choice, mainly because I get free shipping (within the united states) on orders over $35.

In some ways stationary is a lot like Hi-Fi, you have a plethora of options to customize wore writing experience. If your into pens you have different types of pens, different brands and types of ink. If your into pencils you again have different types of pencils, different brands on lead, different lead harnesses, eraser compounds, etc etc. Same goes for paper.


This is my Rotting collection The 2 pens have different ink colors (red and black), and the pencils are for manual drafting (something I like starting off a new project). The pen with black ink and the 0.7 pencil are carried with me every day.

 

[Doodski]

This is my Rotting collection

Are they constructed from metal? I see knurling.

 

[DLS79]

Are they constructed from metal? I see knurling.

That's correct, the grip and body are made of brass.

 

[Doodski]

That's correct, the grip and body are made of brass.

WoW! Nice gear man...

 

[DLS79]

WoW! Nice gear man...

They are for sure an excess, but I enjoy using them.

 

[Doodski]

They are for sure an excess, but I enjoy using them.

I bet you do...LoL. When I studied technical drafting in college we had a offer in that if a person did all their drafts in ink they would receive bonus marks. I had experience with ink drafting from high school drafting studies and so I accepted the challenge. A lovely kit of Staedtler ink pens of like a dozen sizes appeared also those really cool lettering kits for ink pens and whatever else I needed was provided. My instructor was delighted. He thought it very cool that somebody took it up. It was pretty sensitive stuff as far as not making any errors in ink but I kept my cool and it worked out well. So... I appreciate a really nice pen and pencil set for sure.

 

[Blumlein 88]

I used to have a thing for nice mechanical pencils like many old school engineering students. Now days I suppose it is a really nice mouse. If I do anything like drafting it is on a computer. So a good gaming mouse with adjustable and smooth DPI does the trick. I like one with heavy weight in it, but the hot thing in gaming mice has become super lightweight mice you can move quickly. Sort of ruins it for my purposes. I also insist on wired mice.

 

[Keith_W]

I was given a Rotring mechanical pencil as a gift. It was built nicely, had a nice heft, and the mechanism had a satisfying click. But ... it's too heavy.

Writing instruments are personal. For me, I like light weight and a substantial grip. This is why this pencil:

Faber-Castell Grip Plus is my favourite. Plastic body, lightweight, inexpensive, reliable - it ticks all the boxes as a daily driver for me. The only thing it does not do is scream "luxury" which I don't mind. I have been using the original Faber-Castell mechanical pencils since high school and I love them.

 

[Doodski]

I used to have a thing for nice mechanical pencils like many old school engineering students. Now days I suppose it is a really nice mouse. If I do anything like drafting it is on a computer. So a good gaming mouse with adjustable and smooth DPI does the trick. I like one with heavy weight in it, but the hot thing in gaming mice has become super lightweight mice you can move quickly. Sort of ruins it for my purposes. I also insist on wired mice.

My 2 mice are wired and I won't go battery powered. The same for the keyboard. It is wired. I use a Logitech G502 gaming model for the gaming PC and a Logitech M100 for the notebook all on a large pad. I tried other mouse brands although there was always something software or hardware related that was obviously bad or awkward.

 

[Axo1989]

Some Gaggenau ovens (400 series). They manage to dispense with the appliance vibe and present a control interface that doesn't look like a series of graphic design errors. Haptics are pleasing also.

 

[Count Arthur]

 

[DLS79]

I used to have a thing for nice mechanical pencils like many old school engineering students. Now days I suppose it is a really nice mouse. If I do anything like drafting it is on a computer. So a good gaming mouse with adjustable and smooth DPI does the trick. I like one with heavy weight in it, but the hot thing in gaming mice has become super lightweight mice you can move quickly. Sort of ruins it for my purposes. I also insist on wired mice.

I've been using CAD form over a quarter century at this point, but early on in the design phase I still find pencil and paper more intuitive and faster.

 

[DLS79]

I was given a Rotring mechanical pencil as a gift. It was built nicely, had a nice heft, and the mechanism had a satisfying click. But ... it's too heavy.

I assume it was a 600? 300s & 500s are lighter because they have a lot of plastic in them.

And just recently it was announced silver Rotrings will be made from aluminum now. something about a new EU law, and how the silver finish was applied required the material switch.


The zebra M-701 is my go to every day beater pencil. I have one in the office, one in the kitchen, and a few in the workshop.

 

[DLS79]

View attachment 357625

Parker Jotters are nice pens!

 

[Count Arthur]

More bits and bobs from the arts & crafts box:

 

[Jimi Floyd]

Since we are at it, an evergreen: the BIC 4-color ballpoint pen

 

[HoweSound]

Here is my magnetic hover pen obtained via Kickstarter project. Available both in fountain pen and Schmidt roller cartridge versions: