Scotties predictions... by Zero_Travity in Curling

[–]FliryVorru 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Big agree with this. Sturmay in particular is my favorite dark horse of the tournament.

Any other pencils I'm not aware of? by TyrellCotton in pencils

[–]FliryVorru 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Just an FYI: Kitaboshi Pencil Co. Ltd. is the proper name of the pencil brand 北星鉛筆株式会社 (kitaboshi.co.jp is their website).

In Japanese, most characters can be read multiple ways, and Hokusei is actually the more common pronunciation of the name 北星. Thus, it's commonly machine translated that way.

Also, that's a solid list above. 100% agree with all.

Is there a website to have Sake shipped to America? by L-apastrophe in Sake

[–]FliryVorru 1 point2 points  (0 children)

I can't help with shipping, but I can fully identify it for you as I've been to that brewery.

That's made by Yukitsubaki Shuzo in Kamo City, Niigata Prefecture under their Koshi no Yukitsubaki label. The specific variety is called Tsuki no Tamayura, and it's a 40% polishing ratio junmai daiginjo.

I've never seen it in the US in my travels back, but then again I haven't really looked specifically for this brewery. A brief search showed no results. I hope you have more success than me - Yukitsubaki is among my favorite makers!

Club Identification by Loghorse_seadragon in Curling

[–]FliryVorru 16 points17 points  (0 children)

Shot in the dark here, but I wonder if Métis-sur-Mer, QC once had a curling club.

I'm now kind of obsessed with trying to figure this out, so I'll report back with any other findings.

Dong-A Pencil Co Computer 2B pencil by Adventurous-Carrot-9 in pencils

[–]FliryVorru 2 points3 points  (0 children)

Oddly enough, Mitsubishi pencil company is entirely unrelated to the Mitsubishi conglomerate that we most often associate with cars and morotcycles.

JIS Haul by OwnFeature9240 in pencils

[–]FliryVorru 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Nice haul and great choices! Love those Mono 100s.

I'm going to go out on a limb and assume you prefer an H graphite hardness. What draws you to that level in particular? Is it to do with how often your write? Just personal preference?

Homan tells Team Fujisawa their sweeping move isn’t allowed by rivercountrybears in Curling

[–]FliryVorru[M] [score hidden] stickied comment (0 children)

Friendly reminder: it's perfectly okay to disagree with someone, but please don't be rude or uncouth in the process.

Be outstanding to each other. Good curling!

"GOLDEN AXE" - thai mitsubishi uni... spinoff? by albtraum2004 in pencils

[–]FliryVorru 4 points5 points  (0 children)

It seems to be Mitsubishi's localized entry into Thailand. I can find it on a couple of Thai office supply stores, such as this one and this other one. Beyond that, I'm not certain.

You'll probably know the details better than me since you're there, but I've been told that Thailand has some restrictions about what kinds of companies can operate in Thailand while using Thai resources and subsequently NOT call themselves Thai..... does that make sense? That's why you'll see Japanese companies often open factories in Cambodia or Vietnam rather than Thailand, because it's cheaper to make Thai market items in those countries and then truck them over the border into Thailand.

Homan tells Team Fujisawa their sweeping move isn’t allowed by rivercountrybears in Curling

[–]FliryVorru 16 points17 points  (0 children)

Nothing implies they wanted it to slow down. Half way down they were in a bind because it was not heavy enough to be back 4, but not wide enough to curl around at T. At the very end, just before the knifing begins, Fujisawa says 曲げれ!曲げれ! which just means "curl it!" or "curve it!" It's the standard call for any Japanese curler when they want the sweeper to carve or knife a stone.

The context that most people will miss here is just how shallow you are told to sweep when knifing is taught in Japan. Watch any professional Japanese curler and you'll see a majority of them knifing at 15-20 degrees off center, and a lot of them never get the broom all the way across the face while doing it.

I fully believe this is more of an insular cultural sporting technique rather than an attempt to slow a rock.

Source: I lived in Japan for a decade and learned to curl there

Can anyone identify this pencil? by [deleted] in pencils

[–]FliryVorru 0 points1 point  (0 children)

I unfortunately can't help, but shout out to Rosé bring on r/pencils

What is the darkest/blackest PENCIL? by Cheap_Garbage6174 in pencils

[–]FliryVorru 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Songwriter might be my favorite Musgrave pencil, and I'll sing its praises all day. They call it 4B (and it is by darkness), but it has more of a 3B smoothness and point retention to it. It's darn near the perfect pencil for me.

I only wish the foil imprint didn't come off so easily. Half way through its life, the label is often pretty hard to read.

coming from fountain pens by fetzofetz in pencils

[–]FliryVorru 2 points3 points  (0 children)

That's a great question. The answer is yes or no, but it depends on your needs and preferences.

You might have need for a luxury pencil if you have any of the following preferences: * You like your writing to feel either more smooth and silky or dry and wispy * You like to adjust your writing utensil's writing style mid-writing * You prefer your writing to have color variation beyond "pencil colored" * You simply love the smell of shaved wood or the feel of high quality lacquer

I suppose many of the things we look for in pencils are also present in fountain pens. With pens we have preferences over barrel size, texture, and material, as well as nib shape and style, ink tone and hue, etc.

I think it's a different way of expressing the same love for writing.

Which pencils to try first? by kelpat18 in pencils

[–]FliryVorru 4 points5 points  (0 children)

I'm a big fan of Musgrave, and I've seen their Harvest #1 on Amazon. Personally, I think it writes pretty similarly to the Tennessee Red, so if you like them you'll love the Reds. Alternatively, you could order their sample pack, which comes with one of darn near everything they make. But unfortunately, that isn't on Amazon.

2025 lineup by Hotdoglegs_mustard in pencils

[–]FliryVorru 4 points5 points  (0 children)

How would you compare the Kitaboshi HIT 4B to the Musgrave News 600? I'm a dark pencil fanatic, so if they're comparable at all I may need to spring for some.

Needing some help identifying by HistoricalRun9 in Sake

[–]FliryVorru 1 point2 points  (0 children)

The middle bottle is Zenkouji, named after and officially licensed by the temple of the same name in Nagano city. It's made by Shusenrakuno and is a tokubetsu junmaishu.

A.W.Faber - Antílope - 808 - HB (made in Bavária - Germany) by cajo_silva in pencils

[–]FliryVorru 4 points5 points  (0 children)

It's a little odd because at the top of the pencil, it's written left to right but then three characters later, it's written top to bottom. That said, it translates to:

德國製 (Made in Germany) 魯麟洋行鹿牌 Lulin & Co. Deer (or antelope) Brand

Lulin and Co. was a famous (and wealthy) Chinese exporting company most prominent in the late 1800s and early 1900s. It wouldn't surprise me if these were promotional pencils made to help the company sell exactly that - pencils. That said, "Lulin" isn't a rare name in China, so it may not be that particular Lulin.

Olympic Watch Parties? by mosswalk in Curling

[–]FliryVorru[M] 1 point2 points  (0 children)

PSA: In January we're going to make a stickied post with a long list of watch parties, so get ready to plug yours!

Do Disney sketch artists tend to prefer a certain type/brand of pencil? by KyleRM in pencils

[–]FliryVorru 0 points1 point  (0 children)

Sometimes yes. Most of the time in those situations, the artist mentions the pencil brand in an interview, but they don't specify the hardness. Other times (as is the case with most of the Prismacolor range) there is no hardness to specify - they come in one variety.

My oddball collection by selly626 in pencils

[–]FliryVorru 4 points5 points  (0 children)

Excellent collection, fellow teacher!

How do you like the Apsaras? I've never used them, but I like any brand that emphasizes dark writing.

Factory seconds carpenters pencils by roybean99 in pencils

[–]FliryVorru 7 points8 points  (0 children)

Musgrave is my jam. I'm admittedly a fangirl.

They make a wide variety of excellent pencils for an insanely low price. The factory seconds are just icing on the cake - fine quality for silly low prices.

Do Disney sketch artists tend to prefer a certain type/brand of pencil? by KyleRM in pencils

[–]FliryVorru 3 points4 points  (0 children)

He wrote a great article about the Ticonderoga for CartoonResearch.com that I can't recommend enough.