Pen, Slide Rule, And Log Book

[stefanv]

I uploaded this photo to my site after a member of the slide rule forum suggested the discussion return to slide rules after a brief foray into fountain pens, but I thought I'd share it here too:

 

http://www.stefanv.com/pens/fpn_photos/pen-rule-and-log-book.jpg

 

I know it's not a great photo (bad lighting, grainy, etc.), but oh well. The pen is a 1990-ish Pelikan M200 with a brand new Fine gold-plated nib. The slide rule is a Keuffel & Esser 4181-1 from about 1947. And the log book is current, as you can see from the dates.

Edited November 5, 2011 by stefanv

[Ted H]

That is just plain cool.

[plc123]

So that's what a slide rule looks like! Thanks for sharing!

[WOBentley]

So that's what a slide rule looks like! Thanks for sharing!

Ouch!

[beak]

Slide rules are just so useful! I use them in various forms all the time, particularly in the form of speed, time and distance calculators. The batteries never go flat and they are completely waterproof!

 

Here's the 320mm long RN issue one I've been using since the late 1970s; it's never missed a beat:

Edited November 5, 2011 by beak

[jkingrph]

Slide rules are just so useful! I use them in various forms all the time, particularly in the form of speed, time and distance calculators. The batteries never go flat and they are completely waterproof!

 

Here's the 320mm long RN issue one I've been using since the late 1970s; it's never missed a beat:

 

 

I agree with most of what you say, but do not know about waterproof. I have been using a Post Versalog, got it for physics and trig in high school. It is celluoid faced bamboo, so I think water might affect it.

 

I have acquired a few others, either all plastic or all aluminum, except for cursors, and agree with waterproof with them.

 

I would like to have one of those longer models for the inherent accuracy of wider graduation spacing.

 

Back in my school days I could do a lot with one but have forgotten most of it, and just do simple problems nowdays like you mention, plus the occasional square/square root, and sometimes computing the volume of mulch neede for x inches of coveage for a circular flower bed.

 

They are probably one of the handiest instruments ever created. It's sad that they are not any longer made, or used in schools or the trades.

[htom]

Memories. I think I have one K&E in my collection of about twenty. Back in the early 1960's I taught a Slide Rule for Engineers class, two credits. Still have one on my desk, one in the glove box.

[jkingrph]

Slide rules are just so useful! I use them in various forms all the time, particularly in the form of speed, time and distance calculators. The batteries never go flat and they are completely waterproof!

 

Here's the 320mm long RN issue one I've been using since the late 1970s; it's never missed a beat:

 

 

I had just about forgotten, but back in the late 1960's I used a REF Military Attack Computer as a weapons director conducting air to air intercepts.

 

http://sliderulemuseum.com/ click on circular about 2/3 down the page.

 

At the time it was a classified tool and had to be accounted for.

Edited January 10, 2012 by jkingrph

[Procyon]

Since I have a slide rule collection, as well as pens, I decided to take a shot of both together. Many of you probably will not have seen one of the slide rules here - it is an Otis King cylindrical slide rule. The logarithmic scales spiral around the cylinder, making the effective length (and therefore accuracy) quite long (I don't remember exactly what it is). The other slide rule is a Post 1461 6-inch slide rule in mint condition. The pens are Waterman's - a 452 basket weave filigree over RHR and a 452 Hand-Engraved Vine.

 

 

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7195/6864301675_b7d9496e68_b.jpg

[someonesdad]

I still use a slide rule frequently. Here are three within reach while I'm sitting at my computer. The straight one is a bamboo Pickett one (made for Pickett by Hemmi in Japan); my son-in-law found it at a garage sale for 50 cents and gave it to me -- it's in perfect condition). The Pickett I used in college was aluminum and it's somewhere around this house, I just don't know where. The round one on the left is a whiz wheel I got in the 60's. I keep it in a leg pocket in my pants -- it's useful on car trips for estimating times and for routine arithmetic. The circular slide rule on the right is a Concise 300 -- and they're still in production in Japan. They're nicely made and, taken care of, will outlast you. The pen is a Laban Abalone pen with DCSS blue in it currently.

[htom]

Ah, Post pocket Versalog, #1461. I carried one of those in my shirt pocket from the early 1960s(in high school) to the end of the 1970s (when it was replaced by an HP-15c.)

[Procyon]

I still use a slide rule frequently. Here are three within reach while I'm sitting at my computer. The straight one is a bamboo Pickett one (made for Pickett by Hemmi in Japan); my son-in-law found it at a garage sale for 50 cents and gave it to me -- it's in perfect condition). The Pickett I used in college was aluminum and it's somewhere around this house, I just don't know where. The round one on the left is a whiz wheel I got in the 60's. I keep it in a leg pocket in my pants -- it's useful on car trips for estimating times and for routine arithmetic. The circular slide rule on the right is a Concise 300 -- and they're still in production in Japan. They're nicely made and, taken care of, will outlast you. The pen is a Laban Abalone pen with DCSS blue in it currently.

 

 

I still have the slide rule I used in college - a Post Versalog 10-inch, which was also made by Hemmi. It is still like new and I use it occasionally. I always thought the bamboo rules were the smoothest.

 

I also have this one for hard-core computing - Fuller's Spiral Slide Rule by Stanley

 

http://farm8.staticflickr.com/7207/6865068571_23506c293f_b.jpg

[nitnop]

Very cool pictures!

Thanks!

[someonesdad]

I also have this one for hard-core computing - Fuller's Spiral Slide Rule by Stanley

Procyon, that is an absolutely beautiful slide rule -- and it looks like it's in superb condition.

 

The bamboo slide rules I've used are very smooth and would be my pick if I still had to use a straight one a lot. My aluminum Pickett wasn't that great a slide rule and I wound up switching to a little 6" Dietzgen slide rule I really liked; it's best feature was that it would sit in a shirt pocket. It's worst feature was that the cursor was glass and was easily broken. I saw one on ebay about a decade ago for dirt cheap and my wife bought it for me. It too was missing the cursor because someone broke it. My roommate in college had a beautiful Gilson circular slide rule and that would always be my choice if I still had to use a slide rule on a regular basis. On the 8 inch size models, you could get trig functions to four significant figures.

[radamspse]

Slide rules are just so useful! I use them in various forms all the time, particularly in the form of speed, time and distance calculators. The batteries never go flat and they are completely waterproof!

 

Here's the 320mm long RN issue one I've been using since the late 1970s; it's never missed a beat:

 

 

I agree with most of what you say, but do not know about waterproof. I have been using a Post Versalog, got it for physics and trig in high school. It is celluoid faced bamboo, so I think water might affect it.

 

I have acquired a few others, either all plastic or all aluminum, except for cursors, and agree with waterproof with them.

 

I would like to have one of those longer models for the inherent accuracy of wider graduation spacing.

 

Back in my school days I could do a lot with one but have forgotten most of it, and just do simple problems nowdays like you mention, plus the occasional square/square root, and sometimes computing the volume of mulch neede for x inches of coveage for a circular flower bed.

 

They are probably one of the handiest instruments ever created. It's sad that they are not any longer made, or used in schools or the trades.

 

 

Actually Concise in Japan still make circular sliderules which can be purchased over the internet. There are also some manufacturers of the time, distance, speed rules shown in an earlier post.

 

cheers

Bob

 

BTW I also collect slide rules and have an internet site

https://sites.google.com/site/bobssliderulesite/Home

[LisaN]

I have two K+E slide rules and keep one in my car.

[kg4wrm]

Do you have a picture of your E6B to include, too? I think E6Bs and slide rules must be from the same family.

[sirach]

I know this is a little old of a post... but I knew I could join in the fun for this one.

http://1.bp.blogspot.com/-Afia-3Ymaz4/UKcmjwr_hmI/AAAAAAAABz4/37iJIRprs9E/s640/IMG_9599+(1024x683).jpg

 

http://3.bp.blogspot.com/-S6RoBB3gje0/UKcmlLYvj2I/AAAAAAAAB0A/E7ipgHuc0wc/s640/IMG_9600+(1024x518).jpg

Edited November 17, 2012 by sirach

[stefanv]

Do you have a picture of your E6B to include, too? I think E6Bs and slide rules must be from the same family.

 

Here you go! First up we have a traditional aluminum E6-B with a Lamy 25P flighter frankenpen:

 

http://www.stefanv.com/pens/fpn_photos/e6-b-and-lamy-25p.jpg

This next picture shows a plastic Jeppesen CR-3, a different kind of flight computer. The front side has more or less the same features as the front-side of the E6-B though. It is shown here with a Parker 50 "Falcon" flighter pen:

 

http://www.stefanv.com/pens/fpn_photos/cr-3-and-parker-50.jpg

Both photos show only the front side of the flight computer, which consists of a basic circular slide rule used to do distance/time=speed and fuel/time=burnrate calculations, along with unit conversions. Additional scales visible through "windows" in the rotating disk are used for things like converting between indicated and true airspeed, computing density altitude, and so on.

 

The back side of each rule is used to compute heading and ground speed given the wind speed and direction, airspeed, and desired ground track. The way these two do this is entirely different, and is shown and described in detail in my article, A Tale of Two Whiz Wheels: E6-B versus CR Wind Solutions.

 

The map used as a background shows Georgian Bay in Ontario, Canada, and is from a day trip I took with a friend last September to Manitoulin Island. I wrote a short article on that trip: Destination: Misery (Bay)

Edited November 17, 2012 by stefanv

[Earthdawn]

Just thought I would share a pic of a couple I got from my dad. I know they are old as he used them a LONG time ago. He was a chemical engineer.

 

Top one is a K&E and the bottom a Fuji.

 

http://i880.photobucket.com/albums/ac10/thevaporcafe/4C676F81-3430-4A62-9505-6C8004B9A756-1189-00000056D9AC7BB7.jpg