So… you’re telling me that twenty years ago was 2004, not 1984. Ouch! That one hit hard.
Thanks for the explanation; the tools look very interesting, and I wonder how good they performed in the drafting arena. When it comes to set squares, rulers, protractors and templates I tend to look only for any of the many lineups by some exceedingly good Italian manufacturers (noticeably, VIBO and Italgraf, and only after that, Morgantina and Vittorio Martini, which every now and then still produce some stuff for architects), but all the catalogue is long gone, and only leftover stocks remain, hidden inside remote drawers of shops and bulk retailers.
VIBO would make thick, amazing slabs of translucent blue or transparent cyanacrilate (I think that’s the technical name for plexiglas, but I could be wrong), and they managed to cut the raw stocks with amazing precision — not only to make set squares with the ink steps on both faces, but an impressive series of drafting templates, ranging from basic shapes, to super-specific pieces. The closest contenders at the international level I can think of right now were rOtring (great lineup of ellipse and industrial templates), and Linex Denmark (some of the strangest templates I’ve ever seen, from TV stage directions, to waste management and recycling, to economic charts).
I don’t think that these items in the 3L Griffit series were meant for serious drafting (so to speak), mainly because 20 years ago CAD was the standard, but rather for school and office.
What you say about these manufacturers (all of which I don’t know except for Linex) and their products sounds very exciting! I’d love to see these items.
Speaking of rulers: My favorite ruler is a very short and long out-of-print one from the German manufacturer Rumold. It is made of pear wood and has a celluloid scale which was applied by hand, having first been dissolved on the back with acetone to make it stick. The scale was then engraved and filled with black hard wax. – I’ll show it when I get the chance.
Anyone have the “double-knock” Colleen Jib from Ray’s above pic -for sale/trade- for a less than exorbitant price??
I’ve been on the hunt for 6+ months now. I’m quite proud of my Jib collection, yet this piece eludes me still…. It’s grip combined with the almost 90degree nose screams “own me”
