This transcript was generated from an audio file by AI, and may contain inaccuracies.
Transcript
Show up at Chris Roth's door and be like, suck it, Roth.
So that's my next fresh point.
Hello and welcome to episode 111 of the erasable podcast. This episode is sponsored by in defensive paper making high quality notebooks sourced and manufactured in the U.S. visit indefensivepaper.com erasable to check them out and use the coupon code erasable to save $5 off your purchase. I'm Andy Welfle and I'm heading up this international broadcast from the west coast of the United States. And I'm joined by Johnny Gamber on the east coast. Hey, Johnny.
Hey, Andy.
Yeah, so pretty good. I'm wrapping up my day here. So I'm drinking my green tea and getting ready to go home.
Nice.
Yeah. So it's international. Not right now, but eventually we're going to be joined by Noah Beer. He's a designer at Brahman Designs and they make a little sharpener called the Hovel, which is a little like pencil plane. And he's in the uk, so he'll be joining us later to talk about product design and sharpening tips for this thing because it is hard to master. I think we've. Johnny, we've mentioned this on the show before, right?
The Hubble. I think so, yeah. In passing. It was one of those things where I looked at it and I'm like, I am not going to use that without losing a finger.
Yeah.
So stop lusting after it.
So stay tuned for that. And he'll also have a discount code for you as an erasable listener in case you want one of your own. So, yeah, let's jump into tools of the trade. Johnny, what is your consumables today?
So it's all sunny stuff. I've just finished this giant book called the Noonday Demon, an atlas of depression, which speaks for itself. And then a book that the author recommended called Undercurrents, which is a book that a therapist wrote about her journey through depression and the Handmaid's Tale, Volume 2. So, like, I think this is our episode, Season 2. This is all like working together to undermine the smile you want to keep on your face in the middle of the winter.
Yeah.
So I'm telling myself I had to read something a little more cheerful next. But, you know, if you're interested in those topics. The Noonday Demon was not a depressing book. Even though it was like a 600 page book about depression. It was really, really good. Really interesting. You know, everybody knows someone who suffers from depression if they don't themselves. Yeah, that was cool. And Handmaid's Tale season two was awesome, but I think everybody's seen it but me, so it's not so much a recommendation.
Yeah, yeah.
Frankie won't watch it, so I have to watch it. Like when the time said she's asleep on the couch or something.
It just seems a little like. I'm really interested to know, too. I haven't watched the second season, but I read the book and it seems like it's. It's like continuing on with the book.
Right.
Like, it's not that they're getting away from the text.
So I read the book pretty close to when I saw season one, and I couldn't remember what happened in the book and what happened on the show, so I had to watch season one again, which is, you know, kind of painful. Some of it's hard to watch.
Yeah. And I hear that Margaret Atwood's working on a sequel, and it'll be interesting to see if she sort of, like, follows, you know, with the show or if she's gonna go and, like, she's gonna, like, split the universe.
Yeah, that sounds really cool. And I didn't know that she had a cameo in season one. She was in the red center.
Oh, I missed that, huh?
That was pretty cool. Yeah, that's going to be satisfying. I'm like, hey, here's my really famous book. Now it's a show and I get to be on it. Yeah, that's awesome. Yeah. And so I am writing with a Blackwing Volume 4, which I have sharpened on a hovel. And it has the point. It's been an inch and a half long from the bottom of the collar to the tip. It's pretty awesome. Beautiful. And I'm afraid to use it and a field notes ROMS edition because it's very wintry looking.
Yeah, I love that, like, off white cover on the.
It gets so dirty.
Yeah, it sure does.
It's good, you know, it's good. Wabi Sabi, though. Let it go.
Yeah. What am I doing in the middle of watching season two of Atlanta, which is that Donald Glover show. I think I've talked about it here before. Have you seen this, Johnny?
No. It's on Hulu.
It's on Hulu, I think. I think so. Yeah. And it's an FX show and I wouldn't. It's like kind of a comedy, kind of a drama, kind of both, kind of neither. It's hard to describe, but it follows the life of, like, you know, some rappers in Atlanta. And this, this season is. Is Interesting because it's a lot more like. It's both more like political than the first season. It's also a little bit more experimental. Like they cover some like, themes of racism and education and in the south, but they also, they have like these special episodes for different characters. And there's. Yeah, there's just some really interesting episodes. It's a really good show. Cool.
Yeah.
And there's this other. There's a book that I've just started to read. It's called Letting Go with the word. Excuse me? Letting go of the words. And it's. It's really. It's a. It's a book about writing. Writing for the web. It's kind of like an old, kind of like nominal text for writing for websites or for search engine optimization or for social media. And as I try to write this book that's about writing specifically for products, I'm just trying to get a better sense of what else exists out there. So it's kind of an old book, but it's pretty good. And it's definitely not something most people cares about or should care about. So it's not really a recommendation for anybody else to read it, but it's what I'm reading right now.
Awesome. Yeah, that sounds really interesting.
Yeah, it is really good. If you ever find yourself doing any copywriting or just wanting specifically to write for a very like uniform style for the web. It just covers some really good basics. And actually I'm writing with some. Just kind of boring. Just a Blackwing 602 in my Baron vig notebook because I. Yeah. Just didn't like grab anything interesting today. This is just my usual.
Are you going to put it through the hovel later?
Oh, God. We'll talk about this, but I am really bad at it. I have not figured out the technique yet. So I'm hoping that Noah can give us some good insight into that. Yeah. So yeah, that is tools of the trade. Should we go into fresh points?
Absolutely.
What do you have this time around?
Only a couple. So field notes, if I understand this right. Somehow they got to the point where you could. We talked about this briefly last time. You could make suggestions for spring. So they narrowed it down to three.
Yeah.
One was Highways, which doesn't sound that interesting. Birds, which sounds kind of interesting. And then the other one was just an old fashioned colors edition.
Yeah.
Which sounds awesome. So hopefully they go with that. That would be really cool.
Is that what you voted for?
Oh, yeah, yeah.
That's funny because I vote. I voted for the Highways one Really?
Yeah, it.
It felt like I really love America the Beautiful and the highways one really felt like that to me.
Oh yeah. I didn't think of it that way.
So I like obviously whatever, like their implementation is. Is different but I also, I also really like the birds ones. But I felt like field notes. The people who like it seems to me like they would care more about sort of that like Americana of the highway systems and would be really interested in that. So that to me felt like very on like the most on brand for field notes. But honestly a colors edition would be amazing too. Like if they, if they had some like just a simple like grass stain green esque edition. That would be awesome, right?
Yeah. I mean that's what everybody. Or not everybody. That's what lots of people really got into in the beginning.
Yeah.
It's like, hey, here's a seasonal color.
Yeah. It's funny we, we talked about this before, I think. But that's one reason why I didn't like the colors. Editions didn't interest me at first. Like even though I knew full well about like butcher blue, butcher orange, grass stain green, like I didn't really get into it because I didn't. It's like I really like the original color the best. I don't really need these other col. And now I'm of course kicking myself.
Me too.
Yeah.
Yeah. If they did something a lot with that offset. Is it called offset printing that they did with the. Oh yeah, like beautiful. That could be awesome.
Yeah, like, like with those like halftones that they use in it.
Halftone. That's it. Yeah. Yeah. I mean they. Believe it or not, they didn't take my American philosophy suggestion. What would be cool is if they did like the three oldest zoos in the country because we are third. That would be pretty neat.
Oh really?
That would only be neat to me and like my kids.
But I don't know what you would do if they had like a Baltimore specific field notes. I think you would just like buy all of them. Like put thousands of dollars into field notes.
I would walk to Chicago with a grocery cart and just like fill it up, walk back, show up at Chris
Roth store and be like, suck it Roth.
So that's my next fresh point.
Suck it Roth.
Yeah. I think we talked about their meeting notebook from Write notepads and the planner. They have like a landscape planner, which I don't have, but I don't know how much my bullet journaling is going to keep, so I might wind up getting one of those. But they have this meeting book that's I guess like 7 by 10 with a spiral on the side that is sort of organized for meetings. But also know how to describe it? Well, I don't have it right in front of me, but it's really, really cool. I don't have any meetings. They asked me to give one to Frankie and see what she thinks. She has many, many meetings. But the newest thing they have which is really exciting is the landscape notebook, which is. It's sort of the same size, but it's sideways and the binding is at the top. So you use it like a steno pad, but the dimensions the other way. What is like insane. Beautiful paper.
Yeah, it's gorgeous looking. I need to. I need to pick one up.
The pistachio is so. Oh my God. Yeah. On the website it looks kind of, I don't know, a little more green. That does. When you have it in your hands.
What. What do you use those landscape notebooks for?
I just got it, so I didn't start using it for anything yet. But that might be for like longer writing projects. So they, you know, they print on both sides and there's a margin at the top. Yeah. So they don't want you to open it and then you know, write on the top page upside down. Just like flip it around. And the backing of it's really heavy. So you could like totally use this on your lap with nothing under.
Reminds me. It reminds me a little bit of those, the Pano books that Studio Neat put out.
I can't remember what those look like.
Are you familiar? They're. That's specifically like, they kind of made it for like web designers and like UX designers. But it's about the same size as like your, like your computer keyboard. And they made it to kind of like fit right there. Um. Oh, cool. Yeah. If you look. If you Google Pano book. But I mean, it's different. They don't. They don't have a spiral at the top like that, but it's very like landscape oriented.
Yeah, they've. Oh, here it is. Yeah, it's much less green in person, but the. They did something different with the spiral. Instead of that bronze, it's like a matte black spiral. So pretty. Like I'm really excited to like tear this notebook up or try to tear this notebook up.
Yeah.
And if folks are. I think I put this in the Facebook group. There's. Well, there's a store in Baltimore that's called like Made in Baltimore. Very creative. But John and Chris are doing a talk down there. Next Wednesday, I think it's 6 30th. So I'm going to try to make it if I can get out of a doctor's appointment.
What are they talking about?
Yeah, I don't know. I didn't read the email that closely. I was like, oh. I mean, I would watch them then go talk about most things.
Yeah.
And it's in a really cool part of town. It's stationed north. It's like our nationally recognized art district. We're like, you can walk to some very good coffee shops from there.
The mark of any good art district.
Yeah.
Coffee shops, relation. Yeah, I agree with that. That's awesome.
Yeah. And so my last fresh point is this was also in our group. There are two new pencils that are at Walmart. One is a rebranded version of the Murado, The Papermate. Ever strong, ever. They brag about the lead being break resistant.
Just give it to. Give it to Charlotte and see if. See if it is.
Oh, man. Rosie would be the big time.
Oh, yeah, Rosie would.
They look, you know, they look good that the last few packs of Murados I had. While it's very disappointing, they're not made in America and they're not cedar. They're really nice. The finish is great. The core rights really nicely. If these are just that with a different brand, that's pretty cool. I can dig it.
What do they look like?
They. They're like a gold. They look like a harvest for Musgrave. They're bat yellow with a burgundy band on the ferrule and a pink eraser. And they get a picture of these and everybody's favorite extruded pencil, the Bic Evolution. So they've been in Europe for a few years. They've had one where the quote unquote wood is black on the outside is silver. So now they sell them at Walmart. And like, you know, everybody hates Bic pencils, but I like them. They have. They're useful for some stuff like really rough paper or children.
They gotta be better than the extra fun. Like I.
They're the same thing.
Oh, it's the same extra.
You know what? I don't think they're as flexible. I think they screwed with the formula a little bit.
Yeah.
They have that same faint paint.
Right.
I love the look of the. The extra fun to me looks like the most modern equivalent of a yikes pencil. Like, I love that plastic ferrule, but. Oh, God, I just can't. I can't do it. I can't write with it.
These have a feral that actually looks like it came from the same factory as the. The. That have an eraser. Oh, it's like a really nice tight ferrule, huh? Yeah. I bought two packs if you want some. I'll totally send you some.
Yeah, wouldn't mind.
They're made in France, which is kind of romantic.
Yeah. Good old Bic.
Yeah. So. And if you do go looking for them, they're not with the office supplies. They're with, like, somehow seasonal stuff near the toys.
Interesting.
I'd go check out the Lego really, really early.
Back to school.
Yeah. I'm like, God, it's getting worse every year. Oh, they did have Easter eggs out already. And Easter is very late this year. Yeah, this was last week.
Did I. Did I tell you that I bought a LEGO set for the first time in a long time?
Does it bring back memories?
Oh, yeah. Well, I bought the architecture set. There's a San Francisco skyline one now.
Oh, yeah, those are cool.
Yeah. And I haven't put it together yet because I've been so busy getting Plaga ready to go that, like, I haven't. This. This will be my, like, after I sent out the last issue treat.
Oh, that's cool.
Yeah.
Legos are so awesome.
Yeah.
You know, now you look back at all the sets you have when you were little and kick yourself. Like, I should have kept that.
Oh, yeah. I had some of those vintage, like, Space Guy LEGO sets that were super cool. Space team, I think it was called Space Force.
Oh, those were awesome.
Yeah.
We could look those up on a website later. Go down memory lane. Yeah, those are all my fresh points.
Yeah, I don't have a lot. I guess I should probably kind of do what I've been doing lately and just give some quick plumbago updates in that. I'm trying to remember what happened last time. I think I had sent the file off to the printer and I have now gotten them back and they're gorgeous. They tried out a new machine at our printer where they print and then fold and then staple and then cut all in the same machine, which is interesting. Can you watch it? I.
Next.
I'm going to see if I can, because that sounds fascinating. I wonder if it's interesting to watch. But it's. The drawback to that is that they have to use this specific card paper stock. So it is an uncoated matte stock, which is very much like a magazine page. So think like less glossy but still coated stock. And it's gorgeous. And it just really makes the black and white photos on the pages just pop. And the COVID The COVID like, the color on the covers really look amazing. But one side effect of it is it's really heavy. Like, so even though it's less. What am I trying to say? There are less pages than previously. Like, these are only like 36 pages instead of like 50 pages. It's like, almost as heavy. So it's a really heavy paper, which makes it changes kind of the price around of like shipping it because it's kind of based on weight. So I'm like re engineering that. But I am getting things sent out. I already just today mailed. If anybody bought just one issue and they live in the US your. Your Plumbago's on their way. And if you are a contributor or if you're Johnny and Tim, your plumbago's on your way. And then tomorrow I'm going to be sending out people who have ordered two or more and then also people who have ordered multiple things. So, like Plumbago five and four and, you know, that kind of a thing. And then also international orders. So those are due out by the end of the week, maybe slightly into next week, if I don't get to a post office in time tomorrow.
So I'm going to start stocking my mailbox.
Yeah. And when I say when I say tomorrow, we're recording this on Thursday, January 24th. So by tomorrow I mean Friday.
Geez, a week left in this month.
Yeah. They say February meant January. I don't know what I just said. I don't know words. I also want to mention, speaking of Plumbago, I thought it would be good to mention Meredith Miyatki, who is our friend from CW Pencils. She was on an episode she and Caroline were on a little bit ago, but she's also a really talented illustrator and did the COVID of Plumbago. And she recently left CW Pencils and is concentrating full time on illustration work. So I just wanted to give her a little plug here just in case there's anybody who doesn't know about her. She does incredible work. And I speak from experience. Experience and saying that she's really great to work with. And yeah, if you want to hit her up for work, she is at M L M I O T K e m l miotki.com so, yeah, you can find examples of what she's done already. She has a little store where you can buy some prints and stuff. She has given us permission to offer the plumbago covers a free digital download, like as a wallpaper for your computer.
Oh, that's awesome.
So as soon as I figure out how to like put that up on the website, we'll be offering that. So, yeah, Meredith's really great, so use her for your illustration needs. And I guess the last thing I'll mention is something that I think. Baron Fig just announced this today, right?
Yeah, I saw it come across Facebook.
It's the first blank sheet notebook that I've seen from them in a long time. It's a collection of soft cover vanguards, like little pocket ones called Zen. And they have like little beautiful, kind of like brushed symbols. One is like a little lotus plant and one is some stacked rocks and one is a circle. It's kind of like yoga zen related, really gorgeous, simple covers. And like there's like black and this red color and this white color. They're really lovely. And they're blank. So those of you who like blank pages. Tim Wasem, if you can hear me out there somewhere. Yeah. Are you getting a pack of these?
Oh, yeah. And I think my brother would really dig these. I'm gonna get him a pack too.
Yeah.
Are you gonna jump for it?
I think so. I really love that kind of like red, that red color in there.
You know what, These are going to sell fast. I'm going to order mine as soon as we're done.
Yeah, yeah. So good job. Baron Fig. It's been. You know, they just rolled out the copper Squire the other day. No, no, no, the brass one. Right. They offered a brass Squire as a limited edition. It was the key with the lock and key. And it was really nice. I got one of those. But it looks like they've added it to their regular lineup. So I, I find it to be a little heavier than I like, but that is just me. So now they have a copper one, a brass one, and a few different aluminum ones. They don't have a steel one, do they?
Yeah, they have a steel one, do they?
Man. I guess what's nice about. What's nice about those Squires is they don't have to make them in really big quantities. They're all just kind of like machines. So I bet they can get like, you know, like a couple hundred of them to see if they sell.
Yeah. You know what they need to do is wood.
Oh, man, that's such a good idea.
Like an ash.
Yeah.
Joey and Adam, are you listening? We need a wood squire.
Heck yeah.
That is a good idea. All right,
hold on. Baron Fig makes it so easy to give them money. I just ordered two packs and their shipping is cheap. $20 gets me two packs shipped.
Yeah. Oh, nice. So they're $9 for a pack. So if you buy two packs, it's $18 for two.
$2 for shipping, it was $2.95. They knock off 5% if you buy two packs.
Nice.
Yes.
Baron Fig, both Baron Fig and CW pencils and write Notepads has Apple Pay, which is the Apple version of Android Pay. And it's, like, dangerously easy to pay because it enters in your address and, like, your credit card information just kind of automatically. And I have definitely impulse bought via Apple Pay to way too often. Actually, you can buy plumbago via Apple Pay too, if you wanted to.
Oh, cool.
Yeah. And PayPal.
Here it is. It's a 1710 for the notebook. So it's $20.05.
Wow.
Tell them we. Tell them we sent you.
Yeah, we should. We should do it. We should do the affiliate thing, but I. I don't like doing that. You know, where it's like, if you use this code, you can get $10 off or whatever.
Oh, yeah, I forgot. I always forget that exists. Yeah.
Cool. All right, we should. We should probably get. Get no on the phone. But before we do that, do you want to tell us about. Tell us about a notebook you like.
Absolutely. So we've talked before about, in defensive paper, they make really, really nice notebooks that are sourced in the United States, and they pay a lot of attention to their detail. But today I was looking at their website because I was getting the link for our show notes, and they've got all of this new information on there. So, you know, there are a lot of notebook companies that tell you, you know, exactly what paper is used, but they tell you what paper is used and why they use that weight, why they use a vellum finish, why they go for the shade of white that they have. So, like, I appreciate those details because, you know, we're gonna nerd out on that stuff.
Yeah.
So that's super awesome. We've talked about what the notebooks look like before. They're blank on one side, and then on the other side, you can choose dot, grid, or lined. And they come in three colors, but they open really flat because the spine is exposed, but they're still stiff enough that you can write with them on your lap. So they're really nice notebooks. And also, like, if you get a little. I don't know, don't throw around the term ocd, but if you're a little particular about your notebooks, there's no cover overhang at all. Everything is perfectly lined up. And I really appreciate that. It wasn't like a fluke thing. This is how they make their notebooks. So they're offering our listeners $5 discount on a purchase. You can just head over to indefensofpaper.com erasable and then use the code erasable to save five bucks off of your notebook, which is excellent. And they also, I should mention, come in a cool little box when they get shipped. But and the box is also the mailer, so they use a lot less shipping materials, which goes in line with a lot of their environmental philosophy. So that's super awesome. Thank you for sponsoring us. And yeah, Seth, tell them we sent you also.
Nice.
Very cool. All right, so, yeah, let's get no on the line and we'll jump into our main topic. All right, so maybe you've seen photos of what looks like a tiny plane for sharpening pencils on Instagram and wondered what it is. Or maybe you're interested in learning to sharpen with a blade but don't want to lose a finger. Or maybe you just said to yourself, self, I love sharpening wooden pencils, but I'm afraid a regular sharpener is just too darn easy. In any case, we are lucky to be joined tonight straight from London by Noah Bierce of Brahman Design. Hi, Noah, how's it going?
Hi. I'm good. How are you guys doing?
Very good. Thanks for coming on the show.
Excellent.
So, Noah, can you tell us a little bit about yourself and your background and what kind of work you do?
So I was born and I've grown up in London. I've never lived anywhere else, and I'm ingrained with the city. When I was younger, I thought I wanted to be an artist. So I did a lot of drawing, sketching, and I felt that sort of other sort of careers or jobs or the future was going to be more creative. I kind of came to the conclusion that I didn't want to be an artist. I didn't feel like I had a strong message to tell the world, but I still want to be making things. So I went and studied product design, which has led me to where I am now, which is working with two other guys in a design studio called Brahman Design, where we try and design products which last a lifetime.
Very cool.
Excellent. So we ask all of our guests this, of course. So what got you interested in pencils?
What got me interested in pencils was using them to draw. Initially, I kind of would be given them Every year for my birthday or at Christmas time. And I kind of thought they were all the same. And I realized eventually that some were nice than others and why they were. And then during my degree studying product design, I'd be using pencils and I would have these moments where I'd be sketching ideas and then I'd go and sharpen my pencil. And I'd realized that the pencil wasn't matching up to what I was working on. So I kind of had a think about this and I saw that there were some really nice mechanical pencils out there. And then I kind of found that there are also a massive scene and community of beautiful pencils. And that's kind of how I got interested in it.
That's cool. Yeah, I love that story. I feel like it's so common. People start using pencils as just like purely a utilitarian device. Right. They're all the same, you know, they're nothing special or nothing. You know, they're just. They're just super common. And then, you know, they. They try out a really nice pencil and it's like, wow, this is. This is markedly nicer than that, than those other pencils. So, yeah, yeah, it seems like that's a. That's a really good kind of journey to. To pencils. But besides the Hubble, which we'll talk about here in a minute, what's your background or your specialty in product design? Are you more physical products or digital products? Something different?
I'm certainly more in the physical. I don't really have a mind for things that I can't see or touch. I really enjoy making things. I'm the sort of designer that would much prefer to be in a. In a complete need for doing computer aided design. But when you can pick things up and try them out and make them really quickly and break them apart, I feel that that's definitely my background, but in regards to what I've made before, it's not very much. This was our first thing we've sort of done out of university, and it's going quite well for what it is, but we've learned a lot along the
way
and we're very happy with what the hovel is at the moment.
Very cool.
So, you know, it's no El Costco, it's not $400 or anything, but the Hubble is not cheap. And, you know, at first it's hard to see what advantages it would have over a regular, just even a handheld brass pencil sharpener. What do you think is the main advantage or Advantages to the Hubble.
There are a few advantages to it. The major one is the ability to easily change the blades. So often you can get nice sharpeners like duck sharpener, but you need a tiny little screwdriver to change the blade. And we thought this was quite an issue because you'd often be drawing in class or at your desk or writing in a journal, and you'd be sharpening your pencil and it would break and you'd want to change the blade. So we wanted a sharpener which could easily have the blades change because this was often the reason why sharpeners weren't sharpening a pencil, but in fact, breaking them. We also thought that the design allows you to really craft your points. You can get really long points, really short points with it. It just depends on the angle that you're holding it at. We also felt that because of its tactile nature, it's something where you really take your time over, so it gives you a little break from what you're working on to sharpen your pencil and regroup your thoughts.
Nice.
Yeah. I love the little knurled knob on the top that you use to tighten and loosen the blade up. I think that's a good. That's a good addition to it because, like you said, sometimes. Yeah. Like, those little tiny screwdrivers are hard to use and carry around. Yeah, yeah.
It's also that we found that a lot of people that like pencils, they might have a bit of an issue with a tiny screwdriver being able to source it or just use one. You want something that literally anyone is able to play with or move around.
Nice. What?
So, being in product design, I'm sure you've gone through some research and some testing and some prototypes. What was your process like for developing this thing?
So we had a think about different ways you can sharpen your pencil. And the three of us had experience and enjoyed time in the workshop, in a wood workshop. And we thought that some of this practice could be used when sharpening pencils. So we went through an iterative process of 3D printing little block planes. And a block plane is a woodworking tool, which you use to plane down layers of wood so that it's smoother for working with. And we thought that this could be really good for a pencil, because pencil, obviously is what is usually made of wood and can be held in a way that gives you an ability to change an angle. So with a normal sharpener, you twist your pencil in and the blade is fixed. And we want something that was different that gives you a bit more connection to what you're doing. So we 3D printed different sizes, different shapes to basically find what sort of fit between your thumb and index finger would work best. And then we sort of played around with this and tried to work out which angle was best. And we went through a load of prototypes, trying it out in different materials, and we've now come to what you see today as the Hubble.
That's cool.
Awesome. Did you go through a lot of prototypes? Sort of got them. Sorry. You know, the idea to use brass,
we were quite set on brass from the start. We'd obviously seen a lot of old tools and things like that that were made in brass and a lot of nice stationary things that were using brass. So we thought it would be the perfect tool because we wanted something that would last. And it's incredibly strong and also isn't so precious that you don't want to drop it. We want something that, when you drop it, it becomes a memory. Rather than a disappointment. Yeah. We were really inspired by things like Zippo lighters, where you keep it forever and you polish it up and you don't really need to be too precious with it, but it builds like a very sentimental part of your life, basically.
I do like the comparison to the Zippo lighter, because it's like. I. I would say it probably is about the same size and weighs about the same. It feels really good kind of when you're holding it in your hand. I do like. Do you like that a lot?
Yeah.
And you want to be able to maintain it like a Zippo. And we have an idea that. That the hovel is going to be a future antique, so that you pass it on down generations. And it's a thing that sits in your desk and is passed on, which you see with a lot of Zippos. And obviously they become very personal. So some people will be using their hovels for drawing, or some of them may be using it for, I don't know, little bits of woodwork. They're using a carpenter's pencil. And it's the same sort of thing with a Zippo. Some people use them for lots of different things.
Yeah.
So what are some design and manufacturing considerations that we users may not even think about that you went through? Maybe something just the angle or the material or something that wouldn't even occur to us that you were thinking a lot about?
I think it would be probably the size, so you'd want it to be able to plane off layers of your pencil without you really touching the point. So if you touch the point, you might end up scratching yourself, dabbing yourself. So it had to be sort of big enough that it fits between your fingers as well and not too heavy. So we sort of played around with the sort of width and we want something to be that's also. You knew that it was in your pocket if it was there. So we had to play around with that. The other sort of things we played around were whether you could. How you would put the blade inside. So if you guys have noticed, there's a tiny little magnet.
Yeah, that's genius.
Yeah. So initially we'd been placing this magnets in.
Sorry.
We've been placing the blade into the. Into the clamp and screwing it in. And it took us a bit of time to realize that this was going to be really difficult for some people and it was even difficult slipping out. So a tiny magnet works really well because it means you can still use it with any sort of blade because most of the blades are steel and it makes it a lot easier to use.
So, you know, with the magnet and the materials and the shape and the size, this sounds like a really, really complicated process. What was the most difficult part of bringing the Hubble to the market?
The most difficult part was getting it out to people. So even though that we'd found these beautiful pencils, we didn't even really know that the erasable podcast, the raisable
existed.
We were sort of lone, lone stationary addicts. So we thought that we couldn't really. Yeah. So we had to think of a way to get it out there. Even though it's such an analog and physical product, we felt that putting it online would be best. So the biggest issue probably had was getting that traction through Kickstarter, which was such a great platform for us, but difficult way to first get it out there because it was so new to
us
as a site and a process. But once you get it on there and you get the support and you get the backing, really enables you to take the next steps in getting it produced more and getting into stores and getting a name out there.
Yeah, I feel like Kickstarter is so good for stationary. Like, you know, that was kind of the. The Baron Fig origin story. They put the confidant on Kickstarter and really launched it. And I know that there's a bunch of like custom pens, like custom machine pens that go through Kickstarter. I feel like Brad Dowdy on the Pen Addict talks about like a, like a new pen Kickstarter like every week. It seems like so that seems like the perfect way to kind of go through this. How long ago was that was your Kickstarter?
That was a year and a half ago.
Okay, I remember. I remember that, but I don't. Yeah, I couldn't remember when.
Yeah, we were. We. We kind of were taken aback at how. How well it did.
Yeah.
And then we had some issues initially with our production, and it was quite a funny story because Ben and Odin, my two partners, they were running the Kickstarter, basically, and I was helping on the side, and they received the first batch of hovels and Ben had headed home to California, and Odin was going on holiday the day that they came. And we knew that we had to get them out to the back as soon as we could. So they called me up and said,
noah, get in here.
Need your help with this. Yeah. And that was sort of my introduction to the brand properly, because they needed someone on the ground. And then after we shipped them all out, we got all these happy responses. I asked them, what's next? And now we're here today finding some new stuff.
Um, so the Hubble is way different than any pencil sharpener I've used, even, you know, a pocket knife. Because, you know, it's like if someone unrolled a manual pencil sharpener and there's the blade, but you don't spin the pencil, you roll it or sort of glide the pencil against it. So could you sort of take us through how to actually use it and maybe even include some tips for mastering this cool little device? Sure.
So I would say that you're not the first person to found it a little bit difficult, but once people find it, they find the technique, they really appreciate it. So the first thing I would say to do is to take it out the box, take a blade out of the package and place the blade into the clamp. In the clamp, the blade's got to be facing upwards, which means that you see the shiny side. If you have it the other way, then it's going to rip apart your pencil and it's not actually going to sharpen it. So that's probably the main thing. The main tip is to make sure you got the blade the right way. So the next.
Real quick. Shiny side up, right?
Yeah. Okay. There's like a little stripe on the bottom.
Yep.
Which is got to be facing upwards.
I think that is my problem.
Oh, my God.
Okay, there we go.
So is it facing upwards in the sharpener or when you have it in your hand with a little magnet?
So if you can see the magnets. If you have the magnet facing you, you want to put the blade on top of it and the shiny side is facing you.
Okay, I have that. Good. Thank you.
That's all right. And then what I'd recommend doing is you put it down on the table, the hovel's body, and then you drop in the clamp with the blade attached. You then take the little screw and you screw it through. And this means you can keep your fingers clear of the blade when you're sharpening, when you're tightening it in. That would mean the blade is the least. At the least aggressive position. So if you wanted to start out on a pencil, you'd want to just hold your pencil out straight in your weaker hand. So I hold it in my left and then in my right hand, I hold the hovel between my thumb and index finger. And at about a 30 degree angle, I just shave off layers. So you pull the plane over your. Over your pencil and it should pick up graphite and wood. So maybe you can hear it in this.
Mm.
It's a good sound.
That's the sort of sound you'd be looking for. And if you get that sound, then you know it's going well. And then eventually what you can do is if you undo the screw a little bit, it means you're able to move the blade up and down slightly. So then you can sort of play around with more aggressive cuts. So say you're starting out on a brand new pencil. You might want to make a big cut and then reduce the angle of the blade by undoing the screw again and pushing the blade back into place so that you can make a less aggressive, more careful crafted cut to your pencil.
Yeah. Noah, have you ever watched those videos of, like, competitive Japanese wood planing?
Yeah, they're incredible.
Yeah. Have you seen these, Johnny?
No, I've never seen these.
So, you know, woodworking is such a exacting craft in Japan that they have these competitions of, of guys with these really fine wood planers. And it's, it's about like how they'll make a, you know, 12, 15 foot long, just like really thin layer of wood. And they're measured by, like, how contiguous the strip, like the planing is and how thin the layer is. It's really amazing. So, sorry, I interrupted.
Yeah, no, it's so cool. We've seen those videos as well. And maybe we've got to make a really, really long pencil and try it out.
Perfect. I'm down for that.
Yeah, those videos are so cool because you have Those two. Usually it's two guys that run alongside together and it's so amazing how intertwined it all becomes with that.
Yeah, cool. So I'm trying to think. I had a question for. I think you covered it. A lot of it was about the kind of like blade position and you know, how, how extended or retracted it was. And I think I really liked how you framed it. It really is like, you know how aggressive of a cut this is, right? Like it's like, are you getting in there and just like really doing it or is this more of a subtle, you know, shaving off of thin layers of the pencil?
Yeah, just after you said that, I got a 2 inch long point on my general cedar point by making my blade less aggressive.
2 inches long.
Oh, awesome.
That's great.
Just send you guys a picture. This is funny. It looks really cool.
Yeah, that's funny. No, do you guys have.
I found that the people using different sort of pencils can find it a bit difficult. So we'd also. Another tip I'd give is that if you're starting out, try it not with your favorite pencils, try it with a pencil which you don't mind ripping apart maybe. And usually those pencils also have some harder hard wood. So rather than like a nice black which has some really soft cedar, you probably want that on a lower setting. Whereas if you take a harder pencil, you can, you can be a bit more aggressive with it and get, get the angle right.
Have you ever used a this on a Wolfex Noah?
No. What is that?
They. They're made by Statler. I think you should be able to get them in the uk. They are not actually made with wood, but of a, like a sawdust slash plastic composite. So it's almost like a plastic pencil. Yeah, yeah. They are very heavy and very hard and Johnny really likes them. And zero other people on earth like them.
I think they're like, I have like four allies in the group.
Yeah, I think you do.
But I think in the UK you can get them at the grocery store. Huh.
Okay, cool.
Yeah.
I feel like you could really screw up a blade using one of those. But that's just me. Yeah. Are they called Wilpecks in the uk, Johnny?
I think they. They've recently changed them to being called the Norris Eco.
Yeah, yeah, the Norris. Yeah. Yeah. I think I know which ones you mean. I didn't know they were made with. Yeah, with shavings or whatever it is. Yeah, but it's kind of bizarre, but. Yeah, yeah, that's also. That's also a great thing about the hobble that you can obviously use on any sort of pencil. If you've got a jumbo pencil, it doesn't make any difference.
Yeah.
Still use them on that. Or even clutch pencils and wax pencils.
I'd really be interested in trying this on a, like a triangular pencil or something like that. Something where that just has fewer sides. Good car. Yeah.
Or even like we found that you can make Eiffel Tower sort of look. So like I really like the Faber Castell triangular pencils. The, you know, the ones with the grip. Those ones, Those are my favorite as a child because they're always the nicest ones that I'd have like in maths class.
Yeah.
But yeah, we found that it works really well with them just because you can get a nice sort of pyramid, Eiffel Tower esque point to it.
An Eiffel Tower esque point. I like that a lot. So, Joan, just wrapping up in as much as you can say and maybe you can't. What does the future hold for Brahman design? Do you have any accessories or any siblings to the Hubble sharpener coming out that you can talk about?
Yeah. So we've. Can't give too much away, but we're working on a few really exciting things which I think you guys would be interested in. We're probably going to be launching a new Kickstarter in the next few months which is going to be definitely of interest in these sort of pencil drawing writing circles. Can't be say more than that. I think we're going to be continuing to work with. I don't know if you guys are familiar with High Meadows stationery.
Yeah.
Yes. So we've been collaborating and we made some leather sheets for the hovel with them. So we're going to be continue to work with them this year because we really like their products and I think they like the hovel too. And then there's something else that's going to be happening hopefully. But I really can't say much more about that.
We'll find then.
No, it's fine.
Yeah, you will find out though, at some point.
Yeah. Well, luckily Noah's an active member in the Erasable group. And if you, if you are all in there too, you can, you can find this out pretty easily. Um, so yeah, before we, before we wrap up, Noah, is there anything else you want to, you want to mention that we did not, we did not discuss today so far.
If any of you guys are interested in trying out Hovel, we have a Discount code for all your raisewall listeners. So if you go through to our website, which is www.brahmandesign.com which is b R a H M A N D E S I G N C O M, click through find a hovel and when you go to purchase it, go on the discount code bit and enter erasables 10 and you can get 10% off off your order.
Cool.
I'll make sure to put a link to that in the show notes too. So that's erasables 10 like with a plural?
Yes.
Perfect.
Yes.
Cool.
No. Where can people find you and Brahman Design on social media?
So we're mostly active on Instagram so check us out at Brahman Design. That's B R a H M A N D E S I G N. We're on Facebook too. So just search Brahman and you'll find us. And online you can find our website also at www.brahmandesign.com. very cool. Through these sort of three things we'll be releasing more news and answering any questions you guys might.
Fantastic. Well, thank you so much for joining us today. I know this is right toward the end of your workday so thanks for making the time to hang out with us.
You're very welcome. It was really good to speak to you guys. It was cool to well talk to you guys properly rather than just hearing you guys voice
just online.
Yeah.
And Johnny, where can people find you on. On the Internet?
And I hope you guys continue to use your hobble and eventually create some more sort of Eiffel Tower esque points.
Eiffel Tower, I love that. I mean Johnny just posted a picture of his pencil. At least he sent it to me. You should send this to Noah too maybe and put it in the. It does kind of look Eiffel Tower esque. So
I'll send you a picture of my triangle, my triangular point.
Oh yeah, let's see that. Awesome. And Johnny, where can people find you on the Internet?
You can find me on Pencil Revolution.com and on Social media ensolution.
Awesome. And I'm Andy Welfle. I'm on Twitter and Instagram as wellfley. And then woodclinch.com is my, my blog that I never update. So this is the Erasable podcast. We are on the web at Erasable Us. This has been episode 111 so you can find show notes and a recording and other information at erasable us111 you can find our Facebook group at facebook.com groups erasable. We're about 2,500 members strong. Really great conversation happening there especially because we have voices of makers like Noah and a few others that love kind of jumping in and talking to the community. You can get us on Twitter and Instagram as raceablepodcast and if you have a moment please take a moment to rate and review us on itunes. That really helps us be discovered by more people. Thank you once again to In Defense of Paper for sponsoring this week's episode. Save $5 by going to indefensivepaper.com erasable and use the offer code erasable. And then also thanks once again to Noah to Brahman Design for talking about the Hubble Sharpener today. So I'm definitely going to work on my my Eiffel Tower points from now on so.
Yeah, me too.
All right and everybody have a have a good couple weeks and we will see you next time. Do you like our podcast? Most people like our podcast but if you don't like our podcast maybe we'll turn it off.