Here is an unusual pencil that I know little about. An oversized woodcased chalk pencil, the Jass allows for a lot more precision than a typical stick of chalk.
On slate:
On a chalkboard:
See Bleistift for a nice article on writing with chalk and slate (and variants).
Are there any teachers out there who might recall using chalk pencils?
For some, this might be a great thing, but I get uncomfortable chills just thinking about the sound and feel of sharpening these things!
“Jass” refers to the Swiss card game for which one keeps score on a slate using chalk or a chalk pencil. I’m not sure it’s the name of this pencil so much as a label: “this is for Jass scorekeeping”.
What a beautiful pencil! Thank you for showing it. – I would like to add that Jass is a card came so I assume that this pencil is used for keeping the score.
Daniel: I haven’t sharpened and used that pencil but if it is comparable to the “Heft und Tafel” pencil from Faber-Castell (another chalk and slate pencil) there is no need to be afraid of the sound – the lead is more waxy than chalky and won’t make any noise.
A very timeless look. Thanks for showing us this pencil. Even though I ordered a variety of Caran d’Ache pencils recently, I did not notice the Jass…
Also thank you for the link.
Daniel, that is a perspective I hadn’t thought about! :-)
Bret and Gunther, thank you for the explanation. Some online searching finds photos of Jasssets and Jasskarten – a slate and red painted chalk pencil (and possibly a sponge) seem to be standard Jass accessories.
Matthias, thank you. I found this particular pencil at Cult Pens.
I have 10 of these pencils. Will sell if someone wants them.
Je cherche des crayons caran d ache jass