Wikipedia:Reference desk/Archives/Miscellaneous/2009 November 15

= November 15 =

Thai pen: where to buy
Very strange one... I recently found a pen lying around somewhere, and like it a lot. I'd like to buy one, but the label is only in Thai... could someone identify the brand, or a shop in the UK that sells them, perhaps? Picture here – thanks! ╟─ Treasury Tag ►  inspectorate  ─╢ 12:38, 15 November 2009 (UTC)


 * That's Japanese, not Thai. Perhaps a photo showing more of the pen might help identify the make. FiggyBee (talk) 12:46, 15 November 2009 (UTC)
 * Hmm, the label said "Made in Thailand" in English, which is what led me astray ;) The pen is just cylindrical, translucent, rollerball-tip. ╟─ Treasury Tag ►  voice vote  ─╢ 13:03, 15 November 2009 (UTC)q
 * Yes let's see more of the pen please. --TammyMoet (talk) 13:39, 15 November 2009 (UTC)


 * And really, do you need to write "copyright 2009" all over the image? Nobody is going to want to pirate your blurry pen photo. --Mr.98 (talk) 13:57, 15 November 2009 (UTC)
 * Maybe it's laying on something that has "copyright 2009" written all over it? Dismas |(talk) 14:19, 15 November 2009 (UTC)
 * Um, no, that's obviously not the case. --Mr.98 (talk) 15:34, 15 November 2009 (UTC)
 * Perhaps he was joking? Larger photo just upcoming. ╟─ Treasury Tag ►  sheriff  ─╢ 15:53, 15 November 2009 (UTC)
 * The label has some resemblance of Muji. Can't be sure though without seeing more of the pen or label.  --Chan Tai Man 14:05, 15 November 2009 (UTC)  —Preceding unsigned comment added by Chantaiman (talk • contribs)

OK, a more full image is here. Sorry about the low quality, that's my webcam :P ╟─ Treasury Tag ►  constablewick  ─╢ 15:58, 15 November 2009 (UTC)
 * Yep, looks like a Muji, or similar, gel pen. FiggyBee (talk) 16:11, 15 November 2009 (UTC)
 * Jet Pens carries a bunch of Japanese pens. I can't see your image, so I don't know if they carry yours. APL (talk) 16:04, 16 November 2009 (UTC)
 * Well, not too likely. They range of items that a typical Japanese stationary shop carries (or any stationary shop in the Far East with strong Japanese cultural influence) are really staggering.  Range of choices in Staples is okay.  Sometimes, I wonder if all major UK high street stationers share a single merchandiser behind the scene.  Their range of choice is absolutely boring.  I wonder what is it like in other places.  --Chan Tai Man 17:55, 16 November 2009 (UTC)

：中性（ゲルインキ）ボールペン　　　マフリキ0.5mm That's all I can read on it. My translation: Medium type (Gel ink) Ball pen ????0.5mm. Steewi (talk) 00:44, 17 November 2009 (UTC)
 * The last word appears to be ムラサキ (purple). I'm going by the original, very fuzzy, image since the second one seems to no longer exist. The line below that might have information about the manufacturer, but it's unreadable. -- BenRG (talk) 10:31, 17 November 2009 (UTC)
 * I like this one. Bus stop (talk) 00:53, 17 November 2009 (UTC)

TreasuryTag, Try an arts supply shop, or if you live in a big city, an Asian art supply shop. DOR (HK) (talk) 07:45, 17 November 2009 (UTC)
 * Hi, TreasuryTag: your gel pen has been positively identified in a Muji shop in the UK. It comes with a range of colour with 0.38mm or 0.5mm tip thickness variants.  It costs £1.50.  Its tag completes with the "Made in Thailand" wording that you haven't shown.  Having said that.  Muji doesn't usually sell items exclusively to them, so you might able to find an identical pen under a different label or brand.  BTW, case solved, but I am not sure the "founding fathers" of the RD envisioned it is to be used in this way.  8-)  --Chan Tai Man 20:51, 17 November 2009 (UTC)

Mitsubishi survival/camping tool
I found a very old leather sheath/case that fits onto a leather belt. It contains a "survival tool kit" consisting of knives, fork, spoon, cork screw, scissors, screw driver, bottle opener, etc. for a total of 11 tools. The leather case is stamped JAPAN and on the front metal piece it says MITSUBISHI and shows the emblem for that manufacturer. I can't find ANY information about this tool anywhere and would appreciate some information. Thank you.72.173.64.59 (talk) 17:17, 15 November 2009 (UTC)
 * You probably know this already, but you can buy tools like that nowerdays. And as you've probably already guessed, it seems it was made by Mitsubishi in the early days - I think they are best known for electronics now. 78.149.122.6 (talk) 20:07, 16 November 2009 (UTC)


 * Mitsubishi, which was founded as a shipping and trading concern of the Tosa Domain in 1870, is one of the largest keiretsu and was the largest zaibatsu in Japan. They build ships, trains, planes, tanks, cars and trucks, they own the country's largest oil and chemical companies, nuclear reactors, mines, breweries, real estate developers, banks and insurance companies.  To say they're an electronics company which may have made a leather tool case "in the early days" is something of an understatement. FiggyBee (talk) 20:37, 16 November 2009 (UTC)
 * Your later sentence is not true - you've put a lot of words into 78.149's mouth which she/he/it did not actually say or imply. 92.29.45.37 (talk) 00:13, 19 November 2009 (UTC)
 * They also can tuna I noticed the other day. Googlemeister (talk) 15:18, 17 November 2009 (UTC)

Sportscaster Ski Wear company
Is there any information on a Seattle, WA based company from the 1970's named Sportscaster, that manufactured ski apparel? —Preceding unsigned comment added by 75.165.23.127 (talk) 20:19, 15 November 2009 (UTC)
 * Well here is a building it used to own, there is some minor hits on google in bio's of people who worked there (mainly one liners) but I can't find any definitive history. I don't suppose the USA has anything similar to Companies House do they? Nanonic (talk) 20:49, 15 November 2009 (UTC)

NOTE: Company name was "Sportcaster" not "Sportscaster."