Almost 230 years ago - in 1790, builder Joseph Hardtmuth founded a small factory in the Austrian capital Vienna for the production of various building ceramics. It was necessary to apply markings and other inscriptions on the products, and for this pencils were used, which were extremely expensive at that time, because they used natural graphite for the core. To reduce costs, Joseph invented a cheaper composition of graphite powder, white clay and soot. Soon, the factory, in addition to ceramics, began to produce pencils. In 1802, the inventor received a patent.
In 1848, the factory passed to the sons of Joseph, Ludwig and Karl, by inheritance. In the same year they moved production to Ceske Budejovice. Now this city belongs to the Czech Republic. At that time, it was the territory of a single Austro-Hungarian empire.
Why Koh-i-Noor
Forty years later, the founder’s grandson, Franz Hardtmouth, perfected the pencil. He enclosed a lead in a cedar shell and presented his 1500 model at the world exhibition held in Paris in 1889. He decided to add the word Koh-i-Noor to the name, making it clear that this pencil is as unique and magnificent as the Kohinur diamond.
This diamond is one of the most famous gemstones in the world. The history of its initial appearance is fanned by legends. Either the Indian peasant found him in the field, and for many years his children played with the stone, not suspecting its true value, or, in a more poetic version, it shone in the forehead of the boy who was found near the river.
Initially, the diamond weighed 600 carats and adorned the statue of the god Shiva. Then he passed into the hands of the Mughals - one of the dynasties that ruled India. By their order, the stone was cut in the form of a rose and after that it began to weigh a little more than 186 carats. He became the central decoration of the golden throne of rulers.
In 1739, Nadir Shah captured the capital of India, Delhi. And from that moment on, the history of the gem began to be associated with suffering and misery.
Together with other treasures, the shah got this beautiful diamond. Now the stone was called "Kohinor" - "Mountain of Light." And with his appearance troubles began - the shah lost his mind and was killed, and his son was ousted from the throne and tortured to death.
Since then, the stone has changed owners many times and wandered from country to country, bringing disaster to its owners, until it was finally presented to the Queen of Great Britain - Victoria. Many subjects discouraged her from accepting such a gift, fearing the associated notoriety. But the queen nevertheless decided to keep the diamond for herself.
He was again cut to give more shine, and his weight was reduced to 109 carats. For work, they found the best jeweler who worked on the task for more than a month. For the first time, a steam machine was used for cutting. The newly cut diamond adorned the royal crown, which is now kept in the treasury of the Tower.
Interestingly, until the last cut, the diamond had a yellowish tint. Apparently, this is why the new Hardmooth pencil was painted yellow. This decision turned out to be so successful that now 75% of black graphite products produced in the world or, as they are commonly called in Russia, simple pencils are painted ocher yellow.
Why the elephant
The elephant depicted on the erasers is Indian. His image also refers to the homeland of the diamond Kohinur - India. This trademark is considered one of the oldest registered in Europe.
Current state
Now the Czech concern owns eight enterprises on the territory of the Czech Republic itself and many factories in other countries, for example, in Romania, Poland, Slovakia, Bulgaria, China. Its production facilities are located in Russia. For example, the Siberian Pencil Factory - the only manufacturer of pencils with a case made of Siberian cedar in our country - is partially owned by Hardmouth.
Many Koh-i-noor erasers - about 20 million pieces, and this is almost half of all manufactured by the company - are purchased by customers in the Russian Federation.
Article 300 and mysterious symbols
The mysterious numbers 300/8, 300/30, 300/40 and the like, drawn on the Kohinor eraser next to the elephant, mean only a prosaic article - for all rectangular white Elephant erasers it is the same - 300. And the numbers after the dash (slash) not hardness at all, as is sometimes assumed, but simply the number of erasers that fit in boxes of the same size. That is, the smaller the number after the slash, the more the eraser.
Sizes of Cohinor Erasers:
- 300/8 - eraser size 56 × 50 × 16 mm, weight about 68 grams;
- 300/12 - 48x37x16 mm, weight about 41 grams;
- 300/20 - 45 × 31 × 12 mm, weight about 25 g;
- 300/30 - 35 × 28 × 10 mm, weight about 14 g;
- 300/40 - 35 × 23 × 8 mm, weight about 10 g;
- 300/60 - 30x20x7 mm, weight about 8 g;
- 300/80 - 25 x 20x6 mm, weight ~ 6 g.
These are the main types of products. The eraser "Kohinor" price is democratic and starts at 10 rubles.
Composition
Initially, all of the company's erasers were made from natural rubber - rubber. This is the juice that is secreted by incisions in the hevea tree. Products from it are very soft and do not crumble, and erasers provide soft erasure without blots.
Now the company’s lineup includes Koh-i-noor erasers from other materials, but the 300 series is still made from high-quality natural rubber. These erasers are suitable for erasing graphite pencils, as well as for erasing or shading pastels, sanguine, charcoal and chalk pencils.
That is, if we talk about the full characteristics of the Kohinor 300 60 eraser, its composition is 100% rubber, its length is 3 cm, its width is 2 cm, its thickness is 7 mm and its weight is about 8 grams.
Other goods
Now the company produces many product categories, divided into main groups:
- assortment for artists from the ART series;
- school range in the SCHOOL series;
- office assortment under the brand OFFICE;
- hobby goods line (HOBBY).
All series include pencils, cores, pens, erasers and related products, such as pastels and paints.
One of the interesting new items recently released in the School series is antibacterial pencils, pens and erasers for students. All office supplies do not lose their antimicrobial properties throughout the entire period of use.