Finding and Collecting Slide Rules
There are still people who prefer a slide rule over an electronic calculator as a practical computing device. Many others keep their old slide rules out of a sense of nostalgia, or collect slide rules as a hobby.
A popular collectible model is the Keuffel & Esser Deci-Lon, a premium scientific and engineering slide rule available both in a ten-inch "regular" (Deci-Lon 10) and a five-inch "pocket" (Deci-Lon 5) variant. Another prized American model is the eight-inch Scientific Instruments circular rule. Of European rules, Faber-Castell's high-end models are the most popular among collectors.
Although there is a large supply of slide rules circulating on the market, specimens in good condition tend to be expensive. Many rules found for sale on online auction sites are damaged or have missing parts, and the seller may not know enough to supply the relevant information. Replacement parts are scarce, and therefore expensive, and are generally only available for separate purchase on individual collectors' web sites. The Keuffel and Esser rules from the period up to about 1950 are particularly problematic, because the end-pieces on the cursors, made of celluloid, tend to break down chemically over time.
There are still a handful of sources for brand new slide rules. The Concise Company of Tokyo, which began as a manufacturer of circular slide rules in July 1954, continues to make and sell them today. In September 2009, on-line retailer ThinkGeek introduced its own brand of straight slide rules, which they described as "faithful replica" that are "individually hand tooled" due to a stated lack of any existing manufacturers. These are no longer available in 2012. In addition, Faber-Castell has a number of slide rules still in inventory, available for international purchase through their web store. Proportion wheels are still used in graphic design.
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