LAB/SCHOOL

What would you use to fill in those little circles? You’d use this extra-wide Scantek™ test-taking mechanical pencil? You passed! The lead in this beauty is the famous #2, and is .9 mm wide, like an italic pen nib. Comes with refill leads, a pocket clip and a large eraser. If our Tech Whiz Billy had had this pencil when he was younger, he'd have made double 800s on the SAT and wouldn't be working here today. Also great for doing calligraphy in pencil, which makes teachers swoon.

Wanna stir up a little trouble? We've got just the tool. Our solid glass stirring rod is 8" long x 3/16" dia. Flat ends. Perfect for mixing a scientific formula, a perfect martini or a jar of tempera paint.

Our thinner picker-upper, but with a powerful 5-lb-pull, 9/16" dia magnet on the business end (for spilled nails, the screw that rolled under the stove, or the heavy wrench you dropped into the sump). The 5/16" dia x 5-1/4" long 4-draw barrel extends to a full two feet. Has a convenient pocket clip.

These light-up pens are one of the coolest things we’ve come across in a long time, but then again, look who’s saying that—a copywriter. But really, they’re hard not to love. Pull off the metal cap, put it on the other end and bam, the ballpoint is suddenly illuminated by tiny LEDs for all the midnight scribbling you can do! Pen measures 5” tip to tip, is all metallic, and feels nice in the hand and takes (4) AG4 batteries, included. Body is silver and cap, with a silver pocket clip, is either silver, black, white or red. Back end of the pen has a stylus, too. “It was a dark and stormy night…but really it wasn’t that dark because of this pen….”

Even before masks became a common sight, we sold a bunch of N95 particulate respirators because Surpies have a long history of woodworking, model building and DIY renovating. Contractors love these! These masks are from 3M, (we don't get 3M masks often) model #8511 with a cool-flow valve, and are for filtration of particulates. Cool-flow valve keeps your face cool and, perhaps more importantly, dry. You’ll get (10) per box, and yeah, they’re made in the USA. Date Code is 2025

Now for the 3M Specs

• NIOSH approved for at least 95 percent filtration efficiency against certain non-oil based particles 
• Features the 3M™ Cool Flow™ Valve 
• M-Noseclip adjusts easily for fewer pressure points and greater comfort 
• Braided headbands two-strap design with dual point attachment helps provide a secure seal 
• Spacious and durable Designed to increase comfort and wearability 
• Advanced Electret Media is designed for ease of breathing

Hang it all with this set of (10) magnetic hooks. The 1-3/16" long x 9/64" hooks screw into 1-3/8" dia magnetic bases with an approx 8-lb pull, which is heavier than most jackets and keys. Good for horizontal or vertical mounts, and dandy for adding hooks to gym or school lockers.

But maybe you don’t weigh enough? Make that, maybe you don’t weigh often enough. We’re talking about the precise weighing of substances topping out at 5000g, or 176 oz. Good for the lab or kitchen, this 7” x 5-1/2” digital scale has a stainless steel, brushed-aluminum top and a high-precision sensor. Stand stands about 1/4” high. Has a backlit LCD display, zero function, auto power-off, low battery indicator, overload indicator, g/ml/oz/lb’oz units, and it takes (2) “AAA” batteries, which you supply, along with whatever it is you’re weighing.

Donut magnet you can take to town!! 74mm dia. x 14mm thick with a 30mm hole. Very strong and well pedigreed - in fact, its kin are activating pacemakers. They are of a high permeability ferrite material with a lovely light blue or white epoxy coating. Okay, we have them because there is the odd bubble, slight scratches or the word MAGNET painted in the coating which ruled them out of the medical ball, but they're fine company nonetheless. Good display bases, paper clip traps, and super for classroom demos.

Stethos is Greek for chest. Indeed you can scope your stethos with this stethoscope, or your friend's or your dog's. But it works equally well for picking up any sound being transmitted through a solid medium. Listen to the air flowing through the heating ducts, the water in the pipes, the sounds of machinery, the termites munching on the floor joists!! The color does vary so we will select from what's currently available. We've had blue, teal, red, black, burgundy, green and purple, but there may be other colors yet to be seen! Not professional quality, but also not just a toy.

Nice rare-earth neodymium disk magnet, 1" dia, about the same as a quarter but over twice as thick at 4mm. Rare-earth magnets are permanent and powerful, and this one has approx 7 lbs pull, and always will. Comes with a galvanized metal keeper approx 2" dia so you don't lose it.

Now you can have a good, strong hook without drilling any holes. This plated magnetic hook sticks to any ferrous metal surface via a 2" dia alnico magnet with a 10-12 pound pull. Handy gadget to hold a tool, towel, broom or key ring (and if the ring is too heavy, consider throwing away the keys to your 1983 Chevy, and maybe a few more). The 3/4" long J-hooks have threaded ends and are removable. Our each is a package of (2).

Can't beat a classic. These uncoated ceramic donut magnets have a 1-lb pull, which makes them dandy for classroom or refrigerator use. They measure 1-1/4" dia x 3/8" ID x 3/16" thick and are polarized on the faces. You get a wrapped roll of 29 donuts.

This is the kind of journal Fitzgerald started writing The Great Gatsby in. Well, we can’t actually vouch for that, but this classic faux leather journal, perfect for a coat pocket, has that vintage jazzy feel. Measures 4" x 6" with soft brown leather covers, and has a string-spine that holds (50) blank cream-colored pages. A small, elegant pen is included, with built-in holder, of course. Go on, Nick—tell us all about Daisy and Klipspringer.

Remember those slap bracelets that swept the nation a few years back? This 18" long x 3/4” wide easy-to-read ruler is sort of like those in that it stays bent and then snaps open again, but nothing like those in that this is a tool, not a fashion accessory. Or is it? Until you decide on that, consider that, tool-wise, it has magnets on the end to keep itself shut, but also to attach it to dry-erase boards or anything metal. Has standard 1/16" markings with clear lines and large digits.

Getting-on-the-grid is the new going-off-the-grid, according to our mascot, Jarvis, who has a bird’s-eye view of such cultural trends. What better way to do it than with this Mead® graph paper notebook, which measures 8-1/2” x 11” and has (20) sheets of squared, aka grid, paper? Each sheet has (5) squares per inch, which Jarvis says is perfect for working your way back into society. Made in USA.

You can do both with this book—no writin’ required! It’s The Little Book of Mathematical Principles, Theories, & Things, which is a title we love, despite the Oxford comma. By math whiz, author and professor Robert Solomon, the paperback volume has (224) pages. Measures an easily totable 5-1/2" X 7", letting you peruse a lesson on Binary Numbers, The Golden Ratio, Logarithms, Chaos Theory, Russell’s Paradox, Fermat’s Last Theorem, or about 115 others, each (1) to (2) pages long, whenever you have a spare minute to learn.

To boldly write notes where no man (or not that many) have written notes before. Yes, Trekkie- Surpies, we have Star Trek notebooks! These really nice, (48)-page, cardboard-bound notebooks might not help you live long, or prosper, but they’re perfect for jotting down thoughts and to-do lists in the company of Trek images and ideas. You pick: the 3-1/2” x 5” Starfleet Medical Notebook in blue with spots for personal data including Serial No., Starship Posting and Commissioned Stardate, quotes from famous Trek doctors, and a fold-out back cover detailing diseases with drawings, and Starfleet medical milestones; the 5” x 7” Star Trek United Federation Captain’s Log with a date/location entry on each lined page and fold-out info on the back cover, including a warp-speed conversion table; or the 3-1/2” x 5” Star Trek Engineering notebook with a red cover, diagrams of a communicator, phaser and tricorder, grid pages, famous engineering quotes and room for your name, rank and serial number.

Inside the lab, it's a standard translucent-white, LDPE-plastic wash bottle, 500ml/16oz, measuring 2-3/4" dia x 6-3/4 tall with a screwcap and a right-angle, 5/16" dia nozzle. Outside the lab, it's so pleasing to squeeze and squirt with that some of us keep them in the kitchen.