This month’s measure was produced by German based company WEDO. A familiar brand in Germany and across the globe partly due to their well-known “we do it” slogan.

WEDO Werner Dorsch was established in Frankfurt, Germany in 1933 by its founder Werner Dorsch. The company is still owned by the Dorsch family. It began as a small retail shop for writing instruments and has expanded to become a major supplier to the domestic and international office, school and industrial supplies market. The established WEDO brand name was registered in 1950 and the company headquarters and logistics centre later moved to Dieburg, Germany, in 1994. They are perhaps best known for their iconic kick stool (Rollhocker in German) used in offices and stores which depresses when a person stands on it, rendering the wheels inoperative. WEDO products are now exported into more than 30 countries worldwide.

Browsing todays WEDO catalogue reveals plenty of office based drawing and measuring aids, however no map measures (landkartenmesser) of any kind. This month’s kilometre measure has the appearance of a product dating from the 1980s or 90s, but could be slightly outside that range.

The measure is primarily made from white plastic, with a black plastic reset button at the end of the handle. Dial faces are also white plastic with black printed text, numerals and dial increments. The small tracking wheel at the bottom is steel and has very fine serrations to help stop it skating on smooth maps. This tracking wheel, moved along a line on a map, rotates internal brass gearing (wheels), thereby rotating both needles around their respective dials. Clear plastic faces cover each dial. These are not scratch resistant and the measure has picked up a few scuffs and scrapes during its existence.

The WEDO map measure appeared as their Art. Nr. 238.3 model, and has a wide range of kilometre scales. The front face has two windows on the dial, one shows a changeable scale (Maßstab), the other window indicates the divisional increments (Teilstrich) around the dial. Moving the switch on the outside of the case rotates and changes the scales viewable through the ten windows around the circumference of the front dial.

• Maßstab 1:25 000 = Teilstritch 500m
• Maßstab 1:50 000 = Teilstritch 1km
• Maßstab 1:100 000 = Teilstritch 2km

The rear dial is simpler, with six concentric scales:

• 1:150 000
• 1:200 000
• 1:250 000
• 1:500 000
• 1:750 000
• 1:800 000

“this map measuring device is fitted with a revolutionary, new scaling device and a zero setting knob which is mounted into the holder. Its application has therefore been considerably simplified”

WEDO

Pressing the black plastic button on the end of the handle zeros the needles on both front and rear dials. This is no silent operation, the internal mechanism makes a slight grating, cog-moving, noise as it zeros.

Due to its mostly lightweight plastic construction, the measures weighs just 25.5g. It is 114mm in length, including a 43mm handle and 11mm protruding button. Width is 47mm and dial faces are 43mm diameter. It is 12.5mm deep. The instrument is easy to hold, simple and intuitive to operate.

Despite its seemingly cheap construction, this is a well made instrument with additional features not found on most other measures. It measures accurately and faultlessly. Despite this, it is now an uncommonly found map measure. I can only presume that failure, when it occurs, is sudden and catastrophic.

Three Points of the Compass has looked at a few more Map Measurers in detail. Links to these can be found here.