This Japanese made curvimeter provides greater capability than their simpler one-sided instrument. The ‘kilby-meter’ demonstrates good design, coupled with immaculate manufacture.
Sakurai were founded in 1950 in Hamamatsu, Shizuoka-Prefecture, Japan. The company first focused on automotive parts and having established a reputation with their model 800 Rotary Milling Machine and an automatic multi-spindle head changer Turrex machine, they built a further plant in Funaoka in 1970 and at Hosoe 1989, before moving their head-office to Funaoka in 1997. This month’s measure is an example of the high quality instruments they were producing at the end of the 20th century.
Today, Sakurai specialise in special-purpose machine manufacturing and their lines include parts for aircraft, automobile and motorcycles. The company has subsidiaries in Ohio, USA (established 2000) and Hanoi, Vietnam (established 2002). Note that Tokyo, as shown on the measure, is nowhere near Hamamatsu, Hosoe or Funaoka. This is likely because Tokyo had by then become a recognisable name, as one of the trading centres of world economics.
This measure has smooth clean lines, with little in the way of embellishment beyond extensive knurling on the stainless steel handle to improve grip during use. The two faces of the stainless steel case, outside the dials, are free of markings and other than the tracking wheel at the base, no pivot pins for internal gearing are to be seen. This indicates very careful and precise manufacture.
Each of the measuring dials on front and rear of the measure has a single black needle that rotates around the measured distance. Scales are printed on to matt silver paper dials. Both dials have “MADE IN JAPAN TOKYO SAKURAI” printed at the base and the front dial additionally has “TOKYO SAKURAI” printed below the centre needle pivot.
The polished stainless-steel handle is 70mm long with a 5.5mm diameter that tapers at the very end, to 4.85mm. This handle has a fine internal screw thread and screws onto the case. The polished stainless steel case measures 49mm, excluding a small steel tracking wheel at the base, and a 7mm threaded part on to which the handle screws. The measure is 11.8mm at it’s thickest point, across the apexes of the two domed crystal faces.
The front dial has a darkened metal needle, which rotates around marked increments of 10, 20, 30, 40, 50, 60, 70, 80, 90, 100, with unnumbered five and single cm increments between these. The centimetre measuring scale is indicated by CM on the uppermost part of the dial. Below the needle are the words TOKYO / SAKURAI. Outside the circular measuring scale, at the base, are the words MADE IN JAPAN TOKYO SAKURAI.
The rear dial has two scales around which a single darkened metal needle rotates. The inner scale is for measuring 1:30 000, the outer scale for measuring 1:50 000. Inner red scale dial has marked increments of 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, but measures up to 30. The outer black scale dial has marked increments of 5, 10, 15, 20, 25, 30, 35, 40, 45 shown but measures up to 50. Each dial also has unnumbered five and single inter-increments between numbered divisions. Outside the circular measuring scale, at the base, are the words MADE IN JAPAN TOKYO SAKURAI.
The 47g measure is well balanced and comfortable to use. Rolling the tracking wheel along a line, a road, a path, a drawing etc, smoothly rotates the needles around the dials. In operation, the tracking wheel rotates easily without any noticeable internal resistance or noise. Tracking a measured 100cm (1000mm) indicates that distance measured. It is an accurate measure. This is a good example of an instrument that simply works, without fuss. Analogue at its finest.
The Sakurai Curvimeter comes in a plastic box comprised of two parts. Earlier examples of this model had a card box. The curvimeter rests in moulded plastic lugs in the red transparent base. This has a not-too-tight press-fit clear plastic lid. The bottom of the box has the words “MADE IN JAPAN”, in English, moulded into the bottom right. The top section of the box has the word “CURVIMETER” moulded into the top left.
There is a final identifier on the case. This is a (now slightly peeling) sticky label affixed to one end of the base half. This is printed with Japanese characters. Google Translate gives us a slightly dubious translation: “double-sided kilby meter“, which may translate better as ‘double-sided curvimeter‘. Some Japanese websites do advertise this measure and others as a ‘kilby-meter’ however I am unable to ascertain if these are a result of poor translation or if ‘kilby’ actually means something.
There is very little on the measure or case that might aid us in dating it. However we have the advantage that it is very close in design to a single-sided Sakurai measure, of which I have an example. A label is attached to the reverse of the case holding the single-dial instrument. This indicates the supplier of the instrument, complete with Swiss phone number: “supplied by Geo-Systems CH (03) 365-6298“. This likely refers to Leica Geosystems, based in Switzerland, who both made and supplied products and systems for surveying and geographical measurement. This was their company identity from 1997 to 2005, after which it was acquired by Swedish company Hexagon. This potentially provides us with a date range for both Sakurai Curvimeters.
Three Points of the Compass has had a closer look at many other measures and links for those can be found here.
Three Points of the Compass 