The wrong kind of compass?

[illabelle]

I need an inexpensive compass and found this one on Walmart's website. It seems to be everything I want except for one thing....[scroll down]

Stay oriented with the Coghlans Map Compass, 8162. Use the see-through base with three scales in conjunction with a topographic map to keep on course, map a route or determine your location. The liquid-filled compass housing and a luminous pointer enable smooth and swift positioning even in dim light or dark. Color: Black. Gender: Male.

It's male!
What does a female compass look like?

[rocketsocks]

I don’t think I’d feel comfortable with a male compass in my pocket...but that’s me

[iAmKrzys]

I have Brunton TruArc3 - at $13 (REI) it may be a little bit more expensive than what you see at Walmart but the quality is likely better and you can rotate center plate to make declination adjustment which many cheap compasses cannot do. https://www.rei.com/product/877062/b...uarc-3-compass

[Feral Bill]

Get a female and start a compass farm.

[illabelle]

Get a female and start a compass farm.

What do the females look like? It's not like a dog where you just turn it over and take a look...

[RangerZ]

This is the wrong kind of compass. CF9DE503-4397-4BD6-A4C5-0FAC9180C4CE.jpeg

This is from my father’s drawing set that I then used. Unfortunately WWII interrupted his engineering education and he didn’t get back to it.

(Yes, at one time we actually drew on paper instead of a screen. I still have a sand paper pad and eraser cleaning pads, too.)

[illabelle]

I don’t think I’d feel comfortable with a male compass in my pocket...but that’s me

But have you ever TRIED it?? Well, have you?

Nevermind, don't answer that!!

[4eyedbuzzard]

Compasses are male? Perhaps because the pointer only maintains a given direction for a short while, and then wanders about looking for a new attraction?

[SwathHiker]

The female is shown inset with her "legs" in a sort of pose. The male wears a bow tie if that is what you mean by this post.

[blw2]

This is the wrong kind of compass. CF9DE503-4397-4BD6-A4C5-0FAC9180C4CE.jpeg

This is from my father’s drawing set that I then used. Unfortunately WWII interrupted his engineering education and he didn’t get back to it.

(Yes, at one time we actually drew on paper instead of a screen. I still have a sand paper pad and eraser cleaning pads, too.)

Truly a lost art. I took 3 years of drafting in high school, followed by a 2 year associates degree in drafting and design before going on to engineering at a university. This was all just as CAD was coming onto the scene, so it was maybe 90% pencil and ink on vellum and mylar. Later went on to do a lot of cad/cam work. My current job still has me reading architectural plans but I haven't generated any mechanical or architectural drawings in many years and even longer on paper.

Now days a lot of the stuff I see produced by professionals is really quite pathetic.

A lost art gone the way of blacksmithing and hand spun wool.

[RangerZ]

Truly a lost art. I took 3 years of drafting in high school, followed by a 2 year associates degree in drafting and design before going on to engineering at a university. This was all just as CAD was coming onto the scene, so it was maybe 90% pencil and ink on vellum and mylar. Later went on to do a lot of cad/cam work. My current job still has me reading architectural plans but I haven't generated any mechanical or architectural drawings in many years and even longer on paper.

Now days a lot of the stuff I see produced by professionals is really quite pathetic.

A lost art gone the way of blacksmithing and hand spun wool.

Hand drafting is a lost art. I've lost all of my lettering skills. But the CADD draftsmen that we had could do truly impressive work.

I did notice that reading drawings and understanding drawings was a lost skill.

[Leo L.]

This is the wrong kind of compass. CF9DE503-4397-4BD6-A4C5-0FAC9180C4CE.jpeg

This is from my father’s drawing set that I then used...

Funny you call this compasses in English.
Have several of them from my first two decades of business work (nowadays its all 3d-CAD).
Seems that most have been German make, like yours.

[Leo L.]

In the OP, maybe its the drawstring that makes it a male.
Females might have different colors there?

[illabelle]

From the speculative replies, it seems like most of you are as puzzled as I am. Maybe I'll ask the cashier at Walmart.

[rocketsocks]

From the speculative replies, it seems like most of you are as puzzled as I am. Maybe I'll ask the cashier at Walmart.

thad be good for a laugh

[illabelle]

Hand drafting is a lost art. I've lost all of my lettering skills. But the CADD draftsmen that we had could do truly impressive work.

I did notice that reading drawings and understanding drawings was a lost skill.

I work for an architect. He doesn't very often do any drafting, but he did some for a recent project. Nice work! Wall sections, meticulously drawn by hand. Have to say though that we did add notes in CADD. Aren't many left of his generation. When he retires, like his partner did a couple years ago, we'll lose those skills.

[blw2]

IMO, CAD is wonderful in some ways....makes editing quick and easy as an example...but it totally degrades the art. Drawing by hand can be faster and in some ways better for the first draft....probably what that architect illabelle tells about was doing. But that speed through editing in CAD breeds errors, where drawing by hand forced a drafter to slow down and think about what they were doing...and more often than not the software, just by its nature forces things like dimensions to be shown incorrectly. Sometimes detail pages are a scrambled scavenger hunt, notes are listed out of order or in the wrong direction, leader lines cross things they shouldn't, etc.... There used to be ANSI standards for everything...a right way and a wrong way...but I just don't think they teach those anymore. I've learned through the Architects I've worked with actually have very little drafting training in school. Engineers even less in my experience. Some get good through on the job training and practice but they learn standards of their firm, so there is huge inconsistencies in the art.

[cmoulder]

C'mon, isn't it obvious?

Male_Compass.jpg

And that needle thing that swings around willy-nilly is my wife telling me I'm going the wrong way.

[illabelle]

IMO, CAD is wonderful in some ways....makes editing quick and easy as an example...but it totally degrades the art. Drawing by hand can be faster and in some ways better for the first draft....probably what that architect illabelle tells about was doing. But that speed through editing in CAD breeds errors, where drawing by hand forced a drafter to slow down and think about what they were doing...and more often than not the software, just by its nature forces things like dimensions to be shown incorrectly. Sometimes detail pages are a scrambled scavenger hunt, notes are listed out of order or in the wrong direction, leader lines cross things they shouldn't, etc.... There used to be ANSI standards for everything...a right way and a wrong way...but I just don't think they teach those anymore. I've learned through the Architects I've worked with actually have very little drafting training in school. Engineers even less in my experience. Some get good through on the job training and practice but they learn standards of their firm, so there is huge inconsistencies in the art.

After several years in education, I began my second career in architecture. Went back to school and got the masters in '03, haven't bothered with licensing and registration. In my little bitty opinion, the training in school was primarily focused on design theory and trends through history, and not so much on the practical skills. The expectation is that most of the real education comes on the job - and it does.

[nsherry61]

C'mon, isn't it obvious?

Male_Compass.jpg

And that needle thing that swings around willy-nilly is my wife telling me I'm going the wrong way.

Indeed. Now I want to see an image of a female compass. Hmm.