# Want a slide rule! **URL:** \ **Category:** In My Humble Opinion\ **Created:** [November 16, 2010, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/want-a-slide-rule/560917 "2010-11-16T22:09:48Z")\ **Posts on this page:** 13\ **Page:** 1
**Author:** ![Dog80](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/6bbea6/32.png) [@Dog80](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dog80)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2010, 10:09pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/want-a-slide-rule/560917/1 "2010-11-16T22:09:48Z")
Are they made anymore or my only option is a secondhand from ebay? Also what should I look for in a slide rule? ---
**Author:** ![The\_Hamster\_King](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/t/8edcca/32.png) [@The\_Hamster\_King](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/The_Hamster_King)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2010, 10:35pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/want-a-slide-rule/560917/2 "2010-11-16T22:35:56Z")
[Think Geek slide rule.](http://www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/tools/be12/?cpg=froogle) ---
**Author:** ![hlanelee](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/h/3bc359/32.png) [@hlanelee](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/hlanelee)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2010, 10:49pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/want-a-slide-rule/560917/3 "2010-11-16T22:49:43Z")
Here’s a cool site, make sure and check out the virtual sliderule: [http://sliderulemuseum.com/SR\_Course.htm](http://sliderulemuseum.com/SR_Course.htm) ---
**Author:** ![Sunspace](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/sunspace/32/1250_2.png) [@Sunspace](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sunspace)\ **Post date:** [November 16, 2010, 11:19pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/want-a-slide-rule/560917/4 "2010-11-16T23:19:26Z")
> [@The\_Hamster\_King](#): > > [Think Geek slide rule.](http://www.thinkgeek.com/gadgets/tools/be12/?cpg=froogle) I have one of those. It’s very large and not well made; not at all the precision instrument I remember my father having. Shame, really–ThinkGeek generally has some cool stuff. ---
**Author:** ![Dog80](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/d/6bbea6/32.png) [@Dog80](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Dog80)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2010, 2:18pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/want-a-slide-rule/560917/5 "2010-11-17T14:18:57Z")
It is ebay then How about this one? [http://cgi.ebay.com/Pickett-N-500-ES-All-Metal-Slide-Rule-dated-1962-log-/360318483112?pt=LH\_DefaultDomain\_0&hash=item53e4a7baa8](http://cgi.ebay.com/Pickett-N-500-ES-All-Metal-Slide-Rule-dated-1962-log-/360318483112?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item53e4a7baa8) Or this one? [http://cgi.ebay.com/VINTAGE-ACUMATH-Slide-Rule-CASE-NICE-/310269733104?pt=LH\_DefaultDomain\_0&hash=item483d8468f0](http://cgi.ebay.com/VINTAGE-ACUMATH-Slide-Rule-CASE-NICE-/310269733104?pt=LH_DefaultDomain_0&hash=item483d8468f0) ---
**Author:** ![3waygeek](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/3/e95f7d/32.png) [@3waygeek](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/3waygeek)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2010, 4:12pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/want-a-slide-rule/560917/6 "2010-11-17T16:12:55Z")
I suspect that most slide rules made these days are E6B flight computers – it’s basically a circular slide rule with some special markings. I have one on my Citizen Skyhawk watch I picked up about 5 years ago. Haven’t seen a straight slide rule in 20+ years; I remember teaching myself how to use one back in the early 70s when I was in grade school, and occasionally used it through high school and college. ---
**Author:** ![Sigmagirl](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/c89c15/32.png) [@Sigmagirl](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Sigmagirl)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2010, 4:25pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/want-a-slide-rule/560917/7 "2010-11-17T16:25:20Z")
We see a lot of them in antique malls, good quality K&E and others. Are those good enough? ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [November 17, 2010, 10:40pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/want-a-slide-rule/560917/8 "2010-11-17T22:40:54Z")
I had slide rules mass produced about 12 years ago - thousands of them. They were folded, so only one side was useable (the other side had instructions). Mine had some special scales related to my industrial work but also had scales that could multiply and divide and take logs and exponents. It was hard finding a company that made them. They had a mathematician with Excel in charge of design. ---
**Author:** ![Kiwi\_Fruit](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/kiwi_fruit/32/12_2.png) [@Kiwi\_Fruit](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Kiwi_Fruit)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2010, 12:57am UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/want-a-slide-rule/560917/9 "2010-11-18T00:57:03Z")
[Concise circular slide rules.](http://www.concise.co.jp/eng0731/slide.html) Just as good if not better than the straight ones. I used one through high school in the early 70’s. ---
**Author:** ![Mr.Miskatonic](https://sea3.discourse-cdn.com/straightdope/user_avatar/boards.straightdope.com/mr.miskatonic/32/310_2.png) [@Mr.Miskatonic](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Mr.Miskatonic)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2010, 2:53pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/want-a-slide-rule/560917/10 "2010-11-18T14:53:47Z")
Times were a good geek had his choice! > **[Log in or sign up to view](https://www.facebook.com/photo.php?pid=31744496&l=2291d65717&id=1298131279)** > > See posts, photos and more on Facebook. ---
**Author:** ![johnpost](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/j/f17d59/32.png) [@johnpost](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/johnpost)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2010, 3:41pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/want-a-slide-rule/560917/11 "2010-11-18T15:41:59Z")
> [@Kiwi\_Fruit](#): > > [Concise circular slide rules.](http://www.concise.co.jp/eng0731/slide.html) > Just as good if not better than the straight ones. I used one through high school in the early 70’s. i think that is the company that made a slide rule i have somewhere. it is a rectangular pocket sized circular slide rule with periodic table on the rear. cool they are still around. i’m passing that on to geeky friends. ---
**Author:** ![suranyi](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/s/e36b37/32.png) [@suranyi](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/suranyi)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2010, 7:51pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/want-a-slide-rule/560917/12 "2010-11-18T19:51:37Z")
In 1977, the first few weeks of my high school chemistry class were partially devoted to teaching us how to use a slide rule. That wasn’t all that long ago, but it seems like the dead past now. ---
**Author:** ![Napier](https://avatars.discourse-cdn.com/v4/letter/n/ce73a5/32.png) [@Napier](https://boards.straightdope.com/u/Napier)\ **Post date:** [November 18, 2010, 10:38pm UTC](https://boards.straightdope.com/t/want-a-slide-rule/560917/13 "2010-11-18T22:38:30Z")
In 1974 I bought my first electronic calculator, a Texas Instruments SR-50. The “SR” stood for “Slide Rule”.