Abacus

Soroban: the Japanese abacus The Japanese soroban has only one bead above the reckoning bar (Heaven) and four beads below (Earth). In competent hands, a soroban is a very powerful and efficient calculating tool. In many cases complex calculations are obtained quicker from the Soroban than from an electronic calculator. This is a 'simplified' medium sized 17 column soroban for daily practical use. Much of its speed is attributed to the concept of mechanization. The idea is to minimize mental work as much as possible and to perform the physical task of adding and subtracting beads mechanically, without thought or hesitation. In a sense to develop a process of thoughtlessness.

Large Soroban   Large 23 column soroban that permits complicated calculations with huge numbers in capable hands. Nevertheless, learning to calculate with the Japanae soroban is easier and more straightforward than with a Chinese Suan Pan. To the right the 17 column soroban.

Genuine Suan Pan   Big (35x18x3 cm), wooden  and heavy (600 gr) abacus. Chinese origin. Brand: Flying Eagle. The rings are made of ivory and can be moved up and down very smoothly. The abacus seems to be rather old and has been heavily used. It was obtained in a second hand shop for little money.

Golden Abacus Very small abacus made of pure gold.  Originally IBM's gift to loyal employees in the form of two cuff-links. In this case changed into one medaillon and one necktie pin. Dimensions: 20 x 12 x 2 mm. The tiny calculator can be operated by using a pin or a needle.

Little Chinese Abacus   Chinese abacus or Suan pan (8 cm x 4.5 cm) in a small wooden box. This small calculating aid is rather heavy. The copper bars and rings are enclosed in a copper frame. The calculating device may serve as a hand held or pocket calculator for people who know how to make use of a Chinese abacus.

Gleuf (groove) abacus An educational abacus developed by the Dutch Educational Exhibition (NOT) for young children. It consists of a plastic platter with three ribbled grooves. Coloured marblesmust be put alongside into the grooves. In this way counting and the value of numbers from 1 to 999 and beyond are depicted.

Russian abacus The Schoty (shaw-tee) was used in the Soviet Union in shops and schools until the 1990's. The beads are moved from right to left alongside slightly bowed metal bars. Ten beads on each row divided by two black beads to indicate the five and six. From top to bottom: 10,000, 1,000, 100, 10 and 1. Then a row with four white beads representing four quarters of a rouble, followed by three decimal rows. Invented in the 17th century and introduced in France in 1815.

Paper Weight   Chinese abacus (9 cm x 6 cm) on a plate of blue marble. The abacus is like the one above with copper bars and rings enclosed in a copper frame. The abacus has sufficient weight to let it serve as a paper weight. Meanwhile, the owner may use it as a fast and powerful calculator, asumed that he knows how calculate on an abacus.

Cheap Abaci   For sale in almost every third world or oriental gift shop. Wooden abaci come in many sizes and prices. Most of these products are mass made in India or Pakistan. The  abaci  to  the right are cheap give-away presents obtained from IBM and Hewlett-Packard. Nevertheless these cheap abaci are very suitable for peope (and children) who want to learn the noble art of counting and calculating on a real abacus.

Pencil Sharpener Cheap and tiny Chinese abacus made of red plastic (8 cm. x 4 cm. x 1,5 cm.) for Chinese schoolchildren. Bought in a Chinese gift shop for a few cents. A manual is printed on the backside with examples how to add, subtract, multply, divide and raise powers. The abacus is 'multifunctional' meaning that at the left side we find a pencil sharpener.

Pocket Abacus Among the 'wooden calculating machines' this small abacus may not be absent. The Chinese abacus can be used for addition, subtraction, division and multiplication; the abacus can also be used to extract square-roots and cubic roots. The abacus is typically constructed of various types of hardwood and comes in varying sizes.

European Counting Board Old-fashioned wooden counting board or abacus. An educational toy for young children to let them count from one to ten and then to teach them how to add and subtract small and bigger numbers. In Kindergarten children love to play and learn with small, big and even huge counting boards.