Name/Title
Packet wrapper for ten twist drills, ⌀ 4.2 mm, Poldi HSS, ČSN 221121Entry/Object ID
2025.1.430Description
Rectangular sleeve or packet in translucent blue-green plastic film or coated foil, printed in white. Folded and seamed along the left edge and across the bottom; the upper right corner is cut on a diagonal chamfer.Use
Kept by Leopoldo Arús Gálvez and his son, leopoldo Arús Caraballo, with other tools.Context
Czechoslovakia's interest in the Cuban market ran above all to machinery, and the machinery and consumer goods exported to Cuba were financed on credit, leaving Cuba the largest debtor to what is now the Czech Republic. Twist drills are precisely the consumable an industrial or workshop supply chain leaves behind.
⚠️ But nothing on the packet establishes that it reached Cuba.Collection
The Cabrera Arús family collectionMade/Created
Manufacturer
Poldi, Zbrojovka BrnoNotes
The roundel Z device is not identified from a reliable source. ⚠️ A Slovak dealer listing associates drills to ČSN 221121 with "ZBROJOVKA CZ," which would point to Zbrojovka Brno, whose mark is a circled Z. That is a marketplace listing, not a source, and I am recording it as a lead only. Another Slovak listing attributes ČSN-standard HSS drills to ZPS (Závody přesného strojírenství, Zlín), so at least two Czechoslovak makers supplied this standard.
⚠️ Confirm the roundel against a trademark register or a Czech industrial-history source first.
Steel: Poldi — CONFIRMED on the packet as the steel designation. Poldi HSS 02 names the high-speed steel grade, not necessarily the packer.Inscription/Signature/Marks
Transcription
Roundel: Z within concentric circles ⚠️ unidentified
⌀ 4,2 — diameter 4.2 mm; note the comma decimal separator, Czech convention, as with the Soviet pH scale's pH 1,0
Poldi HSS 02 — Poldi high-speed steel, grade 02
ČSN 221121 — Československá státní norma 221121, the Czechoslovak State Standard for this drill type
10 — quantity in the packetLanguage
CzechRelationships
Related Person or Organization
Person or Organization
Leopoldo Arús CaraballoPerson or Organization
Leopoldo Arús GálvezRelated Places
Place
City
HavanaCountry
CubaRegion
Caribbean, Central AmericaPlace
Country
CzechoslovakiaRegion
Eastern EuropeContinent
EuropeResearch Notes
Notes
Poldi history: Czech Wikipedia, Huť Poldi; Památkový katalog; ČT24; e15; Podnikatel.cz; Nová republika. ⚠️ The Památkový katalog entry and ČT24 are the more reliable; the remainder are journalism and commentary, and they agree closely on the essentials.
⚠️ Two things I could not establish and did not enter: the identity of the roundel Z mark, and the issue year of ČSN 221121. Both are gettable — the first from a Czechoslovak trademark register or a Zbrojovka/ZPS company history, the second from the ČSN registry.
⚠️ Searching Poldi HSS ČSN 221121 returned only marketplace listings.Created By
María A. Cabrera ArúsCreate Date
September 11, 2026Updated By
María A. Cabrera ArúsUpdate Date
September 11, 2026