Most modern fineliner pencils come in a range of different lead sizes within the same basic chassis, typified by Pentel’s P200 range which are identical in design except for the colour of their barrels.
Needless to say, this was not always the case. Pentel’s early pencils each had their own particular aesthetic, with different lead thicknesses aimed at different markets.
There was the Pentel Sharp 9 (top two pencils above) which predictably took 0.9 mm leads, itself a minor evolution from their earliest fineliner simply known as the “Pentel” pencil (bottom two).
Then there was the Pentel Graph Pencil, a sleek 0.5 mm model intended for draughting.
This was followed by the Pentel Mechanica Pencil, one of the first ever 0.3 mm models with a sliding sleeve, which today sells for astronomical sums (I don’t have one).
However, the most elusive of this early lineup is their 0.7 mm offering, which went by the deceptively dull name of Pentel Sharp 7. In spite of this, it managed to win a Good Design Award in 1966 – the year of the Beatles’ Yellow Submarine – and looks as if it could have been plucked straight out of the psychedelic animated film of the same name.
With its bulbous pocket clip, triangular barrel and flower-power influenced number 7 logo, the Sharp 7 is like nothing else Pentel made before or after.
Based on what little evidence I have found, it was available in two models, the 7A in black and 7D in green (it’s a shame they didn’t do it in yellow). In common with Pentel’s other early draughting pencils, the lead sleeve is only 2 mm long, rather than the more usual 4 mm seen on most of their later pencils.
Fortunately my example came in its original box, the polystyrene tray of which includes a tube of spare leads still marked with Pentel’s official name at the time, The Japan Stationery Co. Ltd.
The back of the box is entirely in Japanese, with four fairly self-explanatory graphics being the only concession to an international audience.
The pencil’s mechanism and reservoir are solid brass, with the end cap arrangement of a much simpler construction in keeping with Pentel’s earliest products.
Unfortunately, the broad fixed clip was not as sturdy, being vulnerable to metal fatigue as evidenced by the cracks in my example. The chrome plating was also prone to pitting and flaking, revealing the darker brass underneath. Perhaps these flaws explain both its short-lived existence in Pentel’s range and its scarcity today.
It’s a pity, because the Sharp 7’s triangular barrel is very light and comfortable to hold for extended periods, despite the lack of a textured grip. The broad, short clip also does not get in the way when rotating the pencil in the hand, an important consideration for a fixed clip design. It was still listed in the 1970 Ozalid catalogue, but by then – like the Beatles – its time was all but over.
Tomorrow: What makes a mechanical pencil?
I liked your article about the Pentel Sharp 7. This is one pencil I have not managed to get hold of.
When they appear now for sale, they are about comparable in price to the Mechanica’s.
I had not heard of the problems with the clip on these, as I only know of (I believe) one person who has one.
The Sharp 7 came in at least one other color, red.
Thanks Jimmy, I was not aware that the Sharp 7 pencils were so thin on the ground. That said, I have only come across two of them before and feel lucky to have found one in its fairly fragile original packaging. It would be interesting to know how long they were made for.
I don’t know if the serial numbers stamped on the packaging are any guide to when a particular item was made. My Sharp 7 has the number 151036 stamped in blue ink, while the Graph Pencil (pictured above) is 2272038 in red. They even stamped their early multipacks of leads – I have one 0512059 of 0.5 mm HB and one 1127019 of 0.7 mm 2H. Alternatively these may be batch numbers, as I have two retail packs of P225 pencils that both share the same stamped “Manufactured No.” of 20770081 on the side (my similar box of P207 pencils is stamped 71132379).
The plating loss seems to be a problem at both ends of the Sharp 7, as can be seem from these photos of my other specimen:
The nosecone looks like it might be nickel silver with thin chrome plating, whereas the clip looks like dark brass or even copper, with a thick plating of chrome that has flaked off in chunks. The difference in the underlying metal can be seen by comparison with the yellow brass lead reservoir.
I notice that even the clip of the super-expensive example currently on ebay has some pitting to the chrome. The innovative clip may have turned out to be the Sharp 7’s Achilles’ heel.