Mechanical Pencil Month – Day 14: Compass inserts
As mentioned in day twelve's survey of lead refills, A.W. Faber's polygrade leads revolutionised the compass pencil insert, with 2 mm quickly becoming the standard size of fitting. Mostly these…
Mechanical Pencil Month – Day 13: Staedtler REG
Unlucky for some, the Staedtler 925 85 REG is one of those pencils that elicits mixed opinions. Released by Staedtler's Japanese division in 2004, its short name comes from the…
Mechanical Pencil Month – Day 12: Twelve leads a-leaping
For the twelfth day of Christmas Mechanical Pencil Month, I present a whistlestop tour of twelve lead refills from my collection of [insert large number here]. They have been arranged…
Mechanical Pencil Month – Day 11: Side-knock pencils
Today's post takes a quick look at three examples from the small sub-genre commonly referred to as "side-knock" pencils. Unlike most conventional mechanical pencils in which the lead is advanced…
Mechanical Pencil Month – Day 10: Mordan’s Centennial
We have already reached the halfway point of our countdown to the bicentenary of Hawkins and Mordan's 20 December 1822 patent for the first mechanical pencil. It therefore seemed appropriate…
Mechanical Pencil Month – Day 9: The inimitable Tekagraph
There's no mistaking today's pencil, that icon of space age design, the Tekagraph 9603 by Faber-Castell. Instantly recognisable by its two dramatically different halves - a curvilinear grip section colliding…
Mechanical Pencil Month – Day 8: The Interlock Pencil
Today's post asks the question: What makes a mechanical pencil? Day three's Nestler with its complex double-push action definitely qualifies; the simple cedar pencils of day two, clearly not. Going…
Mechanical Pencil Month – Day 7: Pentel Sharp 7
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…
Mechanical Pencil Month – Day 5: Rotring ArtPencil sets
It's Monday and we all probably need a bit of cheering up, so today's post is completely free from obscure patents, overcomplicated mechanisms and wacky design features (unless you count…