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…
Mechanical Pencil Month – Day 4: The Eversharp 4 Square
Day the fourth be with you! On that note, it's hard to think of a more quadratic pencil than the Eversharp 4 Square. This was a mechanical pencil of square…
Mechanical Pencil Month – Day 3: Nestler’s German silver screws
As promised, today's entry brings together Slide Rule Saturday and Mechanical Pencil Month in the hope of fostering a new spirit of love and cooperation between the two rival kingdoms.…
Mechanical Pencil Month – Day 2: The life cycle of the pencil
Today's post follows our plucky lump of graphite as it embarks upon the long journey of metamorphosis into a fully-fledged pencil. Issued by the Cumberland Pencil Co. Ltd. of Keswick,…