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Tropen Mechanical Pencil

August 7, 2012, 7:00 am
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The Magnificent Seven - Part 4

Tropen Mechanical Pencil

by Pencil Paul

Despite the ravages and destruction of war, the German pen industry of the early 1950's still boasted many many pen makers both large and small, and among them was a company called 'Tropen'. They produced an huge selection of items from fountain pens and stylographs, to the humble mechanical pencil. The post 1930s offerings all seem to share a common Art Deco design theme, which is what attracted me initially to this company. I have a couple of the 1.2mm lead pencils, they are loaded by unscrewing the barrel halves and filling the bottom half with short leads, advancing the lead is achieved by rotating the nose. Finish is a plain colour usually gloss black with gold plated/washed trim, the nose being brass. Top of the line fountain pens had GF trim, plus excellent solid gold nibs. The grey pencil shown is inscribed 'Made in Germany' suggesting that it is of pre-war manufacture. As with most things German and mechanical they have an innate sense of quality about them and work simply and flawlessly, that aspect along with the sharp deco looks offer a very affordable and usable collectable. A large number of vintage Tropen items are still available on certain websites today. The Tropen company along with many other German manufacturers disappeared in the mid 1950s victims of changing times and taste, and the rise of that ultra modern invention the ballpoint pen.

tropen mechanical pencil
Tropen Mechanical Pencil


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Social Slencil Mechanical Pencil

August 14, 2012, 7:00 am
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The Magnificent Seven - Part 5

The Social Slencil Mechanical Pencil

by Pencil Paul

The SOCIAL SLENCIL, mechanical pencil invention and lifelong work of Carl C Harris.

The pencil shown is a recent introduction to the Slencil line for me. I could not resist the central lead advance wheel coupled with the slightly Buck Rogers styling. The first models were introduced in 1933 and named the Stag, my pencil as shown is the later Social Slencil, copyright shows 1945 on the paperwork. Running alongside the pencil range were companion slim notepads also produced by The Slencil Company of Orange, Mass, U.S.A, and when you consider the bulk and fuss of carrying a fountain pen and address book of the period it all makes very good sense - a place to record the date of the Pony Club Diner & Dance or a swift note home to the folks from the front line. The super little Social Slencil, the way to take notes long before the advent of the personal electronic PA, barely 115mm long and approx. 2mm thick! The pencil is loaded by inserting 1mm lead into the nose point and pressing it into the clutch mechanism, then it can be adjusted by means of the centre wheel. The eraser is inside the end removable cap along with storage space for spare leads. That this tiny item of engineering was a success is born out by the fact that the company is still going strong producing new plastic versions of TOMORROW'S PENCIL.

social slencil mechanical pencil
Social Slencil Mechanical Pencil



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Parker Itala Mechanical Pencil

August 21, 2012, 7:00 am
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The Magnificent Seven - Part 6

Parker Itala Mechanical Pencil

by Pencil Paul

The Parker Itala - a wasted opportunity.
The pencil and matching pens were designed by Giorgetto Giugiaro for Parker in 1983, as prototypes. There was an absolute meltdown by Mr Parker Sr himself when he discovered that the pens were designed to be disposable, a disposable Parker... Blasphemy! So the president of the writing instruments group who was developing these items was fired, and the pen versions never went into production, and the pencil is quite a rare item. If you find one for sale buy it. The pencil shown here is by far the lightest in all my pencil reviews, at around 7g in weight. It consists of a very simple set of 4 plastic castings - nose/body, top/clip, plug with eraser, and a cap with a hole in to show the top of eraser, all in textured easy-grip with polished highlights. There is also a tiny metal lead sleeve so its technically a drafting pencil. This must have been a very cheap item to manufacture and assemble, yet it possesses all the grace of its Italian lineage and is a superb shape in the hand. Coupled with the extreme light weight this makes for perfectly tireless writing/drawing. Sporting 0.5mm leads filled from the plug opening and push button lead advance this has to be rated as a superb first design for Giorgetto Giugiaro. Apart from the Parker Itala molded branding on the pencil there is also the very clever graphic device printed in white referencing the original Parker fountain pen arrow clip design. On seeing this one immediately thinks Parker. To sum up, a great design for a whole writing set, ballpoint pen, felt tip, and pencil range abandoned by backward thinking on the part of senior management. This is a design as fresh and strong now as it was in the 1980's. Warranting re-introduction this time around with proper support and encouragement.

Parker Itala Mechanical Pencil

parker itala mechanical pencil



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Faber-Castell Alpha-matic and TK-Matic Mechanical Pencils

August 28, 2012, 7:00 am
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The Magnificent Seven - The Final Showdown

Faber-Castell Alpha-matic and TK-matic

by Pencil Paul

Well I have left the best till last, these are my all time favorites. I wanted to show the alpha range, so here we have I feel the finest mechanical pencils available. The sheer quality of manufacture becomes immediately apparent as soon as you handle these pencils.

The silver TK-matic shown was purchased in 1980, the year of inception to the German market and it has worked flawlessly for me throughout all the years of sweated  magazine print deadlines, rattling around in the bottom of a brief case, running for the train in rush hour, bomb threats, 3 day weeks, power outs, being dropped and borrowed! In fact the whole gamut of working life in a busy London studio. It has never missed a beat or fluffed a line, this pencil deserves a medal for outstanding devotion to duty!  It is the only true draughting pencil in The Magnificent Seven, having a lead sleeve for use with rulers etc, and was often used with blue 0.5 lead for print proof marking up, a job that is now of course done on screen. The pencil itself is a solid, reliable heavyweight, that is made from stainless steel with the cunning auto lead advance feature, which is shared by all pencils shown here. As you write/draw the lead advances according to usage, you don't have to worry about leads till fitting a new one, which is just a question of pumping the cap button till one appears at the point. The cap is removable to access the small eraser with cleaning wire which I have never had to use, and the lead store below within the body. The knurled grip is superbly positioned and I feel the whole mass and ample weight of the pencils 26gams improves accuracy and control.

The other pencils shown here have been acquired along the way from various sources. These are all general use mechanical pencils in the alpha-matic range, lacking the drafting sleeve. Again the build quality is top class and they range in finish from the maroon red plastic, to the charmingly named 'Bronce' and to the most expensive 'Titanium' almost black finish. All are equally fine and able pencils. I would recommend anyone wanting the best in an 0.5mm pencil to seek out any one of these superb examples of German excellence. Was it Oscar Wilde who sated that "one never regrets purchasing quality"?
faber-castell alpha-matic mechanical pencil
Faber-Castell Alpha-matic and TK-matic Mechanical Pencils







Paul - Thanks very much for showing these fantastic pencils from your collection. Perhaps after some rest at the saloon and bunk house 'The Magnificent Seven' may ride again?
Dave.
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Spoke Design Mechanical Pencil Review

December 12, 2012, 8:51 pm
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Well it has certainly been a long time between drinks, but here I am, just in time to post one last thing before the year end. I thank Spoke Design for the inspiration to burst into e-print once again.

Spoke Design Mechanical Pencil Review

I was alerted to the Spoke Design mechanical pencil project back in July this year, and a little while ago they very kindly sent me a freebie pencil. I really like the pencil, so here's a few pictures and words on it. I will not go into the detail of the mechanism etc as it is a Pentel Sharp P205 series mechanism fitted into a new aluminium body.
As you can see they sent me a mechanical pencil, notepad and a sticker.

The mechanical pencil is packaged in a printed clear hard plastic tube which also secures the lead sleeve in place so the pencil is held very securely in position.


Lead sleeve inserted into centre hole of tube stopper

The Spoke Pencils self-adhesive label, pictured with the pencil stand or dock, and pencil.

I chose the black pencil because that's a standard colour for me, but frankly it was a mistake. The spoke cut-outs in the body allow you to see the internal lead reservoir tube of the pencil, but it too is black, and so with black on black you loose a great visual effect. Check out the gallery at Spoke Pencils to see what I mean.

Having said that, black is always in fashion, and the Spoke Pencil is a class act.

Note the cut-outs in the body, running down to the flared grip section. Like the body, the grip is hexagonal and smooth, however the flare at the tip of the body helps secure your fingers in place.

Note the single dot at the top of the body. That indicates this is from the first manufacturing run.

The pencil stand or dock is a very nice addition. It has an adhesive pad underneath should you wish to stick it in place, but it holds the pencil upright without difficulty on any flat level surface.

The original Kickstarter project saw nearly 800 pencils manufactured and shipped out. It was a stand alone project and production run so there may or may not be future production runs. I hope they will make more, because it is a good pencil and an interesting design. If Spoke carry on like they have started, then the guys at Porsche Design should keep an eye on their rear-view mirror as one day they might just see a Spoke cruising up behind them.

With that in mind I offer some comments for possible modification of future pencils.
  • This is a great pencil, be proud, put your brand name on it. I would also love to see "USA" on it too.
  • The pencil stand is a great idea and works really well. I wonder though that over time the metal on metal contact with the pencil tip section may lead to some wear on both. Perhaps a plastic insert in the stand is worth considering.
  • The edges of the hexagonal body are just a little sharp for me. Some more rumbling or perhaps some deliberate rounding in the finger grip zone would be in order.
  • In the right light, at the right angle, with good eyesight... boy, I'm being very picky here... you can see some very minor tool marks. A little more rumbling might help.
If Spoke make more pencils, and you don't already have one, then I suggest it is a worthy addition to any collection.
The Spoke Mechanical Pencil - definitely one to help the thought process.
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Novelty Stocking Stuffer

January 7, 2013, 12:30 pm
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Santa usually leaves a few novelty item stocking stuffers for me, and this recent Christmas was no exception. Included this time was a pencil sharpener - Geppetto's Pencil Sharpener - Made in China but the brainchild of Israeli design studio Monkey Business.
Package, pencil + point protector, and Geppetto.

The weighted base keeps Geppetto smily face up, even with a long nose.

The sharpener works well, although the blade does not appear to be replaceable.



Also in the stocking, not pencil related.... but then again, perhaps it's a little something to help contemplation on future pencil acquisitions?



 



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Yikes!

May 29, 2013, 11:42 pm
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Three New Mechanical Pencils

September 13, 2013, 7:59 pm
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If anyone out there is still holding their breath waiting for a new blog post… well here you are.

Whilst I haven’t been blogging for ages, and haven’t made a lot of additions to the collection, I have still been pencilling away, in one form or another. Three mechanical pencils were recently added to the collection, and here’s a little something about them. All three were a gift from a long time pencil friend. They were from the estate of a relative, and he thought I might get some enjoyment from them, which I certainly have. So here we have them.
Pelikan, Parker and Montblanc

Parker Vacumatic Mechanical Pencil

The one that initially attracted my attention was the oldest of them, the Parker Vacumatic pencil. Definitely old school, from the good old days.

The barrel imprint reads “PARKER VACUMATIC REG” and “MADE IN CANADA T.M.” I am no expert on Parkers but a quick bit of internet searching indicates Vacumatics were made from 1933 – 1948, although I believe that is USA production. Presumably Canadian manufacturing would have been similar dates. The exact details of the arrow clip and the central body band can be used to date it more precisely and it seems mine is post 1942. My pencil-friend has a family photo from 1949 showing this pencil. If anyone can date it more precisely then please yell out. The colour is apparently called Silver Pearl, one of the mainstay colours of this classic. I quite like the colour scheme; the pearl sections reflect light and give the pencil an ever changing appearance depending on the angle of view. Lead diameter is 0.9mm and lead advance is a screw mechanism. All exactly as expected for this period.

Trying out the B&W setting on Picasa photo editor. Note the detailing on the arrow pocket clip and the barrel band.

Pull the barrel apart to reveal the eraser, which has seen better days.
The Vacumatic is a nice pencil to write with, although I would prefer a 0.7mm lead version.

Pelikan Celebry Mechanical Pencil

Next we have the Pelikan Celebry.


This thing weighs a ton! It should be the Pelikan Clubby or Pelikan Basher, not Celebry. Some sort of cross between a mechanical pencil and a length of lead piping... handy in a dark-back alley brawl. Despite the colour, to me the weight makes it a "mans" pencil. (Sorry ladies, please don't take offence). One for the man cave downstairs.

Some more internet searching tells me mine is a Pelikan Celebry D565 Mechanical Pencil, Poppy Red with Black Chrome Trims (PEL 906487). Celebry was produced between 1995 and 2007.


0.7mm lead, twist advance mechanism. The top half of the barrel pulls off to reveal eraser and access to the lead storage magazine. The only wording on the pencil is CELEBRY just above the middle band.

Pelikan logo on end cap
A fine mechanical pencil, classic German quality, built to last.

Montblanc Meisterstück Mechanical Pencil

It's finally happened. Dave has a Montblanc. A Montblanc Meisterstück, the timeless classic.

At a current retail of US $415 (USA Montblanc website) this is not something I would ever buy myself, but I am very happy to have received this near new one as a gift.

For the past week I have been Montblancing it, or perhaps Ich Montblance? My trusty Lamy 2000 has been left in the drawer, and my new Meisterstück has been my daily use mechanical pencil.

To start with I have always considered the price of Montblanc to just be ridiculous. I am no stranger to paying one or even two hundred for a luxury brand mechanical pencil, but four hundred? When you are buying high end writing implements you are really buying jewellery, jewellery that just happens to also write, but even jewellery has price limits. The Meisterstück is just a plain black resin body with gold plated trims. Sure, it's a superior quality body, trims and mechanism, but to me there's just no way the price can be justified. If the body was made of exotic materials or uncommon design features then that's some justification for pricing, but the Meisterstück is not. The price simply cannot be justified. Still, Montblanc have been around a very long time and are still going strong, so clearly a lot of people disagree with me.

Having said all of that, a week of Montblancing has tempered my indignation to a degree. Its plain classic styling really is classic. Using it really did begin to give me delusions of grandeur.



The engraved centre band.
You will have to excuse my photography. I just couldn't get the engraving to show clearly.
The famous snow capped mountain.

My Meisterstück is a 0.5mm lead twist advance ratchet mechanism which my friend believes dates from sometime around the 1980's. The Montblanc website has its current description and code as Meisterstück Classique Mechanical Pencil, Ident. Nr. 12746. There is also a 0.7mm version available.
You pull the cap off to use the eraser or refill the lead chamber.


So, there we have it. Three new pencils. I started out placing them in the order Parker, Pelikan, Montblanc but finished up the reverse - Montblanc, Pelikan, Parker.

Once again, thanks to my friend for this most generous gift.


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2013 - It's A Wrap

December 30, 2013, 11:52 am
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Well 2013 is almost over, just time for a final quick post.

My recent use of a Montblanc Meisterstück mechanical pencil inspired me to go right back to the beginning and so I have spent the last two months using my Yard-O-Led Deco 34 as my everday mechanical pencil. My original review was very short and basic by later standards, but what would I add now? Actually rather than adding anything I would re-emphaise two points. "The all silver square body and uncommon looks of this mechanical pencil make it stand out from your everyday office pens and pencils" and "...but I would prefer a thinner lead." Yes, 1.18mm really is just bit too thick for me. Still, I actually quite liked having to take a little time out to twist the top to advance the lead, and putting a new lead in is certainly something different. Overall an enjoyable change, and I think I will start 2014 with some other luxury writing instruement.

Anyway, moving on, here's a final post to wrap up 2013.

Pencil Rolls

First off, a very nice present from my pencil buddy in Korea. The Cplay Sevenroll Pencil Case in colourway "rich espresso".

There is a single loop on the outside of the wrap so you can have a 'quick access pencil' always at the ready.
The wrap is made in Korea, from what seems to be very good quality leather and materials... with a price tag to match. There are four pencil slots in the sevenroll wrap. For me personally the storage pocket is a bit on the small side. I would like to get an extra eraser and lead refill tube in there, but hey, beggars can't be choosers.
 My friend commented that normally this Cplay brand stationery is aimed at teenage girls... but he thought it was ok for me!?
Product branding details are embossed into the top flap. This wrap is a class act.

There is of course a much cheaper and in some ways better option to buying a fancy pencil wrap. Make your own! All you need is some material, needle and thread and time. Or, if like me, and the needle and thread bit sounds a bit too daunting you could do what I did, and find someone else to sew it for you. So, I made a mock up of my pencil wrap out of paper, bought some marine canvas, stuck it all in an envelope and posted it to a young relative who knows how to sew. Surprise, surprise, guess what I got for my next birthday? The Dave Design Pencil Wrap!

The various pockets and slots are sized for erasers, sharpeners, lead refill tubes, thin and fat pencils, etc.
Sorry, something about the blue colour caused lots of photographic problems. This was the best I could do.

So there we have it, from one end of the wrap spectrum to the other.

Wishing you all the best for 2014.
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2014 Starts With a Rip-Off?

January 31, 2014, 2:40 pm
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In mid January an auction for a Pilot pen & mechanical pencil set on my local online auction site piqued my interest. The details of the set were minimal and I was a bit suspicious about it all, but I thought I would put in the minimum bid and leave it at that. If I lost then no drama, and if I won and it was a second hand scratched Pilot lemon then it would have only cost me the equivalent of US $10.19 including postage. Well, I won the auction and in due course my Pilot pen & pencil set arrived.

Upon opening the parcel the Pilot hard case had a fair bit of edge wear and tear, so my hopes were not good. I opened the case, to reveal an annoying lemon set. I say annoying because as you can see the case is a Pilot case, but the pen and pencil were unbranded, not Pilots. Clearly I had been trumped and taken for sucker.

After a few seconds my annoyance and disappointment subsided and said to myself just calm down, relax, be cool. I had a good shot at returning them and getting my money back. Anyway, may as well investigate the lemons and see how bad they are.


Firstly I said before the pen and mechanical pencil were themselves unbranded. That's not strictly correct. Around the centre band of each is printed in black the word KICPA. KICPA? Never heard of that brand. Also it wasn't engraved or anything, rather printed on. A bit strange really. So, I googled KICPA pens and pencils and got next to nothing, except links to a couple of old eBay auctions, for pen and pencil sets with KICPA printed on them, in Pilot cases! So, maybe there was a little more to this than first thought.
Right, time to start pulling things apart to have a look at the entrails.
Hmmm... definitely not an el-cheapo mechanical pencil insert mechanism.
There's a lead clearance needle on the eraser. Again, not the mark of a cheap generic set.
Things are even clearer with the ballpoint pen. It again has a good quality insert mechanism, and a Pilot brand R-3 refill.
So, despite my initial reaction, this is obviously a genuine Pilot pen and mechanical pencil set. What then is this KICPA? First thought is this set is part of Pilots corporate gift programme and KICPA are a company who have bought them as gifts. Back to googling KICPA.
Ahhhh.... KICPA... The Korean Institute of Certified Public Accountants. Pen and pencil users! Well, that's my best guess anyway.


The mechanical pencil is 0.5mm push top ratchet mechanism. As you can see, the metal body is a gold colour with a pattern of long rectangularish flat sections. There's probably a name for that sort of pattern but I don't know what it is. Please enlighten me if you do happen to know.

The set is in very good condition, basically "as new" despite the condition of the case. Man, those Pilot cases. They really are spring loaded. You could lose a finger closing them.

There is a reasonably large community of Korean immigrants down here, so I can only assume a KICPA member has emigrated and tired of his/her set.

Right then, moving on. Whilst browsing my Korean backgrounds I came across this.

Hmmmm, Little Miss Bo-Peep Korea and her sheep and a "Beat This Caption"? Hey, are they poking fun at us down here? I used to get a decent number of hits from Korea... translation please... whats it say?


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Uchida Drawing Sharp S Mechanical Pencil Review

March 22, 2014, 1:18 pm
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Uchida Drawing Sharp S Mechanical Pencil Review

Several years ago Isu advised me that my mechanical pencil collection was missing a very unique pencil, namely the Uchida Drawing Sharp S. After some thought I decided he was right; the Drawing Sharp S was sufficiently unique that I did need to add it to my collection. Since then I have been umming and ahhing about getting around to reviewing it. Finally I have decided to cast doubt aside, take the plunge and say ‘Yes’.


Uchida are a Japanese company with roots going back to China 1910. They distribute a wide range of office and art equipment and supplies. The Uchida Drawing Sharp S mechanical pencil comes in a nice but simple cardboard package with clear plastic sleeve. A tube of lead refills is also supplied. Note the packaging is marked with Catalogue Number 848-0014.

The Drawing Sharp S has a rather unusual look and a combination plastic and metal body.
Uchida Drawing Sharp S Mechanical Pencil

Weighing in at 17 grams it is much more lightweight in the hand than I anticipated from my first look at it. The plastic pocket clip is removable and it simply slides up off the gently tapering upper body. I wonder how secure it would be over the long term. The grip section is hard plastic cut into a square grid pattern. I found the plastic quite slippery and even with the grid pattern the grip is not particularly positive. For a draughting pencil I think this is a weak point.

There is a lead hardness indicator window for grades 3H to B including F. The tip is a 4mm fixed round lead sleeve. No question, this is a mechanical pencil for draughting work.

Markings on the pencil are Uchida Drawing Sharp printed on the metal upper body just above the lead hardness indicator. A sticker indicates the lead diameter 0.5mm.

The reason Isu said this was a unique pencil is because it is a modern draughting pencil with a screw mechanism. That’s right; to advance or retract the lead you wind the top half of the body around. Just to be clear, you are not twisting the body a half turn to activate a ratchet lead advance and the body then springs back, it is a screw mechanism like the old days. You wind round and round continuously and the lead just keeps coming out. The lead advance is continuous not incremental.

With many screw mechanisms you store spare leads inside the centre of the mechanism just like in a normal modern ratchet mechanism, but they do not self-feed a new lead, you have to take a lead out and feed it in through the tip. I am not sure, particularly because the instruction leaflet is not in English, but the Uchida Drawing Sharp S did not seem to like it when I put a couple of spare leads down inside the centre mechanism, so I think it does not carry any spare leads in the pencil. You need to carry a tube of refills with the pencil.

The screw mechanism took quite a bit of getting used to with a 0.5mm lead. I have used screw mechanisms before, but that was always with thicker leads likes 1.18 or 0.9mm. These thicker leads have strength, and the amount of lead advanced did not really matter too much. The Drawing Sharp S is a 0.5mm lead so if you advance a little too much lead it is likely to break when you start writing. Now to be fair, this a draughting pencil and I was using it for general office work, but I still think my point is valid. You need to pay much more attention to how much lead you advance than normal.

Now for refilling the Drawing Sharp S. That’s where things get a bit difficult. The instructions are in Japanese, and my ability to read Japanese is non-existent.

Luckily though the Japanese retailer Bundoki provided a translation on request, but I think a little something has been lost in translation:
“When you take out the short lead, twist the barrel all the way right and take it out. Make sure the logo “Uchida” on the barrel is right next to the indicator window. Twist the barrel to left twice and refill a lead. Twist the barrel and push lead with your finger a little by little. If the lead breaks, please take out the cap and take the lead out.”

The small emergency use eraser is accessed by pulling the whole top half of the body off.


The Uchida Drawing Sharp S mechanical pencil, a contemporary rarity, a modern draughting pencil with a screw mechanism - only you can decide if it is a pleasure or a pain.


•    Best Points – Novelty value mechanism.
•    Not So Good Points – The grip, the lack of spare leads.
•    Price Range – Low.
•    Does this pencil make it into the Top 5? - No.

Dimensions – Length 141mm, diameter 9mm at grip. Balance point about 65 mm up from the tip.
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Autopoint Interview

May 4, 2014, 10:52 pm
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Autopoint were a significant name in the American mechanical pencil industry throughout the middle part of the 20th century, and a particular strength of the company was corporate gifts and advertising pencils. Like many writing instrument companies of the time they went through a succession of corporate owners, eventually ending up in the Gillette / Papermate stable. However around 1980 Papermate divested the Autopoint name and machinery, selling to a group of businessmen, and Autopoint again became an independent entity.

Recently I was contacted by Jason Bender, the President and owner of Autopoint Inc. He offered to send me a few samples, and I expressed an interest in learning more about the current Autopoint. So here’s a Q&A with Jason.

1.    Hello Jason. Thanks for agreeing to answer a few questions about your company. Perhaps you can start by telling us a little about yourself, and how and why you came to own Autopoint?
I am married with two little boys and a dog that runs the house. I love spending time with my family and enjoying life as much as possible. I currently have little life outside of work and family. We purchased Autopoint in January of this year and have been consumed turning it around, and getting the Autopoint brand back out to people.

I am a drafter by trade; my class of draftsmen were the last class to take a hand drafting class and I fell in love with it. I had to relent to using various CAD programs if I wanted a job but I still love the hands on element as well as the vision it took to be able to make something look accurate. I moved from drafting into estimation and sales for a commercial construction company. After years of doing that I decided that I wanted to be a business owner.

My wife and I set out with a very wide net of businesses that we would be interested in and initially pencils had nothing to do with it. We finally were about to give up on our idea when right in my back yard there was a mechanical pencil company for sale. I almost instantly was hooked. I noticed that people who use pencils every day are fanatical about their specific pencil. Myself I was a Pentel Graph 1000 user, I bought my first one in college and have had a handful since. Autopoint has a quality product that has been around for a long time, plus the brand recognition is fairly high. Once I started looking at Autopoint I realized that deep down I was a pencil nut. After stepping back a few times and making sure that this was really the right decision, my heart and mind were all in and my wife was on board. I am convinced the brand has staying power and hope our users feel the same way.

2.    I believe the Autopoint product range was drastically reduced and redesigned in the 1970’s under Gillette/Papermate ownership. Is it this product range and machinery that is still the basis of the current range?
Gillette indeed drastically cut the product line down in the 1970’s. The core products are the same as they were when Gillette redesigned the Twinpoint and All American. Before Gillette sold the business to the previous owner they sold off a majority of the assets to make the pencils. When we were cleaning up the shop and moving some things around we found hundreds of documents dating back to the founding of the company in the 1920’s. I have all of the blueprints to the old machines and products. Maybe one day we can bring some of that stuff back.

3.    Tell us a little about Autopoint as a company today.
Autopoint is located in Janesville Wisconsin USA. We currently have nine employees, six in the shop and three (two full time and one part time) in the office. All of us in the office step out to the shop to help build pencils as needed. We ship approximately 60 orders per day. This year I expect to have right around One million dollars (USD) in sales, our current production volume is approximately 1,500 pencils per day; we have room to grow.

4.    How do Autopoint products make it to market these days?
Autopoint over the last few years has relied on ad specialty, online sales, and a few retail locations. All of our current retail locations are located internationally. Since I have purchased the company I have pushed hard to get us back into the retail market. I am working with several buying groups and a few local stores to get our pencils in front of a wider market.

5.    Do you export outside of the USA?
Yes we have customers all over the world. There are stationary shops in London, Taiwan, and South Korea that sell a lot of our pencils. We sell products to the Saudi Arabian Air Force and the Kuwaiti Navy, as well as my government. We sell to individual customers in Africa, Australia, Canada, all European countries, Japan, South Korea, Taiwan, Middle East, and Mexico.  I would love to expand that presence.

6.    What is your goal with Autopoint?
I do see a significant increase in sales as we move back into distribution. We currently have zero presence in major retail stores and I intend to change that starting locally at first. If a big box store came to us tomorrow and said I want to carry your pencils I would have to turn them away, we could not supply a national chain.

I want to expand the Autopoint line up, I have been playing with the idea of making a metal pencil. A heavier pencil feels more stable. I also want to add a line of pens made in the United States. A lot of the products that comes from the Asian market has poor quality and reliability issues. The manufacturing base here specifically in the Midwest is some of the best in the world.

7.    In producing your mechanical pencils, how much is carried out in-house as opposed to sub-contracted? For example, do you mould your own plastic barrels, press the metal components, etc or is the factory more of an assembly operation?
Our barrels and tips are molded about 45 minutes drive from our factory; metal parts come from the east coast. The device that propels the lead are assembled and pressed into the tips by machines in our plant, the final assembly is done by hand, this puts the quality control in the hands of the assembler, and they take ownership of the build and make sure that what gets sent out is a quality product.

One step in the process - the Tip Assembly Machine (TAM), which assembles the assembled shank into the tip cone and presses the Grip-Tite tip into the tip cone.
8.    Your pencils come in a variety of lead sizes; I would be interested in the percentage breakdown of sales by lead size.
This is an interesting question and varies by region of the world. North America and Europe both have tendencies to write heavier and favour the thicker leads, Asia writes far more precise and delicate and like the thinner leads. 90% of the pencils exported to the Asian market is 0.5mm, 1.1mm and 0.9mm are split evenly there. In the North American markets 0.9mm is the top seller, roughly 80%. 1.1mm is the next best seller at approximately 15%. 0.7mm gets a little less than 5% with 0.5mm making up less than 1% of our sales in North America. Europe is pretty close to the same as North America with more sales going to 1.1mm.

9.    Are your leads manufactured in the USA or imported?
The lead that we use is imported. We used to purchase our lead from the United States but the plant closed years ago. Autopoint has tried several lead makers but many of them could not hold the tolerances that we need as our Grip-Tite system does not have the flexibility of a clutch type mechanical pencil. It is also the key component to having a system that my five year old son struggles to break the lead.

You mention your leads need a tight tolerance, and your pencil system increasing resistance to lead breakage. Could you explain a little about the Grip-Tite system?
Our  Grip-Tite system is fairly simple, most mechanical pencils have a clutch that holds the lead and propels it forward. This clutch sits internally a fair distance back and is what holds the lead. The tip on a clutch type pencil supports the lead and if applying to much pressure acts as a pressure point on the lead. Grip-Tite holds the lead at the tip taking away the pressure point, we machine our tips to allow the lead to rub ever so slightly through the tip. This grips the lead to keep it from falling out. The tip has a notch in it to allow for minor expansion and as the writer applies pressure the lead pushes back against the plunger and actually causes the tip to contract down upon the lead.

Putting aside the difference in the length of leads, does this mean that common brands of lead refills will not work with Autopoint pencils? 
Other leads could work, we just do not guarantee that they will. We have had customers call and complain that the pencil broke because it will not hold the leads, they fall half way or completely out. Turns out they used up all the lead supplied with the pencil and bought a competitors lead. We require our lead to have a higher tolerance for this reason.
Ahhh, old time blog readers know all about various run-ins with lead diameter tolerances

Thanks very much Jason. I wish you every success with Autopoint, and I’m sure all readers do too.
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For more information on Autopoint check out the Wikipedia page and Bob Bolins Resources. Also here on this blog, some discussion of the Autopoint 1948 Catalogue:
Part 1, Part 2 and Part 3.

PS – Coming soon to a blog near you, a review of an Autopoint pencil.
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Autopoint All-American Mechanical Pencil Review

June 20, 2014, 6:49 pm
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Autopoint All-American Mechanical Pencil Review

Two Autopoint articles in a row, what’s going on? Well, when Jason Bender of Autopoint contacted me a few months ago and I suggested an interview to him, he also offered to send me a pencil for review, and I said “Yes thanks”. So, here we have the Autopoint All-American mechanical pencil.
Autopoint All-American Mechanical Pencil, light blue, 0.5mm

The All-American is available in a variety of colours and in four lead sizes – 0.5, 0.7, 0.9 and 1.1mm. Multiple lead sizes per model is definitely something I approve of. There is also the related model, the Jumbo All-American. For this review I am using a 0.5mm light blue All-American, which was supplied in a cardboard package.

Like most Autopoints, the current All-American is a child of the 1970’s, and it looks it. I don’t mean that in a negative way, I mean that in the good way - it looks like what it is; a design object of its times, a contemporary of the Pentel P205, vinyl LPs and the Apollo spacecraft.

The main plastic body of the All-American mechanical pencil is 10 sided, a decahedron in cross section. It transitions rapidly to a conical tip section which itself finishes with a metal tip. At the other end of the pencil there is a round metal eraser housing and non-removable pocket clip. The plastic is hard and shiny, a good quality product. The pocket clip and body shape combine so that this pencil does not tend to roll on your desk.
Autopoint of Janesville

In the hand the All-American is a fairly lightweight pencil. The grip zone is smooth without any enhancements so that might be a problem for some when held for a long time. The lead sleeve is a short fixed 2.5mm long metal pipe, so this pencil is not pocket safe. Although shorter than the usual 3 – 4mm long draughting sleeves, the sleeve is probably just long enough for draughting work so this pencil is something of a generalist, suitable for general writing and some technical work.

I believe Autopoints main point of differentiation and claim to fame is their Grip-Tite lead holding mechanism. The lead advance is a screw mechanism, you hold the tip and twist it to advance the lead. To retract the lead you twist the tip the other way and then press the lead back into the tip. The metal pipe tip itself has a small slit in it. The split pipe tip is essentially fractionally undersize for the lead and so squeezes and holds the lead right at the extreme end of the pipe. This prevents lead wobble and rotation, and Autopoint claims it reduces lead breakage. I agree with them. I certainly did feel that lead breakage was much less than usual during the two weeks I used the All-American as my daily mechanical pencil. On the down side, the screw mechanism is not as convenient as a push top ratchet mechanism, but I certainly did get used to it, particularly as recently I was using the Uchida Drawing Sharp S which also has a screw mechanism. The Autopoint mechanism is markedly firmer and stiffer to rotate than the Uchida, which I found to be good, and means you are less likely to over extend the lead. Overall then, I am impressed by the Grip-Tite system.

To replace your lead with a new stick you must remove the tip section of the pencil and reassemble. It is not difficult, so nothing to be too scared of. Just a note though about the leads. The Grip-Tite system requires that the lead and metal tip match together. As we know, the various lead manufacturers around the world have some differing and wide tolerances on the diameters of their leads and as such you may encounter problems using brands of lead other than Autopoint brand lead refills.
Autopoint Grip-Tite refill instructions

The All-American’s eraser is uncovered and obviously intended for general use rather than the tiny emergency only use erasers that many mechanical pencils have. I am not a fan of the appearance of uncovered erasers, but this one is coloured grey so won’t show unsightly graphite smears on white when it has been used. Putting the eraser to the test, it performs quite well as shown below. The eraser is replaceable, and the holder allows you to extend it a small amount.

You remove the eraser to access the lead storage chamber. Remember though, this pencil is a tip feeder, so the lead is stored inside the body but it does not self-feed when your current stick of lead is used up.

With the name All-American, and Autopoint being both proud Americans and that rare beast, a survivor of the American writing instrument industry decline, I am a little surprised that their American origin is not featured more prominently. The packaging has no reference to country of origin and the pencil body is unmarked with any model number or name. The markings on the pencil are all on the metal pocket clip – “Autopoint” and the lead size e.g. “.5” on the face of the clip, and in very small letters on the side of the clip, there it is, “USA”.
Pocket clip markings, note USA on the side edge.

Overall then, the Autopoint All-American is good pencil, and you should have one in your collection.

•    Best Points – The Grip-Tite system.
•    Not So Good Points – Requirement to use Autopoint brand lead
•    Price Range – Low.
•    Does this pencil make it into the Top 5? – No.

Dimensions – Length 143mm, diameter 8mm across flats of body. Balance point about 80mm up from the tip.

Disclaimer – For the purposes of this review, Autopoint supplied 2 All-American pencils and 2 tubes of lead refills to me free of charge.


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Farewell... RIP?

May 3, 2015, 5:32 pm
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Enough procrastination. I really enjoyed this blog for the six or so years that I regularly updated it, but those days are gone. It is time to admit this blog has run its course and close it down. So, this is my final post. Comments will be closed down in a month or so. I will of course leave the blog up on the net, and who knows, maybe at some future date I will resurrect it, but for the moment, it is game over.

I would like to thank all of you who have had some interraction with this blog - commented on, corresponded about, read - I've enjoyed all the contact with you.

I leave you with some images of my two most recent acquisitions... one for a dollar and the other for... well a couple of extra zeroes were involved.

An old Sailor from the 1980's or so. Virtually "as new" condition. Fantastic value for the next to nothing you can pick them up for. The Sailor pocket clips always seem oversized to me, frequently out of propprtion or clunky, but on this one it seems to work. Perhaps though I have just got used to the Sailor look over time.

An old Parker Duofold ballpoint pen/pencil set. NIB or near enough. Made in England, I guess from the 1990's or early 2000's.


RIP DMP


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1940 - A Centenary

September 25, 2015, 11:17 am
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I have been wanting one of these souvenir mechanical pencils for quite a while now, and finally found one that is in reasonable condition that still works. The problem is that they are not particularly good quality pencils and many of them no longer work and/or they are in poor condition. Also there do not really seem to be that many of them about, so perhaps they were not a big seller back in the day.

The New Zealand Centennial Exhibition celebrated the centenary of the signing of the Treaty of Waitangi, which is generaly regarded as the founding of New Zealand, and ran from 8 November 1939 to 4 May 1940. It was hugely popular, with 2.6 million visitors at a time when the population of New Zealand was only 1.6 million. The exhibition emphasised the Britishness of New Zealand, it's independance as a Dominion, but its commitment to, and pride in being, a nation within The Empire. Despite all that, reports indicate that most visitors went straight to the Crazy House and roller coaster in the Playland amusement park that was part of the exhibition.

The certificate of attendance is a background image

There was some speculation that the Exhibition would be cancelled due to the outbreak of World War Two, but it was felt cancellation might have a negative effect on morale so it went ahead as planned. Of course during the exhibition morale was high - off the coast of South America the navy had the victory of the Battle of the River Plate, and the first echelons of the army had arrived in Egypt. Of course a few weeks after the exhibition finished it all started going wrong, the Fall of France, the disasters for the New Zealand Army in the Battle of Greece and of Crete, etc.

Imprint in good but rather unimpressive original state
A good quality instruction sheet is always a bonus
Not surprisingly the pencil is a 1.18mm screw mechanism. Note the "Made entirely in England" on the instructions. I was surprised to see that the instructions are repeated in five other European languages. Presumably the unknown manufacturer had a substantial export business. I have seen this same model mechanical pencil without Centenary markings.
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He's Back, He's Bad

March 16, 2018, 2:40 pm
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Back With Triple Sets

March 18, 2018, 6:00 am
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I shut this blog down a few years ago and took it offline a while back, but I have recently been trying to get my "pencil-life" better organized. Part of that has been the long overdue decision to reorganize (down size) my collection. Over the years I have ended up with a lot of stuff I don't really want. Things that looked good online but aren't in the hand, duplicates, minor variations, etc, etc, etc.

The review of things to keep or sell got me thinking about triple sets - fountain pen, ballpoint pen and mechanical pencil. Not that they were ever that common 30 - 50 years ago, but I guess they are basically a thing of the past now unless you make up your own one by buying three separates. I do have a couple of triple sets... but not for much longer :)

Conway Stewart



Pilot


Faber-Castell E-Motion -the one I'm keeping, although it is a make up of three separates in a flip top hard case.




So, someone who knows about ink, why isn't the Faber-Castell nib gold?
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Parker Esprit Mechanical Pencil Review

March 25, 2018, 2:00 am
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Parker Esprit Mechanical Pencil Review

So here I am, back again nearly four years on from my last review, and I am effectively picking up where I left off because back when I gave up on this blog, the Parker Esprit was next in line for review.

Parker launched the Esprit back in 2008, and some sites suggest the target market was businesswomen looking for a small relatively minimalistic but colourful writing instrument. 

First thing out of the box, a very nice protective carry case for your Esprit. That certainly does strike me as something suited to a ladies handbag.

Open up and we have the mechanical pencil, or pen. It certainly is a bright colourful object in metallic blue and chrome trim.

The Esprit is a telescoping design, so you carry it retracted and then you extend it to write. Officially to me it is a mini-pencil. The Esprit is though fully functional when retracted, so if you just have to scribble a quick note or you are happy with a short pencil then the lead advances whilst retracted and you can write away.
Retracted
To extend the pencil you simply pull the front section out of the main body. It has a rather satisfying suction sort of feel as you pull the front section out and a definite stop at the end. You then twist the two sections through about a quarter turn to lock them in position.
Extended
I really like the little graphic printed on the barrel showing the lead size and indicating the direction of turn to lock the extension in place.

To retract you simply reverse the process, but that worries me a little. My Esprit mechanical pencil has a rather metal on metal sort of feel and sound during the retraction process and I wonder over time if somehow the barrel is going to get scuffed. I must stress there’s not actual physical sign of that; it’s just a suggestion from the feel and sound of it. If you are a bit heavy handed then when the barrel hits the retracting end stop you can accidently activate the lead advance.

The lead advance mechanism is a standard push top ratchet. 10 clicks will get you 7mm of lead. As usual there is a small eraser under the top cap, and you remove it to access the lead refill chamber. The pocket clip is quite strong.

In the hand the Esprit feels quite light. The grip section does not feel particularly positive and the ringed grooves are certainly a necessary feature.

Well, I am not a businesswoman, and might not be the target market, but I liked the Esprit well enough. It is a lightweight colourful attractive interesting mechanical pencil for carrying around in a purse or bag. Apart from the carry case it’s certainly as unisex as most other mechanical pencils out there. I suspect though that Parker have decided the Esprit is on its way out so availability will decline.

•    Best Points – Interesting telescoping design
•    Not So Good Points – Not pocket safe without the carry case.
•    Price Range – Mid
•    Does this pencil make it into the Top 5? – No

Dimensions – Length 124mm extended and 106mm retracted, diameter 10mm across the grip section. Balance point about 70mm up from the tip when extended.
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Newman Mechanical Pencil

April 3, 2018, 2:30 pm
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I have tripped across a few Newman mechanical pencils over the years, but know very little about the company, and their pencils haven’t leapt up and slapped me across the face to get my attention… until now.

What little I can find out about Newman can he summarised as follows. Newman were a reasonably common and successful Japanese brand in the 1960’s through 80’s. The end. If you know more, then please do enlighten me.

Anyway, quite a few years ago, Germ of the now long gone Pencils11 blog sent me a box of “odds and sods” and within it a Newman mechanical pencil caught my attention. With this blog being on hiatus for so long, it has taken me all this time to get around to posting about it, but here goes.

At first this seems like a reasonably ordinary slim line stainless steel mechanical pencil with lightly grooved grip section and a rather attractive bright red push top button.
newman mechanical pencil

Let’s push the button to advance the lead.
sleeve partially retracted

That’s a bit strange; the red push top button is actually a sleeve around the real inner stainless button. Pushing the button down has pushed the sleeve about half way into the body, and it stays there. Also, the sleeve is attached to the pocket clip, so the pocket clip has also slid down a channel in the body and now exposes the letter “BP”. I’m confused. Ballpoint? The multi-national oil conglomerate? I don’t know.

But the pocket clip channel is longer still, so you can slide the pocket clip and the sleeve further down, all the way down, down and out.
newman mechanical pencil top button sleeve fully retracted

Now just a tiny little red ring is left. Rotring as some might be tempted to say.

Really, I’ve got no idea what this system is all about, perhaps the sleeve is some sort of anti-accidental activation device? Or perhaps it is just purely aesthetic, for when you have the pencil clipped in your shirt pocket the shiny red sleeve is fully extended? Has anybody got any other ideas?

A couple of other images for you.


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Progress

April 6, 2018, 2:00 am
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Well, I have been making some progress.

I believe I have found and updated all the broken links on the blog. If you find any broken links, other than in peoples comments, then please let me know so I can fix them up. A lot of the broken links could be updated to new addresses but of course a number of websites are just entirely gone so the link is permanently gone.

I updated Jeopardy in the sidebar. It went up quite a bit. That's a crazy number. I am out of control.

To help get the collection rationalized I have created a Sell Swap Trade page, you can access it by the Page links just under the blog header up above. Ebay is not an easy option down this way. You see eBay started up here with some fanfare, but after 5 years or so they quietly shut down without saying a word, as our local opposition auction site smacked them down. Thus buying from eBay is quite easy, but with no domestic site, selling as an individual is quite hard. Unfortunately for me the number of mechanical pencil buyers on our local auction site is nearly zero when you don't count me :) Starting out with a bunch of Papermates and some older vintage stuff. I will be adding things slowly to the trade page, so if you do want anything then give me a yell and lets see if we can work something out - sell for money, swap for something, all options are on the table.

It has been interesting watching Google slowly accept my return. Before I took the blog offline I had about 750 URLs indexed by Google. Of course that fell to zero when I shut down, but over the last few weeks the Google Bot has slowly started worming its way through the blog, and now has about 150 URLs indexed. It's slow going. I guess I just thought that once the Bot found your website it would index it all quite quickly in one go, rather than crawl slowly through it at a snails pace.
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