The Wahl Adding Machine Company got into the writing instrument business by accident, when inventor Charles Keeran approached Wahl looking to purchase pencil-making equipment and ended up hiring the company to make his pencils for him. By the close of World War II, Eversharp, Inc. (having dropped the Wahl name entirely) was at its peak, neck and neck with the other members of the "Big Four" fraternity for bragging rights as the leading writing instrument manufacturer in the United States.
Maybe it was arrogance. Maybe it was ignorance. Whatever it was, when Eversharp decided to be the first to produce a ballpoint pen, the company blindly assumed it would be first and best. . . .
NOTE: This article is now included in the print version of The Leadhead's Pencil Blog, available anywhere you buy books, or also from The Legendary Lead Company.
To order, here's the link: Volume 1 at Legendary Lead Company
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