The Eversharp Skyline Press Clip II . . . and a half

Eversharp Skylines can be a confusing subject, because the trim and color variations appear to be virtually limitless.   When I set up the Mechanical Pencil Museum in 2009, the first page I posted was my Eversharp page, and that's where I first published a system for categorizing and identifying Eversharp Skylines. 

The categories I set up were:

1.  Skyline Standard I (striped upper barrel, thin center band)
2.  Skyline Standard II (striped upper barrel, thick center band)
3.  Skyline Presentation (gold filled ribbed upper barrel)
4.  Skyline Presentation Vertical (gold filled upper barrel with lengthwise lines);
5.  Skyline Presentation Dart (gold filled upper barrel engine turned with the same "Dart" pattern used on early Wahl pencils)
6.  Skyline Presentation 14K (solid 14K upper barrel)
7.  Skyline Presentation Stainless (stainless upper barrel and trim)
8.  Skyline Solid I (barrel all one color/material, no center band)
        Note:  under this system, moires or "modern stripe" pencils are Solid Is.
9.  Skyline "Command Performance" (all 14k; actually a 14k Solid I)
10.  Skyline Solid II (barrel all one color/material, thin center band)
11.  Skyline Solid III (barrel all one color/material, thick center band)
12.  Skyline "Streamliner" (has the Streamline clip with no upper buttress - no center band)
13.  Skyline Press Clip I (clip is stapled into a one piece barrel with no separate derby, no center band)
14.  Skyline Press Clip II (stapled clip, thin center band)
15.  Skyline Twist models (twist pencils styled after the Skyline)
16.  Eversharp-Moore Skyline Press Clip (an interesting diversion - Eversharp licensed a unique design from the Moore Pen Co. to make Skyline-style pencils).

I dedicated pages 72 to 76 in The Catalogue to illustrating each of these categories.  Outside of a few minor variants illustrated on page 76, these categories neatly divide the world of Skylines into an orderly system.  It is satisfying, whenever I pick up a pencil at a show, to think to myself, for example, "OK, this is a Skyline Standard II with a gold derby."  For the last couple of years, nearly every Skyline I've handled fit neatly into one of these categories.  I felt like I had brought order to one little corner of the universe.

But then along comes Matt McColm with the giant square peg for my round-holed pegboard . . .

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