The Grim Reaper Unmasked

People had a lot of fun with this week's "Grim Reaper" post.  The Hampden pencil spurred lively debate online and several guesses concerning what purpose the pencil served, including an awl, a toothpick, and in the case of one disconcerting backchannel email, an instrument of divine retribution. 

The answer, which had eluded me, was easier to find than I had thought.  Although I had searched six ways to Sunday every route that might lead to the Hampden Manufacturing Company, what I should have done is simply searched the patent databases for "folding pencil."

Daniel Kirchheimer was first to suggest that the pencil might be a compass, with George Kovalenko chiming in just a few minutes later.  They cited two patents, both issued to Allan J. Keaney.  The first was applied for on July 8, 1925 and was filed December 21, 1926 as number 1,611,835:

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