Somewhere Between Sublime and Ridiculous

I’ve commented before that the Zaner-Bloser Company of Columbus, Ohio was essentially a one-trick pony when it came to mechanical pencils. Nearly all were cheaply made nose drive pencils, distinctive only in their unusual shape – although this doesn’t make them any less dear to a Columbus, Ohio native like me!

But I did say "nearly all," to take into account the super-rare Parker streamline Duofolds made for Zaner using Zaner’s unique shape. The Parker Zaners go for several hundred dollars if you can find one.

And I’d thought there was nothing in between the dollar junk box Zaners and the gee-I’d-buy-one-if-I-were-ever-lucky-enough-to-see-one Zaners, until these surfaced a little while ago . . .

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