Three Steps Forward, Four Steps Back

I discussed this weird series of Eversharp pencils on page 152 in Eversharp: Cornerstone of an Industry:

These share elements of the crown top models which came a little before it, and the “Signature-style” series that came after.

But . . . note that the Signature-style pencil at bottom in the previous image has a steel tip, which means it has the 1924 improved Eversharp mechanism. The pencils in this series have gold filled tips, which signify that inside is what we commonly refer to as the “Equipoised” mechanism, developed around 1929 and first used on the Signature-style series, then carried forward on the Equipoised line in 1929 and on the Doric in 1931.

That’s what makes this series really weird: the timing doesn’t make sense. Wahl ditched the stodgy old gold-filled crown top models in favor of the Signature-style line in 1927, then took another leap forward with a new mechanism in 1929 . . . and then turned around and briefly reintroduced another crown top model. The experiment was an expensive one: since none of the parts on these, other than the tips, are interchangeable with anything else Wahl made at the time, we know the company created special tooling for them. Given how few of these have survived, Wahl likely never recouped the investment. 

Wahl fascinates me because it thrived in spite of itself, and it also fascinates me how difficult this series is proving to complete. I’ve found examples in smooth black celluloid, Grecian Border chased black, Rosewood hard rubber, and Jade. There’s three sizes: a short ringtop, a short military-clip version, and a full length version. There should be one of everything. Unless, of course,  there wasn’t. 

I did an indiscreet happy dance when I found a ringtop version in jade, bringing me one step closer to that “aaaaaahhh” moment. No worries that it was missing the tip, I thought . . . I have spare tips.

Of course it wasn’t as simple as that. There’s something to know about Equipoised-mechanism Eversharp pencils before you assume a tip is just being stubborn and it needs more muscle to remove it: these tips are reverse-threaded. Someone had really put their back into this one, snapping the threaded part off inside the end of the barrel. To make matters worse, since the tip is what holds the mechanism inside the barrel, there was no way to remove it.

And then, things got even worse. I thought I had redeemed myself when I found another example hiding in the weeds in an online auction – but no:

Great. Now I have two of these . . . one with a perfect mechanism I can’t remove, and one with a mechanism that is toast. Dagnabbit.

That reverse threading had been the source of my frustration, but it also proved to be my salvation. An 1/8" drill bit perfectly fit inside the barrel, and the teeth were able to sink into the soft brass just enough . . . lefty tighty, righty loosey and all.

Whew, I thought as I prepared to reshoot my series one step closer to completion. All I need to do is find a black or rosewood military clip example, and I can swap out the parts to have all three configurations in jade.

I need to quit thinking. Yes, I found a military clip example, but no . . . there is no way in God’s green earth that I am going to start swapping parts. Dagnabbit again, but in a good way:

My friend Robert Lott at Five Star Pens included both of these in an online auction of Eversharp pencils - I haven’t seen Rob for years, since he lives in one of the Dakotas and it just got too expensive for him to attend shows, but I did get to spend some time with his brother Rich at the Ohio Pen Show last weekend. 

I suppose it shouldn’t be surprising that one of these would pop up in Wahl’s coral, since most of the weird things Wahl did seem to happen in that color - in particular, Wahl apparently used up leftover coral parts in 1939, cobbling things together and offloading them in preparation for the company’s reorganization into Eversharp, Inc. in 1940. See “The Weirdness of Coral” (April 23, 2021: Volume 7, page 57).

I’ve added two members to this disfunctional family, but for those two steps forward, I took two steps back – now I’m looking for military clip and full length examples in coral.

Speaking of coral, there’s two things to notice about that other coral Eversharp that came from Rob Lott’s auction. First, that color is just more . . . wild than what I’m used to seeing.

Then there is the top end treatment. The end of the cap has been tapered slightly, to void the recess into which the trim ring is usually fitted on the Signature-style series.

I’ve seen that treatment before on Eversharps along these lines but again, not in coral.

Here’s the new addition in the company of my other tapered, short cap, Equipoised-mechanism pencils, all of which I believe were assembled in 1939 in preparation for the reorganization. Second from top is one of those mysterious “X-seal” Eversharps – see page 312 in Eversharp: Cornerstone of an Industry. At bottom are two marked “Oxford” on the clip – one is a duplicate (with a less clear imprint on the clip), but as rare as they are I’ll keep both for now.

Good Lord . . . three new Eversharp variants added, suggesting that there are four others out there somewhere. It never ends.