As mentioned earlier, John Straka’s patent for Wahl Eversharp’s removable-nose pencil was applied for in 1920 but wasn’t issued until 1928. By the time the Straka patent was issued, both Dur-O-Lite and Autopoint were producing similar pencils.
Charles Keeran, who had been ousted by Wahl in 1917, was the president of Autopoint in 1928, and in February, 1928 he was still writing letters to Wahl Eversharp demanding additional compensation from Wahl for the Eversharp pencil he invented.
Every time I see one of these "Eversharp-Autopoint hybrid" pencil, I instinctively pull the nose off to see if it says "Pat. App. For," which would indicate that they were made prior to 1928 (when John Straka’s patent was assigned a patent number). I’ve never found one – not that they aren’t out there somewhere, but if Wahl had made them in any quantity prior to the issuance of the Straka patent in 1928, you’d think a few would turn up once in a while.
To learn more, this full article is included in The Leadhead's Pencil Blog Volume 2, available at Amazon, Barnes & Noble and everywhere else you buy books, or you can order a copy signed by yours truly through the Legendary Lead Company HERE.
