The Antipencil

I don’t know what the Weldon Roberts Rubber Company’s problem with us pencil guys was. Here’s a company from Newark, New Jersey, whose sole business purpose was to invent new and exciting ways to undo anything you could do with a pencil. Just take a look at this advertisement, from the December, 1922 issue of Office Appliances:

"If there is any need not provided for in this line we are not aware of it." Yep, this company prided itself on having thought of every conceivable way to get the lead out.  And that even included a wolf in sheep’s clothing – or actually, the eraser in pencil’s clothing:

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.

Like Playing The Lottery

I mentioned a few days ago that I knew it was time to stop writing for awhile when I was peering over my computer screen to watch an episode of Drop Dead Diva, and how that was my cue to do something more productive than watch Drop Dead Diva, like surf the internet for online auctions. Although I’ve already featured the second thing I found that evening, the Conklin with the unusual side clip, I forgot to circle back around and show you the first thing I found:

Here’s another example of the Gordon, and this one is a ferocious little pipsqueak with a telephone dialer and the usual Gordon "fanged" clip, designed to sink its teeth into your shirt pocket and not to release its grip until the bail at the top is pressed downwards:

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.

Hey . . . Wait A Minute

Back on September 10, 2012, I wrote an article about the origins of the "Perfect Point" pencils, which I’d learned were made by the Stull-Bolyson Company of Fremont, Ohio (see https://leadheadpencils.blogspot.com/2012/09/a-perfect-end-to-story.html). I made an offhand comment, towards the end of the article, that the "Acme" pencil was the Perfect Point’s identical twin:

Now that I’ve found this one in an online auction, I’m more inclined to call them cousins, rather than twins:

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.

My Question Was Answered . . . Six Years Ago

At the 2012 Baltimore Pen Show last year, I picked up this "Ever Last" pencil from Paul Erano:

The pencil was the subject of an article that ran here on April 5, 2012 (http://leadheadpencils.blogspot.com/2012/04/everlasting-mystery.html). Paul indicated that he thought the Ever Last was a Conklin subbrand.

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.

Leadhead's Tread: 2013 Baltimore Pen Show

This was the second year Janet and I made the trip to the Baltimore Pen Show. It was quite the whirlwind trip, driving out on Friday and back on Sunday, with a whole lot ‘o fun in between.

We were off early on Friday morning, since a few stops along the way are usually on the agenda. Of course, as with all of our road trips heading east, our first stop was that great Denny’s diner-style restaurant east of Zanesville:

Here's Janet, very pleased with her pancakes!   

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.

In Honor of the Occasion

As I’m driving home from the Baltimore Pen Show today (show report to follow tomorrow), it only seemed right to share this one:

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.

Whew!

I worry when I go out on a limb. Sure, part of throwing new research out there is having someone come forward with a piece of evidence you didn’t know about that proves you’re completely wrong. Sure, it’s all part of the learning process. But that doesn’t mean you don’t feel pretty silly when it happens.

I am pleased to report that this is not one of those stories.

I recently picked up another example of the Auto-Sharp:

This one is different from the one I featured in an article I wrote way back on January 30, 2012 (see https://leadheadpencils.blogspot.com/2012/01/auto-confusing-more-like.html). In the first place, it’s nickel silver rather than gold filled:

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.