The Eversharp Skyline Press Clip IV

At the Baltimore Show, I found this little guy on Terry Mawhorter's table.  I was pretty sure I had one of these, since the Eversharp Press Clip Skylines are a pretty common sight.  The reason I bought it was for the imprint, which I thought Janet would appreciate as an active member in her local Toastmasters' Club . . .

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

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The Early Slencils

Since The Catalogue was published, I've found a few other neat examples of the early metal Slencils shown on page 150.  Note that while two of these have a conventional nose-drive mechanism, the remainder have Harris' unique mid-barrel mechanism, for which he applied for his original patent in 1933.  However, this group of pencils showcase several of his other innovations, mostly involving the clips . . .

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

The Pencil in the Iron Mask

Although this one wasn't the pencil I was looking at in that fuzzy ebay picture of a whole mess of pencils, when it arrived I had to give this one a closer look.  The pencil itself is pretty unremarkable -- just your typical, unmarked late 1940s or so pencil.  But that clip!

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

I dream of GG

I'm sure there's a story behind this one, but I don't know what it is just yet.  Here's something kind of neat that I found at the Baltimore Show. It appears to be from around the first decade of the last century, judging from the style of the tip . . .

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

Zaners on Parade

I should be more dedicated to collecting Zaner-Bloser pencils.  They hail from Columbus, Ohio, my hometown, and they are goofy, which usually puts things squarely in my crosshairs.

But on the other hand, Zaner-Bloser was a one-trick pony when it came to making pencils.  There's one ultra-rare, ultra-desirable variant - the ones made by Parker blending the Parker Streamline Duofold with Zaner's unusual shape - that I haven't been able to track down, mostly because they cost hundreds of dollars when they surface.  I have a picture of Joe Nemecek's example pictured in The Catalogue.  

All the rest are along the same lines.  But lately, I have been finding some interesting variations. 

The examples in this first bunch all have painted wood barrels . . .

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

If only all "Student Pencils" were this nice!

When Carter comes to mind, this is usually what I'm thinking of.  These are the "coraltex" pencils.  Later "pearltex" pencils were every bit as elegant.  But the company also made "student" or utility pencils - here's one shown with a couple of earlier Carter's pencils (the utility pencil is the one on the bottom) . . .

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

The Award for "Least Inspiring Patent" Goes To . . .

One of the early Eagle's pictured on page 45 of The Catalogue is the No. 831 "Spear," a short, simple pencil that comes in black enamel over brass.  Since the book was published, I've run across a couple other variations.   The top one I was really excited to find, since it is the only one I've seen that has a patent date on it, instead of the typical "Eagle Pencil Co. New York" . . .

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