B Who?

The road from my home to the Michigan Pen Show ran right past the Heart of Ohio Antique Mall in Findlay, Ohio, right on Route 75, and since I’d taken the day off Friday to make the trip up I decided to stop in. This was the same mall I’d found the Eisenstadt pencil in over the holidays last year ("The Blind Squirrel Finds a Second Nut," January 3), so I figured it was worth checking back in to see if the pencil selection had been replenished.

Nope. All that was there was the same items I’d passed on last time I was there. I didn’t have time to go through the whole mall – it’s pretty big and would have taken a few hours – but feeling a little skunked, I thought I’d check where I found the Nardi pencil before ("Long Lived, the Nardi," January 4).

That’s where I found this for the bargain basement price of $25 . . .

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

Could This Be The Key?

As I was musing about the "DK" logos denoting David Kahn, Inc., I went back through and checked clips on several other lower-quality brands to see if they shared the same connection. Enter the Keystone, one that I’ve long suspected might have a David Kahn (Wearever) connection. 

The clips on each of these have a "K" on the clip, all right. Duh. It could be Keystone, but could it also stand for Kahn?

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

ZABCO

In all the excitement that surrounded the flurry of neat items Tanya Hile listed, I tripped over Michael Little chasing after this one – I got so excited that I didn’t notice that he was the high bidder when I jumped into the fray.

This is a rear drive pencil, with a painted wood barrel . . .

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 Fabers That Slipped Under The Radar

In general, between Joe, Mike and I, we were pretty successful in obtaining the key pencils we wanted from Tanya Hile’s listings. But when it came to anything made by Eberhard Faber, all three of us were generally skunked; someone out there in cyberland likes their Fabers, even more than the three of us did. And it wasn’t just one person – several different bidders were really liking the Fabers! So while I’ve got a lot of weird and wonderful things to show you, I don’t have much in the Faber department.

Not much, that is, that’s actually marked Faber . . . Take this one, for example . . .

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

When "20th Century" Was Forward Thinking

Here’s another in the parade of items that Tanya Hile listed.

The wood barrel has a spiral cut into the outside, and the metal sleeve that travels up and down the outside of the barrel, in between the two tabs that stick out of the slot pushes the lead forward or pull it back . . .

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

K Sei

I wasn’t going to bid too much on this one from Tanya Hiles, but apparently I was intrigued enough.

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 Suppose You Can Point With A Baton

You gotta love online sellers who don’t know anything about the things they are selling, because in general, they tend to describe things exactly as they see them, not like they think they are supposed to see them. Tanya Hiles listed this one as an "Eagle Pointer" . . .

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