Staedtler Mars Technico 780 Leadholder

Coming up on March 30, is International Pencil Day. This important date gave me an excuse to look through my hoard to see if I could find a pencil that is a bit different. I have a lot Staedtler pencils but the Staedtler Mars 780, borrowed from my husband’s collection, is unique.

I’ve always just thought of it as a mechanical pencil but actually it is a leadholder. This type of pencil is sometimes called a clutch pencil because the lead is clutched by little metal jaws (technically called a collet) that are opened when the end is pressed down. Gravity then allows the lead to drop down.

Clutch released

With its clip, push-button, and textured grip zone all made of metal, and its sturdy blue plastic barrel, there is a bit more heft to this pencil compared to a mechanical pencil like the Staedtler Riptide 9840.

The real difference can be seen in the lead, which is much thicker than the very thin leads in a mechanical pencil so they don’t break as easily.

It’s hard to read but the lead says “Staedtler 2H Mars 2H Germany 2H

You can see the difference in the leads.

Because the lead is 2H, a harder grade, it writes quite lightly, making it easier to erase.

The thicker lead is similar to the width of lead in a standard pencil (2 mm) but of course can’t be sharpened with a regular pencil sharpener. Staedtler solves this problem by building in a little lead sharpener into the push-button end.

I pulled out the push button end to sharpen the lead but you could also use the sharpener while it is in the barrel.

Like most Staedtler products, the Mars 780 is made in Germany, the country where clutch pencils were invented. In 1862, A.W. Faber (of Faber-Castell fame) wanted to come up with a solution for architects and draftsmen frustrated with wooden pencils. What could be frustrating about pencils you may ask? Most people have a preference for just the right length – too long and they are top heavy, too short and they are awkward to hold, so rarely just at the sweet spot. A mechanical pencil is consistently the same length and weight so if you are using it all day it will always feel just right.

If the Staedtler Mars Technico 780 Leadholder was a person, they would be a reliable worker, self-contained, and not afraid to be a bit different.

Carpenter pencil

Today is my sister’s birthday. One of her many talents is carpentry, so in honour of her I am taking a look at the humble carpenter pencil.

Often given out by lumber companies as a promotional product, they are designed be flat so they don’t roll away when set down. The pencil wood is not the only flat part, the graphite core is also rectangular. This large lead gives the carpenter a wider writing area for big, clear marks and make it less prone to breaking. The creative carpenter can also use this pencil as a spacer and straight edge. It is possible to buy a carpenter pencil sharpener but I think most would just use a knife to sharpen the point.

Carpenter pencils have been around for a long time. In fact, the oldest known surviving pencil is a carpenter pencil found in the roof joists of a German house dating to the 17^th century. Perhaps it was forgotten by some long ago carpenter? It is now in the Faber-Castell Museum in Stein, Germany.

Also from Germany is my flat Grumbacher sketching pencil. It’s not a carpenter pencil but it shares some of the qualities of one. The wood casing is more oval than rectangular but it has a flattened core that makes it easier to get thick and thin lines

I tried using it like a broad-edged nib and did some Italic calligraphy with it.

If a carpenter pencil were a person, they would be a carpenter of course. Some might find them a bit square but they have lots of practical skills where their creativity shines.

Pencils made in Canada

With Canada Day coming up on Friday, I am featuring some Canadian-made pencils. As far as I know, there are no pencils currently being made in Canada so all of these are vintage. I found a wealth of information about Canadian-made pencils on the Pencils, Eh blog. Like many stationery items, these companies went through lots of ownership changes.

Eagle Alpha

First of all, I have some Eagle Alpha pencils from a thrift store. These large, black-painted pencils have a 10 cm diameter and were designed for young children, which makes the colour choice a bit odd. Eagle Alpha “Chemi-Sealed” 245 is stamped in silver along the side.

Eagle Turquoise

The “Chemi-Sealed” descriptor is also on an Eagle pencil I got at a garage sale a few years ago. The Pencils, Eh blog dates it as likely being from sometime in the 1950s. They surmised that the “electronic” lead refers to a change in the graphite formula allowing the lead marks to be read by automated readers more easily. I like the eagle logo and the interesting choice of fonts.

Berol Turquoise

While, the Eagle Pencil Company was founded by Daniel Berolzheimer in 1856 in New York City, the Canadian branch didn’t start until 1931. This is when the Eagle Pencil Co. of Canada Limited was established in Drummondville, Quebec.

In 1969 the company name was changed to “Berol” (a shortening of Berolzheimer whose descendants still owned the company) in the USA. In Canada the company became Eagle/North-Rite, a division of Berol Corp. of Canada. Then in 1975, the Canadian name was also shortened to Berol. In the 1980s, they brightened the shade of turquoise paint on the pencil and added a silver ferrule with red stripe. They continued to make pencils using the Berol name even after it was sold to the Empire Pencil Company in 1987.

Dixon Beginners

Along with the Eagle Pencil Company, the Dixon Pencil Company also came to Canada from the USA in 1931 when they took over the Cane’s pencil factory in Newmarket, Ontario. I have a Dixon Beginners 308 pencil that is just like the Eagle Alpha, right down to the paint colour although the writing on it is a dull gold colour. Advertising for this pencil said:  “Grade matched for Kindergarten through grade 2. Large diameter fits little fingers. Extra large black graphite core for effortless writing.”

Pedigree by Empire

I have a yellow pencil stamped in gold with Canada Pedigree by Empire 2H. It has a gold ferrule with brown stripe holding a dried-up pink eraser. The Empire Pencil Company was another American company that had been making pencils in Tennessee since 1900. They were a latecomer to Canada, only setting up manufacturing in Longueuil, Quebec sometime in the 1970s

So why are no pencils made in Canada anymore? I suppose it has to do with the same woes as many manufacturing operations; globalization, consolidation of companies, and the race to the bottom for wages and benefits. Back in 1917, The Newmarket Era newspaper featured a piece about the Cane’s Pencil Company opening shop during the First World War when German and Austrian pencils were no longer available. The writer made a point about how much lower the wages were in Europe at that time and said “Canadian buyers always demanded the lowest-priced article, no matter what nationality the maker” so some things don’t change.

If these pencils were people, they would be older Canadians whose family trees reach back into the United States.

And just for fun, watch the Pencil Revolution song!

Parker Insignia

The stationery world loves to have a good time. Just a couple of weeks ago National Notebook Day was being celebrated and now National Ballpoint Pen Day is coming up on June 10^th. This date was chosen as it is the anniversary of the patent filing on June 10, 1943 by brothers Laszlo and Gyorgy Biro. To this day ballpoint pens are referred to as biros in Britain.

I have a Parker Insignia ballpoint pen and mechanical pencil set that has been sitting in a drawer for a long time so I don’t remember exactly when I got it. Parker made the Insignia line from 1991 to 2008 and I think I have the 1992 version.

Parker has been in the pen business since 1888. That was when, at age 25, George Parker applied for his first fountain pen patent. It was almost fifty years later when the Parker arrow clip, like the one on the Insignia, was introduced in 1933. Then in 1954, they started making their first ballpoint pen, the Jotter. Despite Parker’s American roots, a buyout in 1986 transferred the company’s headquarters to England. Eventually that factory also closed and in 2011 production was moved to France.

The Insignia was introduced in the 1990’s for the gift set market. I don’t know if pen sets are a very popular gift now but they used to be common for graduation and retirement presents. Parker hired a London-based product design group to come up with the Insignia. The pen operates with a twist action, while the pencil lead clicks down. The pencil also has an eraser neatly, if not somewhat inconveniently, hidden under the cap. The pencil cap is the only way to differentiate between the two. They both have the same slim metal barrel with a matte black finish, gold ring around the middle, and arrow clip. It is a much thinner pen than I am used to writing with.

Disassembled pen

Disassembled pencil

I don’t know if it is because the pen is old, but I find the black ink is very faded looking, almost grey.

Tucked into the box lid is a little pamphlet written in six languages about the set and includes a “Lifetime Guarantee”. I like that it is made to last and that it is possible to refill the inner pen, 0.5mm lead, and eraser. It is, however, very over-packaged with an outer cardboard box as well as a plastic presentation box.

If the Parker Insignia were a person, they would be a traditionalist who prefers business attire. They are good-looking but not that practical.

Graphite Pencil Set

In my part of Canada, places like art galleries and museums started opening up at the beginning of the summer. To mark the easing of restrictions, the Art Gallery of Alberta (AGA) had a special free day in June. I always have mixed feelings when I attend free days as I know how expensive it is to run these institutions. Usually I buy something in the gift shop to assuage my conscience. Most recently I purchased some AGA branded graphite pencils. There are whole businesses built around supplying museum and gallery gift shops. MP BARCELONA, Inc. is one such company. Not only did they likely provide the graphite pencils I purchased, but they probably also supplied the large multi-coloured Koh-I-Noor pencil I purchased on a different occasion. They could even be the supplier of a mini set of low-quality pencil crayons I was once given as a promotional item from the Arts Council of Wood Buffalo as I’ve seen similar products on their website.

Back to the graphite pencils. The set of four came packaged in a clear transparent box with a black cardboard wrap branded with the AGA logo. Each pencil also has art gallery of alberta printed on them and is 15 cm long or just over 6 inches. They are all graphite, no wood, so have a smooth feel to them, both in holding and drawing with them. There is a bit of a metallic sheen to the line, especially where it is darker. Like a regular pencil, they can be erased. Even though they are skinny, I had no trouble sharpening them with a standard pencil sharpener.

I challenged myself to use all of them in sketching the little moka pot we take camping with us.

If these woodless graphite pencils were people, they would be minimalists and favour monochromatic outfits. You’ll find these folks at art gallery openings crowded around the free hors d’oeuvres.

Dixon Pencils

With this blog post falling on July 4, I wanted to pick an American topic so I decided to focus on an old American pencil company, Dixon.

Joseph Dixon was born in 1799 in Massachusetts. He was an entrepreneur and inventor but not initially interested in the pencil trade. The American Civil War changed that. At a time when most people wrote with dip pens and ink, pencils weren’t particularly popular but troops in the field needed a convenient way to make notes and send messages. So Mr. Dixon, with his background in manufacturing with graphite, stepped in to fill a need by making pencils and continued to do so after the war. The pencil business continued to grow even after the original Mr. Dixon’s death in 1869. In 1873, the Dixon company expanded by buying the American Graphite Company in Ticonderoga, New York. However, it wasn’t until 1913 that the school supply staple, the Dixon Ticonderoga pencil, was launched. They copied the popularity of yellow pencils started by the introduction of the Koh-I-Noor pencil at the 1889 World’s Fair. Despite their heritage as an American company, Dixon pencils are no longer made there but rather in Mexico and China. They do have offices and a distribution center in the USA.

I have one classic Dixon Ticonderoga pencil but I also have two of the lower quality Dixon Classmate and one Dixon Metrico 1910. I don’t know where I got the Metrico as it seems to be sold in Spanish speaking countries. As well, I have a Ticonderoga Erasable in Tuscan Red that is marketed as being used “for checking, map coloring, marking on blueprints and proposals, and editing papers”.

So how do these pencils measure up? Since all these pencils are old, it didn’t seem fair to judge them by their erasers but surprisingly all of the erasers worked to some extent, however a white Staedtler Mars did a better job.

Dixon Ticonderoga: I like the look of this pencil with its green metallic stamped typography matching its distinctive green and yellow metal ferrule holding a pink eraser. It writes smoothly and, like all of these pencils, doesn’t smudge. However, it was difficult to erase completely.

Dixon Classmate: Although they are both called Classmate, one appears to be older than the other. The “Leadfast” Classmate writes darker than any of the other Dixon pencils and features a variety of typography and a gold ferrule. I think this one is the worst of the bunch as it is cracked and difficult to sharpen without breaking the lead. However, the eraser on this one does a better job than the newer pencil which smudges. With the Staedtler eraser both erase almost completely.

Dixon Metrico 1910: This pencil is closest to the newer Classmate in paint colour and lead darkness. It completely erases with the Staedtler, but not quite as well with its own eraser.

Ticonderoga Erasable: This pencil doesn’t have a graphite core but is more like a reddish-brown pencil crayon (or coloured pencil). It’s very smooth to write with and I imagine it would quite nice to use for sketching. It has the same ferrule as classic Dixon Ticonderoga. Despite its name, it doesn’t really erase well.

If Dixon pencils were people they would be from an old, established family but be a bit downwardly mobile.

Non-photo (Non-reproducing) Pencils

Non-photo blue (or non-repro blue) is a particular shade of blue used by artists and graphic designers that somehow doesn’t show up on graphic arts camera film. It can also be easily scanned out of images with graphic editing software. This means that sketch lines or notes don’t have to be erased before an image is photographed and sent to be printed. I first heard about this magical colour in cartoonist Lynda Barry’s book Syllabus where she recommended the Staedtler Non-Photo blue pencil as a great tool for sketching. As I have been curious about this colour for awhile, you can imagine my delight when Santa put not only the Staedtler Non-Photo blue pencil in my stocking but a Caran D’Ache one as well. Strangely they are not the same shade, the Caran d’Ache a bit more turquoise and the Staedtler a little darker.

These European made pencils (Staedtler is made in Austria, Caran d’Ache, Switzerland) are both wood-cased and hexagonal in shape and come pre-sharpened. Aside from the colour, the main difference is that the Caran d’Ache has a thicker, softer lead and an eraser at the end. Both erased quite well with just a faint trace of blue left.  

I also happen to have a vintage Multilith Addressograph Multigraph Corporation non-reproducing pencil that I picked up at the ReUse Centre. I couldn’t find much information about this brown pencil. Addressograph-Multigraph were manufacturers of addressing and duplicating machines and must have also made tools needed in the business like this pencil. One of their brands was the Multilith, a small printing machine, similar to a letterpress, that used a form of lithography. The Addressograph and Multigraph companies joined forces in 1932 and were still a going concern in the 1960s but were unable to compete with changes that were coming in the industry. Basically, it was all over for them by the 1980s. The Multilith trademark was registered in 1955 but expired in 1996 so this pencil dates from somewhere in between.

So how did these pencils perform? All the pencil marks were easy to write on top of with a Sharpie, ballpoint, and HB pencil. The Multilith did not erase as well as the blue pencils but still erased better than a regular pencil crayon would have. A modern colour photocopier picked up almost all the marks made by them but using the black and white mode, fine lines made by the blue pencils are less distinct. The non-photo part must only really work using traditional copying methods.

If non-reproducing pencils were people they would be camera shy. The two non-photo blue pencils are neighbours on either side of the Swiss-Austria border. Similar in many ways (artistic and appreciate their alpine views), they love to yodel across the valley to each other. Despite changes in the world, they are still in the market. Unfortunately, life was tougher for the non-reproducing brown pencil. Not as attractive as its European friends, this American lost its job because it couldn’t keep up with technology.

Staedtler Wopex HB Pencil

Some of the regular readers of this blog may think I am obsessed with pencils but actually I don’t really use them that often. It is just that the world seems to be full of pencils and a fair number of them end up on the ground. I think this is why parents are asked to buy so many for school supplies. It isn’t because the children use them up, they just scatter the pencils around. When I saw this poor pencil casualty with its lime green suit just lying in front of me, I had to pick it up. I don’t pick up all broken pencils, some are just too far gone even for me, but I thought this one had potential.

It turned out to be a Staedtler Wopex HB. Staedtler is a German company with a broad range of pencils including the Mars Lumograph, Norica, Triplus, and Rally lines. I haven’t tried the last two but in general, they manufacture good quality products. According to Staedtler the Wopex is “unbelievably break-resistant” so this pencil must have had quite the trauma to end up in this condition.

Introduced in 2009, the Wopex differs from the other Staedtler pencils with its neon colour (aside from green, there are also bright orange and pink ones) and how it is made. Although the Staedtler website makes a big deal about the wood content coming from sustainably sourced wood, this pencil is actually extruded recycled wood and plastic. Its name is a contraction of wood, pencil, and extrusion. In the picture below of the cross-section of the broken off tip you can see that even the lead seems extruded. The paint also has a slightly rubbery texture which isn’t at all unpleasant but the Wopex has none of the old-timey naturalness of graphite encased in wood that a traditional pencil has.

photo by Bruce McIntosh

Once I broke off the dangling tip, it took a fair bit of effort to sharpen it as the composite is harder than natural wood. Performance-wise the Wopex makes a nice sharp line that resists smudging which is good for writing, making it a decent student pencil but a poor art pencil. The white eraser attached with a ribbed silver ferrule does a fair job of erasing the line but there is some ghosting.

If the Wopex pencil was a person it would be a flashy dresser who loves to wear bright synthetics with gold chains. It stands out from the other fans of German techno-pop clad in their all black outfits.

Palomino Blackwing Pencils and Sharpener

Next up in my leaving work goody bag is a lovely box of Palomino Blackwing pencils and a long point sharpener. As the box came with twelve pencils, I would like to give one (plus some other goodies) to a lucky reader. Keep on reading to find out how you could win.

Believe it or not, but the Blackwing is a controversial pencil. From 1934 to 1998, the Eberhard Faber Company manufactured the Blackwing. When these pencils were introduced, long before ballpoint and other cheap pens were available, pencils were in their heyday. They were used daily by professionals such as draftsmen, engineers, and journalists, as well as students, so people noticed quality and found it in the Blackwing. They were known to write smoothly and keep their point. Their attractive hexagonal design with the clamp-like ferrule and matte black paint probably added to their appeal. Author John Steinbeck, animator Chuck Jones, composer Stephen Sondheim, and jazz musicians Duke Ellington and Wynton Marsalis are just a few of the well-known users of the original Blackwing pencils. So when the California Cedar Products Company acquired the Blackwing trademark and began manufacturing pencils modeled after the originals in 2010, some pencil aficionados that had stockpiled supplies of the originals cried foul. This kind of controversy is not unheard of in the stationery world. For example, moleskine notebooks were originally not a brand-name but a kind of traditional oilcloth binding for notebooks. This type of notebook was also very popular with famous artists and authors but couldn’t compete with cheaper, mass-produced notebooks. A company called Modo & Modo began producing Moleskine branded notebooks in 1997 but advertised them as if they were the same as those used by the greats. Of course, stationery products are not the only ones to try to capitalize on nostalgia. The Indian motorcycle brand is another one where a new company has branded their product with an old name.

I don’t have an original Blackwing to compare with so I am just judging it on how it works for me. This pencil does write smoothly however the large metal ferrule and eraser made it a bit top heavy, especially when I tried writing with it for a few pages in my journal. The pencil is longer than average (20 cm, including the eraser) so maybe as it gets shorter, and pencils always do, it will feel more balanced. The eraser did a fairly good job of erasing but I found the black crumb residue a bit messy. I think a regular white vinyl eraser would do a better and neater job. Interestingly, you can get replacement erasers in a variety of colours for the pencil if you use up pencil erasers faster than the pencil.

Along with the pencils, I got a special Palomino-KUM long point pencil sharpener. This pencil sharpener has two holes, not for different sizes of pencils, but to maximize the point. The first hole sharpens the wood and the smaller hole sharpens the graphite.

 

It came with two small replacement blades tucked into the end for when the blades become dulled. I like the opportunity to extend the life of the sharpener.

If this pencil was a person, it would be a celebrity, complete with idiosyncrasies and a fan club. Taller than average, they always wear black with some bling so you never mistake them for someone just as competent but with less fame.

Now for the prize. Personally, I love giveaways so I am offering one of my own. As well as a Palomino Blackwing pencil, I am giving away an assortment sample papers to try it out on including some Rhodia and Canson papers, Kyougi, Japanese stationery, and a penguin paperclip. To win, all you have to do is leave a comment on this blog before June 10. I will make a draw and contact the winner to get your address. Good luck!

Why are pencils yellow?

Last week I mentioned that I had been asked two questions. The second question was why are pencils yellow? My first response is that clearly not all pencils are yellow (please refer to previous pencil blogs blogs part 1 and part 2). My own favourite is the Berol turquoise. However, if you have spent a lot of time in North American classrooms, in a trivial example of confirmation bias, you may be under the impression that pencils are for the most part yellow and there is a reason for that.

Cast your minds back to Paris in 1889, where they celebrated the 100th anniversary of the storming of the Bastille with a world’s fair. The Eiffel tower was built as the entrance arch to the fair and the major attraction was a “Negro village” with 400 people. For pencil lovers however, this fair marked a huge change in the look of pencils. Before this time, pencils had a natural wood finish so you could easily see if there were any imperfections in the wood. The Czech Hardtmuth pencil company wanted consumers to focus on the quality of their graphite which they sourced from Siberia. The marketing geniuses of the time figured that since Siberia bordered China, and yellow was the Emperor’s colour of imperial China, they would paint their pencils yellow. In case people didn’t get the regal reference, they went the extra step to name their pencil “Koh-I-Noor”, the same name as the large diamond Queen Victoria was “gifted”  during the British Raj. Both graphite and diamonds are carbon so maybe it wasn’t such a stretch to name the pencil after a diamond. At any rate, the marketing worked, the pencil was a success, and American pencil companies like Dixon Ticonderoga picked up on it. Even today, generic pencils are often painted yellow.

If yellow pencils were people they would just consider themselves ordinary and never have the curiosity to delve into their family tree to discover their ancestors’ past pretensions of royalty.

Thanks again to Deirdre and Jasmine for the question and to Elisabet for the pictures.