Comments on: Pencil extenders – not a gimmick!

By: David O.

David O. — Sat, 08 Jan 2011 19:17:34 +0000

When taking a picture of the bullet pencils, I decided to also take an image of the two older extenders I received with other mechanical pencil ebay purchases (see details above, March 8, 2010 post). I took the chain out of the Western Union extender. The designs are very simple, but they do the job.

http://i628.photobucket.com/albums/uu10/dcoliver88/PencilExtendersOld_Jan72011_tr.jpg

By: David O.

David O. — Sat, 08 Jan 2011 05:28:26 +0000

Yep, I think you nailed it. It appears that the name was still in use at least until the mid-1980′s. I’m guessing that the extender dates from before 1950. I can try to take a picture of it and the other older one I have.

By: Bob S. in Phoenix, AZ

Bob S. in Phoenix, AZ — Fri, 07 Jan 2011 20:27:19 +0000

For David O.:

Presumably “W.U.Tel.Co.” is “Western Union Telegraph Company”

By: David O.

David O. — Fri, 07 Jan 2011 16:47:10 +0000

Just last night, I bought two different ones at Hobby Lobby, as I was nearby. I got “The Miser” pencil extender by General Pencil (noted above) and the Derwent 2 pack (see “Pencil Me In” above).

The Derwent package contains a black extender for normal diameter pencils, and a silver metal cased one for larger diameter pencils. I could see the Derwent as being very comfortable to use, but need to give the traditional General version (like the images above) a try as well.
The General “Miser” also comes with a short pencil, and I agree about the scent. The pencil has a very strong cedar smell after sharpening.

This link contains an image of the Derwent package:
http://www.jerrysartarama.com/discount-art-supplies/drawing-tools/derwent-pencil-extender.htm

I asked my wife which one she thought was made in the U.S. vs. China and she guessed right in both cases.

These new purchases will join my much older, more plain extenders that I ended up with along with various mechanical pencil ebay purchases some years ago.

By: Gunther

Gunther — Fri, 07 Jan 2011 07:24:17 +0000

I have also tried numerous extenders and found many traditional ones almost useless. My favourites are the STAEDTLER 900 25, Rosetta, ITO-YA and Alvin.

By: penciladmin

penciladmin — Fri, 07 Jan 2011 01:39:28 +0000

Thank you, Pencil Me In and Shane. This post is now over five years old! Other extenders have been occasionally looked at, and a review of the subject is an excellent idea. To me, the traditional ones shown above are unusable once you've tried the modern products. I really like the Ito-ya model, and many others praise the Staedtler 900 25. The links provided by James show some other excellent examples.

By: Shane

Shane — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 22:37:33 +0000

Here are the Alvin extenders/holders:
http://www.alvinco.com/shopping/family_sale_0_familyid_13793_cat_209

I have used one like this for years and love it. Hopefully the Alvins are easier to get (haven’t found where to buy them yet.)

By: Pencil Me In

Pencil Me In — Thu, 06 Jan 2011 19:48:32 +0000

There are some relatively new, inexpensive, lightweight aluminum pencil extenders available from Alvin and Derwent – the Alvins accommodate the standard-diameter pencils, the Derwents offer a version for standard-diameter and another for larger-diameter pencils. They’re definitely not luxury items, but quite functional. Both holders are hollow to their very end, so one need not work with a pencil that’s too short to use comfortably but too long once in an extender. Their knurled a screw-clutch holds the pencil tightly enough to sharpen it while still in the extender, and makes for a better grip on the pencil as well. The Alvin extenders come in an assortment of colors, which I find quite useful for identifying which hardness of pencil is in there when I’m using an assortment of graphite pencils, since the extender covers the designation mark. The Derwents are attractive, but come in only one color per size. Perhaps these might be a subject for a future post?

By: David O.

David O. — Mon, 08 Mar 2010 06:32:35 +0000

I’d forgotten that I had two of these things. It may be more handy to have that I had thought. I got them with a bunch of older pens & pencils in an ebay buy. The first is marked” “Dixon Pencil Extender – 453″. It has a simple friction fit. The 2nd one is all metal (also friction) and has a chain, like it was worn around the neck. It is stamped “W.U.Tel.Co”

By: James

James — Fri, 05 Mar 2010 23:29:33 +0000

There are very good quality pencil extenders by Rosetta of Italy available here: http://www.ipenstore.com/servlet/the-Rosetta-cln-Pencil-Extender/Categories. I like them so much I’ve already bought 8 of them. They have an excellent clamping mechanism, and I really like their “heft”. The various colors available are helpful in differentiating my drawing pencils so that the flow of work is not interrupted, something I really appreciate. I’ve placed a couple of orders at ipenstore.com, and the service has been uniformly excellent.

There are even more extenders to drool over here: http://www.pencils.jp/product-list/4 , many of them very expensive, and some (like the Staedler) can be bought elsewhere for less. I have not purchased anything from this website (yet!) so I can’t comment on their service.

By: Kevin

Kevin — Sat, 21 Mar 2009 09:55:54 +0000

Unfortunately the designs shown here with a clamping ring are near impossible to use because this is exactly where you grip the pencil extender. The Japanese Kutsuwa 2 piece extenders are much better – there really is no comparison.

By: Brian Phipps

Brian Phipps — Thu, 17 Jul 2008 18:35:56 +0000

I recently bought a pencil holder under the Alvin name and it’s a great idea. What about pencil caps? Have you had any? I’m wondering if they are any good.