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Dixon Ticonderoga tri-write pencil
Does Dixon still make pencils in the United States? It is very hard to say, but here are some “Made in U.S.A.” “tri-write” pencils found just last week at a Grand and Toy store here in Canada! They appear to be new, and are sold in a cardboard/plastic package of eight.
The cynic in me wonders if perhaps American Ticonderogas are still made, but solely for export! My impression is that the lead is significantly higher quality than other recently found Ticonderogas. They also sport a more traditional appearance! 6 comments to Dixon Ticonderoga tri-write pencil |
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Interesting, I’ll post something if I run across any Tri-writes that say “Made in the USA”. Those other Ticonderoga noir pencils are a joke to me.
I have a eight-pack of tri-writes that says “Made in U.S.A.” (twice). The lead seems better than that of the black Ticonderoga (the one with a flat black finish, not the Noir pencil, which I’ve never tried).
I suspect that any Ticonderogas marked “Made in USA” are just ‘new old stock’ that are working their way through the system. All the Ticonderogas I see now in the big box office supply stores (Office Depot, Staples, etc) and at Walmart here in the US are the non USA pencils.
Though its possible that they haven’t moved production of the Tri-writes to Mexico yet….
I’m fairly sure they are NOS like Steve pointed out. I found a couple boxes of USA made Ticonderogas (not the tri-writes) at the Office Depot in Ford City Mall in Chicago a few months ago.
Can’t say I like them any more than the Mexico made Ticonderogas I bought two years ago (although the quality of the mexico made stuff has fallen since then in my opinion)
This is definitely NOS. Dixon closed the Versailles, MO factory within one year of the 2004 acquisition by FILA. The equipment was moved to Mexico except for some equipment that moved to Atlanta area just to handle their promotional pencil business. No wood working is performed by Dixon in the US any longer.
Most Ticonderogas for the US market are now made in Mexico. Dixon’s Beijing Factory supplies Canada & Europe primarily with Dixon and Fila branded items, although this factory received a favorable anti-dumping ruling about a year ago so certain items may on occasion ship from China.
Since the recent acquisition of Lyra this past summer they have determined the German factory production for this brand will move to China, though many of the Lyra products were already produced in Indonesia on a sub-contract basis.
I bought a pack of Dixon Ticonderoga #2’s this weekend. My eyesight is not what it used to be (44 yrs old) so when I got home was when I first noticed the “Made in China” stamp on the box. Nothing against the fine people of China, (and I have a very good quality drum set from a Chinese company, made in China, nicely machined and great-sounding) but for what reasons do the owners of these companies think people by their products anyway? I’ve been using the Dixon Ticonderoga since my third grade teacher swapped our big fat pencils for regular-sized ones. Not a grand amount of emotional attachment, really, but doesn’t this describe brand loyalty to someone? Anyway, I’ll never buy another DT again. Those pencils went in the trash. Thanks for letting me vent.