Made by the FILA Group, these pencils from subsidiary brands appear to be roughly the same. They are made at FILA’s main plant in China, and sold under established national brand names. Very established brand names – LYRA (Germany) dates from 1806, and Dixon (USA) from 1795. FILA itself is a relative newcomer, established in 1920.

The Dixon Ticonderoga seems to be the model for the others. It looks just like predecessor versions, minus the “U.S.A.”

The FILA Temagraph is an established brand, but it has been redesigned to resemble the Ticonderoga. The version with an eraser is pretty much a Ticonderoga clone. The one without eraser has an interesting metal cap, with the grade in large letters. It carries on the Ticonderoga ferrule look in an alternate form.

The newest of the bunch is the LYRA Temagraph. The cap has a splash of colour, and is part of a scheme used by other LYRA pencils such as the Robinson. Though the box says the pencil is made in China, the pencil itself is stamped “Germany”.

Though they look roughly alike, the pencils seem to have different cores.

Are there others in this series? Do you like what FILA has achieved with this pencil line?

Update: November 18, 2010 There is indeed at least one more! Please see AMOS DIXON Ticonderoga at Bleistift.

Does anyone remember the Dixon Oriole?

The official product page calls them a “first-rate commercial grade woodcase pencil offered at an economical price”.

Hmmm, “commercial grade”.

Well I ordered them online after finding a store that had some older US made stock. Or so I thought. I should have known what was coming – the photo and description were out of date, and I was sent newer Chinese made Orioles.

Unfortunately, the pencils seem quite third rate to me – the lead is very scratchy and rough, and the paint finish on some has ridges of bubbles which go beyond being a cosmetic problem – they make the pencil uncomfortable to grip. I do like the font.

Am I being harsh? Perhaps they aren’t meant for writing. They are certainly fine for rough marking purposes.

So about the sharpener. From Möbius + Ruppert we have a three hole sharpener in unfinished aluminum. Each opening has a different length blade. What is this sharpener for?

Take a look at this post at the Bundoki Stationery blog. I’m obviously not the only person amused or confused.

With the Oriole, I got a reasonable result in one opening, a lead corkscrew effect in another, and the third would not sharpen the pencil at all. (See top photo.)

Does anyone know the story behind this sharpener?

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!

Here are a couple of oversize pencils from Dixon – the Laddie and Beginners.

The Beginners in particular seems to make people laugh when they see it. There is definitely something amusing about it. It looks just like a regular Ticonderoga, except that it is round and almost twice the diameter. The Laddie is somewhere between the regular and Beginners pencils.

Where there is a Laddie, there is often a Lassie, but I couldn’t find that brand offered.

The Beginners box says, “The Perfect Oversized Beginner Pencil”, while the Laddie claims to be “The Perfect Intermediate Beginner Pencil.”

The boxes also have a faux seal stating “Teacher Preferred”.

A ring with smaller text states, “Tradition & Quality Since 1795.”

Not in pencils of course – Dixon was making stove polish and crucibles back than. This mention of the company’s year of origin strikes me as just a bit curious.

The boxes indicate the pencils are made in Mexico.

They sharpen easily, but the lead seems not to match that of modern Ticonderogas, and is somewhat scratchier in my testing. That’s too bad, as these pencils won’t be offering the best experience for the children who use them.

Has Dixon gone too far in extending the Ticonderoga brand?

Fort Ticonderoga has played a part in French, British, and especially American history. It played a landmark role in the American revolution. The Ticonderoga pencil has been named and marketed such that its identity is inextricably bound with this history. Dixon, dating from the 18th century, was itself a part of American history. Some would call the Dixon Ticonderoga successful branding.

So when Dixon releases a pencil like the Ticonderoga Noir, a Made in China garish fluorescent silver finish pencil with black dyed wood, I have to ask, have they strayed too far from the Ticonderoga brand and tradition? If they felt they had to release such a pencil, did they have to do it in the Ticonderoga name?

Am I being too harsh? Do you like this pencil? Would you buy it?

A dozen vintage Dixon pencils.

They are marked:

Leadfast PAT. 1927142 Made in U.S.A. Dixon Ticonderoga 1395 No. 2 ⁵/₁₀

A cardboard holder has an illustration of Fort Ticonderoga, and the slogan “A Dixon Pencil For Every Use”.

US Patent 1927142 was issued on September 19, 1933, for the eraser/ferrule combination.

They don’t make them like this anymore!

Found in a drawer – nine yellow office pencils, sharpened and ready to use.

The pencils are marked:

1. Czechoslovakia Bohemia Works Deluxe 1380 HB
As Czechoslovakia split up in 1993, this pencil is an interesting historical item. I seem to recall Bohemia Works pencils being available some years ago.

2. Roundedge Grand & Toy HB
Dating from the 1880s, Grand & Toy used to be the leading Canadian office supply chain. They still exist, but are now owned by the OfficeMax chain. Today, nearly all hexagonal pencils have rounded edges, but I’m wondering if this line was introduced at a time when the name may have been a selling point.

3. Province of Ontario HB
A government office pencil that went astray?

4. Canada Dixon System 2500 – HB
It sounds like a fictional mainframe computer to me – the “System 2500″.

5. Canada Berol Valor 131 B
There is a Shaeffer Valor pen on the market, but I was unaware of this pencil brand.

6. FaberCastell American 2 (Also the impression “U.S.A. Bonded”)
I believe the brand still exists in the Sanford lineup. This pencil would be post-Eberhard Faber, pre-Sanford in the timeline. Note that “FaberCastell” is styled as a single word.

7. Eagle Mirado 174 HB (The reverse has the impression “Procede “Chemi-Sealed” R Bonded Canada”)
The Mirado name is of course still around today.

And two pencils are duplicated.

So we have one pencil from the former Czechoslovakia, one from the US, and three from the Canadian subsidiaries of US firms. An interesting assortment.

On a recent trip to a department store, I found an unusual pencil offering – “Ticonderoga Antimicrobial Pencils with Microban antimicrobial product protection.” The package additionally says “Microban protection inhibits the growth of odor and stain causing bacteria.”

The colour is hard for me to describe, but a hospital influenced muted grey seems roughly correct. It is certainly a pencil colour I’ve never seen before. Not too appealing, I would say.

The pencils are simply marked “Dixon Ticonderoga 2 HB”. The package reveals that the pencils are made in Mexico.

A quick search reveals that Microban is a chemical treatment that will prohibit microbial growth. The health and safety benefits of antimicrobial products have been regularly questioned, and I note that Dixon was quite restrained in claiming any safety benefits on the package. Still, I think there is an unambiguous implicit message in such products: keep safe from those nasty germs!

I’m usually happy to find a new pencil, but learning of this product doesn’t produce any sort of joy for me.

Will this be a popular back-to-school pencil with worried parents? Do you welcome the antimicrobial Ticonderoga? Would you buy it yourself?

Some fear a decline in quality. But what are they worried about? Check the back of the package:

The package had NAFTA-friendly trilingual (English, French, Spanish) labelling, and revealed that the pencils were made in Mexico. The two-hole sharpener has a crown emblem on the German made blades, while the plastic body hails from China.

In a triangular shape, the diameter is midway between it’s three sided cousins, the Ergosoft and the Jumbo Grip.

The pencil surface is rubbery, like the Ergosoft. It comes unsharpened, and has gold stamping on one side. There is a distinctive Ticoderoga style ferrule, with a black eraser.

Since it requires a less common large hole sharpener, the included sharpener is an appreciated addition.

In one’s hand, it is indeed grippy. I did find the large stamping to be a drawback, and that side of the pencil side is noticeably rougher and less pleasant to hold. The larger size may require some adjustment, and didn’t feel quite right to me.

On paper, the HB lead, which appears to be a normal diameter core, seemed just a bit scratchier and lighter than an Ergosoft or a regular Ticonderoga pencil in HB.

It is a unique contribution, and the first Mexican pencil that I’m aware of owning. It gets points for design and appearance, and choosing a mid-size diameter creates an excellent new offering.

Despite these pluses, the lead quality makes it not quite as good as the Ergosoft as an actual pencil.

Let’s hope Dixon will upgrade the lead core to be (at minimum) equal to that of their regular diameter pencils.