Archive for the 'pencils' Category

Rotring woodcase pencil

Monday, November 17th, 2008

Here is a curiosity: a woodcase pencil marked Germany rOtring HB=2.
Rotring the brand lives on as part of the Sanford empire, and seems to have regional product lines - one in Europe, one in Japan. And perhaps others?
The wood seems extremely pinkish, beyond cedar - a chemical wood treatment? The lead is also very […]

Mitsubishi 10B pencils: the brush pencil (fude enpitsu) and the Hi-uni

Friday, November 14th, 2008

Congratulations to the venerable Mitsubishi Pencil Company (founded in 1887) on the occasion of the fiftieth anniversary of the Uni pencil brand!
This anniversary was publicly marked last month with press releases and some new products - a pencil holder that we’ll look at in a future post, and an extension of the range of the […]

General’s 206H Jumbo Clutch Holder & Layout Stick

Wednesday, November 12th, 2008

We’ve seen that mechanical pencils and leadholders can use graphite in a wide range of diameters. Here is one of the extremes, the “Jumbo Clutch Holder & Layout Stick” from the General Pencil Company in the U.S.

The packaging says this graphite stick can be used for “drawing, sketching, creating negative space and for covering large […]

FILA 795 BE Red and Blue Pencil

Tuesday, November 11th, 2008

The FILA 795 BE is contained in a box whose artwork has a simple yet powerful portrait.

The details are striking - the red factory windows, the carefully rendered plumes of smoke, the uber-smokestack that is a red and blue pencil, and FILA’s name in red and blue.

Bravissimo!

Presidential pencils

Monday, November 3rd, 2008

Click for larger image
This is a pencil set from the past - a promotional set featuring American presidents. As I understand it, a set like this was sent as a bonus to those who returned coupons and promotional offers contained in 1960s products such as Clorox Bleach.

The set also contains a booklet, “The Book of […]

Third Anniversary of Pencil Talk

Saturday, November 1st, 2008

Today marks this blog’s third anniversary!
Thank you to the many readers who have made this possible.

Happy Hallowe’en!

Friday, October 31st, 2008

Happy Hallowe’en!
This year, neighborhood kids will be getting a few Hallowe’en pencils. (Don’t worry, I’m not cruel - this is in addition to the usual chocolates and such.)
The themed pencils came from a promotional offer at pencils.com.

Spielen & Lernen 2008

Wednesday, October 29th, 2008

I’m not sure how a German language pencil catalogue landed at a “Sears” store in Canada, but so be it. This is Faber-Castell’s catalogue for their children’s line.
Here are a few interesting things I noticed:
* Several varieties/extensions of the “Grip” line - including a compass, and several colour pencil sets.
* A Jumbo Grip variant with […]