pencil talk | pencil reviews and discussion
exploring the art and science of pencils since 2005
A vintage blotter or advertising card for Dixon Ticonderoga. The Scottish bagpiper (bagpenciler?) character is reminiscent of Canadian Tire money and Sandy McTire.
The Plymouth Building was demolished in 1965 according to Winnipeg Buildings. The six digit phone number might be another guide to dating the ad.
Nice desk accessories can bring some joy to daily tasks.
Posing with my morning newspaper are two letter openers. One is from Graf von Faber-Castell, and the other from E+M Holzprodukte.
The GvFC letter opener has a beautiful leather handle and considerable heft.
The E+M letter opener continues that company’s beautiful Zebrano wood writing implement line.
The GvFC letter opener has an engraving:
Also, a possible opportunity for custom engraving on the cap:
One of the most referenced posts at this blog was on a pencil series made from multiple species of wood by the former Colleen Pencil Co. One of the regular subjects of direct queries to the blog, the top question is “Where can I buy a set?” Unfortunately, the pencils were never available for retail sale, and Colleen has been out of business for many years.
The appeal of the pencils has led me to some informal discussions with pencil companies about what would be involved in creating a new set. What I’ve heard is that using alternate species would be technically challenging, and possibly damaging to carefully tuned pencil manufacturing equipment. For a niche product, even an investigation might not be worthwhile.
Yet, one major manufacturer seems to have had a renewed interest in testing their ability to make truly beautiful and amazing pencils from exotic wood species. This year, Caran d’Ache unveiled Les crayons de la maison Caran d’Ache, a series of pencils made from Titanium Oak, Macassar Ebony, Lati Gray, and American Walnut.
A note about the photo – I had already used all four pencils before taking photos, so that isn’t the factory sharpening we see.
If you love beautiful pencils, I cannot imagine that you would not find these amazing. My personal favourite is the Walnut pencil. I enjoyed using it to take notes, and felt quite aware that it has a dual identity – an undeniable luxury, yet still, just a woodcase pencil.
A review at Lexikaliker pointed out some technical shortcomings such as off-centred lead. I didn’t observe this in my pencils, and in any case I believe the achievement in creating an Oak or Walnut pencil is such that I’ll forgive small flaws.
L. to R.: Ebony, Lati, Walnut, Oak
Yes, I have sharpened one (so far), the Macassar Ebony, using a handheld M+R:
Highly recommended for all pencil aficionados.
An icon of the pencil world not yet featured by this blog is the Caran d’Ache Pencil Sharpening Machine. A sturdy all metal desktop sharpener, the product has been in production for eighty years. In honour of that anniversary, Caran d’Ache issued a limited edition of 1933 in a matte black finish.
It’s a beauty.
Some of the packaging:
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Inserts and accessories:
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Compared to other desktop sharpeners, the function is very simple.
A drawer for the shavings.
Three jaws.
A Tombow Mono 100 was chosen to be the first test subject.
The results are surprising and practical – a blunt point and an overall shape similar to what a handheld sharpener would deliver.
The lack of art and craft in the packaging of modern stationery is regularly lamented at this blog. A manufacturer who is bucking the trend is Viarco, who have launched a new carbon pencil that is beautifully housed.
A set of six pencils are wrapped with paper and tightly bound with string at both ends. This is historically accurate, but with a new design and product.
The cores constitute a large proportion of the pencil, with the wood slats being unusually hollowed out:
Sharpened:
“Carbon” can signify a range of ingredients. This pencil is very waxy – the core can be indented with a fingernail. If you think of the brittle characteristics of vine or willow charcoal, it is the opposite, while being in the same broad family. On Strathmore Charcoal paper:
I salute Viarco for paying attention to the little details that many of us treasure.
This visitor carries a Noris colour pencil:
The left foot has the Staedtler logo:
My thanks to Gail from Staedtler for sending this visitor my way.