Category: pencils

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IBM Electrographic pencil

IBM Electrographic pencil

Today we have another special treat for pencil talk readers.

The IBM Electrographic is among the most sought after and collectable modern pencils, along with the Blackwing 602 and Blackfeet Indian. It might be the rarest of the three, though one never knows what warehouse stockpiles of pencils may exist.

The pencil was just a small component of a much larger enterprise – IBM’s development of Mark Sense technology. The central idea is the automated (machine) reading of human made marks in a variety of settings, though standardized tests and utility bills seem to have been the most well known areas.

IBM Electrographic pencil

As well as making a black mark, graphite makes a luminescent and electrically conductive mark. That is the basis of the technology. Some readers may have more to contribute in this area, which I would welcome, but I’ll focus here on the pencil. Some links below are suggestions for further reading on the larger technology.

The pencil is round, and finished in black. It has a silver coloured ferrule, and dark pink eraser. The eraser is predictably not useful after several years.

IBM Electrographic pencil

The pencil is embossed with an appropriate font in white, “IBM Electrographic”.

The pencil sharpens easily, and reveals a nice reddish cedar.

The pencil writes exceptionally well. Not just in the way some pencils are a gradient or two smoother or softer than others – there is something unusual in the lead formula which results in an incredibly smooth line. The line also seems much more luminescent or shiny than a regular pencil mark.

The lead does crumble a bit while writing. In outdoor sunlight, the lines seem more shiny than black.

IBM Electrographic pencil

After trying out the pencil, I have no doubt that those proclaiming that there is something special about the IBM Electrograph are correct. Though the pencils may have been created for standardized tests, there is no wonder about why a larger audience of writers quickly adopted them.

The IBM Electrograph is a standout pencil.

Further reading:

IBM 1231 Optical Mark Page Reader (ibm1130.com)

Mark sense (Wikipedia)

IBM 805 Test Scoring Machine (IBM Archives)

Optical mark recognition (Wikipedia)

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Television! (The Conté Television 649 red and blue pencil)

The Conté Television 649 red and blue pencil

Well, I now have a Conté Television 649 red and blue pencil, as well as three other members of the elite red and blue pencil cadre.

The pencils are the Television 649, made by Conté in France, the RotBlauStift 162 00 from Cretacolor, made in Austria, a Koh-I-Noor 3423, origin unstated, and a Castell 873 Color by Faber-Castell, made in Germany.

The RotBlauStift is a regular sized hexagonal pencil, while the other three are oversized hexagonal pencils.

The Conté Television 649 red and blue pencil

A few notes:

– Faber-Castell is definitely the rebel here, eschewing the standard red and blue for their signature forest green. I wish they hadn’t done this. There are occasions when respecting a tradition should trump branding concerns.

– The Koh-I-Noor has exceptionally utilitarian markings, with the name imprinted via something akin to a dot matrix printer.

– The Television’s wood has the same sort of look as the Grip 2001 pencil – jelutong or pulai.

The Conté Television 649 red and blue pencil

As with our previously examined red and blue pencils, there is a range of colours – the Cretaclor is light in both red and blue, the Koh-I-Noor bright and rich in both, and the others somewhere in between.

Here are trial results with the four new pencils:

The Conté Television 649 red and blue pencil

Let’s summarize the main features of the red and blue pencils that we have looked at so far:

Manufacturer Model Shape Oversize Core
Conté Television 649 Hexagonal Yes 4mm
Cretacolor RotBlauStift 162 00 Hexagonal No 2mm
Faber-Castell Castell 873 Color Hexagonal Yes 4mm
Koh-I-Noor 3423 Hexagonal Yes 4mm
Koh-I-Noor Bürofarbstift 62 Hexagonal No 2mm
Musgrave Hermitage Thin 525 Hexagonal No 2mm
Musgrave Harvest Thick 725 Round No 4mm
Prismacolor Verithin 748 Round No 2mm
Schwan-Stabilo Stabilo 8742 Hexagonal No 2mm

These traditional pencils associated with teaching and accounting still have a strong resonance. While the keyboard has supplanted pens and pencils in many areas, it is fascinating that this sub-specialty of the woodcase pencil still continues. All of these pencils shown are in active production by their manufacturers.

The Conté Television 649 red and blue pencil

Further reading:

Red and Blue pencils (February, 2008)

Red and Blue pencils II (March, 2008)

This page at stdk.de, which has documentary quality photographs of several red and blue pencils, plus a list of known red and blue pencils in production.

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Caran d’Ache Grafwood 775 pencil

Caran d'Ache Grafwood 775 pencil

The Caran d’Ache Grafwood pencil is intriguing.

The pencil is a rounded hexagonal shape, a millimetre or two wider than the Technograph.

Caran d'Ache Grafwood 775 pencil

It has a silver finish, with the very interesting feature of the finish colour corresponding to the lead degree – lighter pencils in a lighter silver, and darker pencils in a darker silver. Each pencil degree is slightly different. This is a great feature, and a huge advance over a degree marking (e.g. ‘B’), possibly hard to read, on the pencil. Of course, this comes at a price to the consumer.

These pencils remind me of Derwent’s offerings. I am remiss in not yet having written about a Derwent pencil here, though I regularly use them.

Caran d'Ache Grafwood 775 pencil

Derwent has a ‘Graphic’ line, and a ‘Sketching’ line. The Graphic pencil is hexagonal, in a typical pencil diameter. The Sketching pencil is round, slightly larger, with a larger graphite core. The idea is that the form factor supports rich lines and easy freehand drawing.

The Grafwood is similarly conceived – a larger diameter pencil (though hexagonal), for easy grip and sketching. Visually, it appears to have a larger than standard (i.e. 2mm) core, but I don’t really want to sacrifice one of the few I have just for dissection.

The lead seems to be at least of the same calibre as the Technograph, and possibly better.

Caran d'Ache Grafwood 775 pencil

At a 2B grade, the graphite seems to be much more solid and non-crumbling than the corresponding Derwent pencil, while giving just as dark a line.

I really like these pencils, and I encourage Caran d’Ache to seek more distribution for their products – I haven’t yet seen anything from their graphite pencil line that isn’t first rate.

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Eagle Draughting pencil

Eagle Draughting pencil

The Eagle Draughting pencil is a treasure from the past.

The pencil is round, with a core just over 3mm in diameter.

It has a dark wood stain, and is imprinted:

Made U.S.A. [logo] EAGLE “Chemi*Sealed” Draughting 314

This pencil is absolutely delightful to use – it has a super smooth creamy black lead, with great historic style. The lead does wear down quite quickly, so a nearby sharpener can be handy at times.

Eagle Draughting pencil

I am a bit curious about how it is a “draughting” pencil. More recently (this pencil may be several decades old) a drafting pencil has typically had a hard, faint lead. This would be sold as a pencil for artists, were it sold today.

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Staedtler’s twelve pencils

Staedtler pencils

Staedtler is one of the two leading global pencil manufacturers. I thought it would be interesting to look further at just what their pencil offerings are.

I took a look at the twenty-two national sites referenced by staedtler.com.

Globally, Staedtler offers twelve pencils in four lines. Most European countries get the full range, and the rest of us are offered a subset.

The premiere line, Mars, is composed of the famous Lumograph, and ancillary Stenofix and ergosoft variants. “ergosoft” actually refers to the triangular shaped pencils with rubbery coating – there are other non-Mars ergosoft pencils (Noris, colouring pencils, etc.).

The second line, tradition, is especially interesting, because it is currently being made in both Germany and Australia. The Australian plant also makes a variant with an eraser.

The Noris is the student line, and has six versions.

Finally, the Minerva, whose country of origin isn’t mentioned, is the discount pencil. This is apparently Staedtler’s oldest surviving pencil brand.

I suspect these offerings reflect the importance of children in the marketplace.

Some national sites also show other pencils. Australia and Thailand both have large lists of additional pencils, while the U.S. lists non-repro and non-print pencils from Staedtler Austria. (Which aren’t on the Austrian site.)

While interesting, some pencils – the Norica, the Rally, the Cadet, etc., are not on the wesites as far as I could determine.

By model number, the pencils are:

100 – Mars Lumograph (hexagonal)
101 – Mars stenofix (round)
110 – tradition (hexagonal)
118 – Noris Club triplus (triangular)
119 – Noris Club triplus jumbo (triangular, oversize)
120 – Noris (hexagonal)
122 – Noris (hexagonal, eraser)
130 – minerva (hexagonal)
150 – Mars Ergosoft (triangular, rubber coating)
151 – Mars Ergosoft (triangular, rubber coating, oversize)
152 – Noris Ergosoft (triangular, rubber coating)
153 – Noris Ergosoft (triangular, rubber coating, oversize)

Overall, it is an impressive range. I wonder how many retailers actually carry all twelve pencils?

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