Pottery Barn pencil

Here is a giant novelty pencil found at the Pottery Barn store, along with a regular pencil for comparison.

The photo was taken during the summer.

Here’s that same picnic bench a few days ago:

Its been a tough winter.

The Wallace Invader pencil

Wallace Invader pencil

Does anyone remember these?

I have only one in HB, and a few in F.

It has that classic unrounded hexagonal shape. The varnish hasn’t completely survived though the decades, but the pencil’s writing ability is unimpaired.

Wallace Invader pencil

Dixon purchased Versailles, Missouri based Wallace in 1982.

Tortoise Lead Pointer

Tortoise Lead Pointer

Image used courtesy of isu at the uncomfortable chair.

The Tortoise Lead Pointer is a remarkable all-in-one unit for blade sharpening of leads. It can handle:

1.18mm: Traditional mechanical pencils (pre-1950?), and today, Yard-O-Led, some Autopoint, and some Retro 51 pencils.

2.0mm: A standard lead diameter.

3.15mm: A standard lead diameter.

3.8mm: Less common – used by the Pilot Croquis, and some Koh-I-Noor models.

5.6mm: A standard lead diameter.

Two sharpening angles are offered for 2.0mm leads.

I like the playful name, the design, and the focus on the leadholder culture. Though there are individual sharpeners and lead pointers on the market, I have never seen such an all-in-one unit. I look forward to getting one.

The product can be purchased at bundoki.com.

The design behind the product is thanks to U5 Architects Unit.

Please see the review and additional photos at the uncomfortable chair.

Staedtler Mars Lumograph EE update

Staedtler Mars Lumograph 100 in grade EE

With thanks to Staedtler staff in Canada, Germany, and Thailand, there is further news on the EE grade pencil.

After the EB and EE grades were withdrawn, Staedtler Malaysia continued making those versions for their market, with graphite cores supplied from Germany. This production ended in 2005.

Staedtler Mars Lumograph 100 in grade EE

At present, some of the 8B pencils made in Germany are stamped EE for the Asian market. Staedtler still makes the EE grade pencil!

The photos show a box of the former EE from Staedtler Malaysia.

Related posts:

Soft Lead Pencils

The hunt for the EE grade pencil