Blog reader Donnie kindly alerted me to an important auction.
The background story is here at the Blackwing Diaries.
The auction is here: http://cgi.ebay.com/ws/eBayISAPI.dll?ViewItem&item=250570325938 and ends February 7th.
The year in pencils, and a few thoughts.
The pencil industry continued to see changes in 2009.
In the US, the last American produced Dixon pencils disappeared from store shelves. Sanford meanwhile announced the end of their US production. (Dixon is owned by FILA, and Sanford is a division of Newell Rubbermaid.) Smaller firms General Pencil of New Jersey and Musgrave of Tennessee remain in business. Suppliers of lacquers, lead cores, bonding agents, ferrules, erasers, and packaging must no doubt also be impacted.
Staedtler has ceased pencil manufacturing in Australia, and also laid off in Malaysia.
Pelikan purchased Herlitz. I think we’re going to see broader offerings from Pelikan in the future. Their woodcase pencils already have footholds in Asia and South America.
The Eberhard Faber trademark was sold by Staedtler to Faber-Castell, the deal closing January 1, 2010. This is really interesting, and Faber-Castell has already stated that new Eberhard Faber products will be shown at the 2010 Paperworld show.
Speaking of Paperworld – something really new happened in 2009 – thanks to blogs like Lexikaliker, Timberlines, and Stationery Diary, many of us got glimpses of the stationery trade shows Paperworld and ISOT. We learned of two new products from Lyra, and the relaunch of the Colleen Pencil Company. The biggest announcement was from pencil industry giant Staedtler, who announced WOPEX, a product and process with the potential to shake up the industry.
From a consumer perspective, we also learned a bit about the time it takes to bring products to market. Very few products announced during the February Paperworld are in the marketplace at year’s end.
More about these pencil highlights – Lyra announced the Groove, a line of colour pencils (and also graphite) with cut out “grooves” to assist with the grip. Even more interesting, they announced the Colorstripe, a triangular shaped colour pencil set with lead exposed along the axis of a pencil.
Colleen is a former Japanese pencil manufacturer, whose brand has been relaunched by a former manager now based in Thailand. They celebrated their relaunch with colour pencils made of teak wood, a most intriguing offering. Just this past month, the former flagship pencil, the Hi-Pierce, was relaunched, including sets in teak wooden boxes.
WOPEX, “Wood Pencil Extrusion”, is an extruded pencil format made principally from wood! It surprises us because Staedtler is possibly introducing their own competitor!
Groove, Colorstripe, Hi-Pierce, and WOPEX pencils will be discussed here in 2010. Their creation tells us that the pencil is still a subject of innovation.
The online world has also continued to keep us educated and informed about pencils. Stalwarts like Dave’s Mechanical Pencils and Lexikaliker have been supplemented by PenciLog.
Manufacturers and retailers have not forgotten the public either. There is an increasing online presence from manufacturers and retailers of stationery items. My advice: don’t constantly push and sell. Rather, educate and inform. Share insights and knowledge. This will draw in more people (and keep them better engaged) than being in constant sales mode.
Online retailers continue to be an important source of supply for those interested in quality pencils. In particular, I have to salute Bundoki.com for their excellent service, wide range of products, and commitment to providing the world’s best stationery items. I also like the service provided by Skripta-Paris in France and Nota Bene in Canada.
Let’s see what 2010 brings!
Field Notes and a Bullet Pencil
Internet sensation Field Notes probably need no introduction. Seen here with another agrarian rooted stationery supply – the bullet pencil – the notebooks are quirky, fun, and useful.
What they don’t tell you is that these alternate versions like “Just Below Zero” don’t just have different colour covers – they have different colour rulings!
To all those celebrating, have a great Christmas!
Kirin Thermo-Pencil
Snow, ice, and the temperature can be frequent topics of conversation in December.
This temperature talk reminded me of an interesting pencil from Kirin, a smaller Japanese pencil manufacturer.
The rectangular pencil has a small thermometer attached.
The side of the pencil is marked:
Kirin Japan/Japon NEC-42 HB
The finish is very nice – a very thick clear lacquer. I’d love to see a more mainstream pencil from Kirin with this finish.
The shape makes sharpening and holding the pencil less than ideal, in my view.
The temperature strip indicates the pencil does warm up from being held in one’s hand:
A most unusual novelty pencil.
Camlin Drawing Pencils
Camlin is a leading pencil manufacturer of India with origins dating back to 1931. Their products are not available in Canada or anywhere close, and I would like to express my gratitude to hemmant for sending these pencils to me. (hemmant, I love the urban grittiness of the Chicago “L” train. I’ve taken it but once.)
The pencils are marked “Finest Crystalline Graphite Lead.” The box has a line drawing of a camel, the pencils have just text markings.
The varnish is a camouflage pattern – I think Camlin is an innovator here. The pencils (six) are in B, 2B, 4B, 5B, 6B, and 8B grades. The 6B and 8B pencils are larger in diameter.
I think they are of reasonable quality – the lead is not the smoothest, but sharpening is easy, the finish is unique, and the range of leads a pleasure to work with.
Certainly they have some unique qualities, and I recommend trying them if your path should cross this Camel’s track.
Two more black dyed pencils
Here are the plainest black dyed pencils we’ve yet seen.
From Kirin, a smaller Japanese manufacturer, is the Black Pal. It features a black ferrule and black eraser.
As well, a no-name pencil with no markings, with an unfinished cap.
The Kirin has a much nicer lead, but the pencil’s appearance and handling are diminished by a prominent seam down the pencil’s side.
Both are nice overall, and embrace the all-black appearance even further than the pencils we’ve previously looked at.
See also: