Category: pencils

In February, we looked at steno pencils from Staedtler and Faber-Castell.

It turns out that there is at least one more steno pencil in the marketplace, the Hardtmuth “Steno” 550, made in Austria.

With a smooth dark 2B lead, it is a contender, though the pencil appearance may not be everyone’s choice.

A very interesting story appears in the Financial Times about the plans of high end pen maker Pelikan.

Faber-Castell, Montblanc, and enterprises in North America and China are said to be on Pelikan’s acquisition list, though no transactions are confirmed. Pelikan itself may be going private.

LINK: Pelikan in talks with Texas Pacific Group

This is the second post in a series on the pencils of Korea.

Dong-a is Korea’s oldest pencil maker, established in 1946. The Hongdangmoo Office Pencil is a basic offering, and I am told that it is the most common office pencil in Korea. It is not clear to me if it is manufactured in Korea.

A few notes:

– It does have a slightly larger diameter than the Hankook Sharp.

– The eraser seemed exceptionally good for a pink/red eraser. In fact, it is an excellent eraser by any measure. I’m not sure how they did it.

– The wood appeared to be cedar, and the pencil easily sharpened. The top photo shows an attempt with the KUM Long Point.

– The lead is much scratchier than that of the Hankook Sharp.

Overall, I think the choice between the Hankook Sharp and the Dong-a Hongdangmoo is a tough one.

How a lead gets in a pencil is one of life’s minor mysteries. Or is it?

There are several online sites, books (some for children), and even DVDs detailing the process. But different people learn in different ways, and I think the “How a pencil is made” kit from General Pencil hits the mark for many of us, containing actual raw pencil materials at various stages of construction that we can handle and examine.

Sold in a cardboard box, the kit contains a raw slat, unglued grooved slats (one with leads), a glued and unfinished slat set, a glued and partially constructed slat set, a raw pencil, a finished pencil, and some contributing materials – eraser plug, ferrule, and graphite, clay, and wax samples, and a poster from the Incense Cedar Institute detailing the manufacturing steps.

I think it’s a great kit, and appreciate that it has been offered to the public. The standardization of the cedar slat is one of the forces that propelled the pencil industry forward. Seeing and handling a slat has, at least for me, been much more enjoyable than looking at a printed or online diagram.

Let’s also mention – those interested in the pencil manufacturing process have much more complex questions – they want to know the chemical composition of the lead, the species and origin of the wood. They want to know what’s in the glue and the paint. No secrets like that are given away here.

The kit is definitely recommended for those interested in a unique pencil item.