Made by the FILA Group, these pencils from subsidiary brands appear to be roughly the same. They are made at FILA’s main plant in China, and sold under established national brand names. Very established brand names – LYRA (Germany) dates from 1806, and Dixon (USA) from 1795. FILA itself is a relative newcomer, established in 1920.
The Dixon Ticonderoga seems to be the model for the others. It looks just like predecessor versions, minus the “U.S.A.”
The FILA Temagraph is an established brand, but it has been redesigned to resemble the Ticonderoga. The version with an eraser is pretty much a Ticonderoga clone. The one without eraser has an interesting metal cap, with the grade in large letters. It carries on the Ticonderoga ferrule look in an alternate form.
The newest of the bunch is the LYRA Temagraph. The cap has a splash of colour, and is part of a scheme used by other LYRA pencils such as the Robinson. Though the box says the pencil is made in China, the pencil itself is stamped “Germany”.
Though they look roughly alike, the pencils seem to have different cores.
Are there others in this series? Do you like what FILA has achieved with this pencil line?
Update: November 18, 2010 There is indeed at least one more! Please see AMOS DIXON Ticonderoga at Bleistift.
