Pencils

Vintage pencils make math and crossword puzzles way more fun. Take this Sheaffer 400 pencil for example. It is an early devotee of the .9mm lead. You advance and retract it with a simple twist of the tail cap. It has some wear from use, but most of us do after 80 years. The worst of it is a few little scratches in the nose cone, which you can see in the photo. The carmine red pattern is one of the rarer color schemes from this era. The clip is on tightly. It no longer has its eraser, but it comes with a spare lead. 13.3cm.

We aren't sure what Conklin called this pinstriped pencil made of rolled gold, but it is a very handsome taste of the 1920s. It is marked "Patented July 6, 1920." We suspect is was made a couple years later. This pen is a little more slender than the 4B and 5V models, but it is the same length. New Old Stock, it is dent and damage free. Twist the nose cone to advance and retract the 1.1mm lead. Pull off the tail blind cap to reveal a hardened eraser. Unscrew the eraser to reveal some spare leads. 13.3cm capped.

Roaring back into the light from the 1920s is this sterling silver Waterman pencil with the Sheraton design. It is new old stock with minimal traces of wear. The lead advances with a twist of the plastic nose cone. None of these pencils actually retracts the lead when twisting the other way. It needs to be pushed in. However, the lead seems pretty snug in the pencil. Unscrew the tail cap to reveal the spare leads. 13.1cm capped.