The lowly pencil. Can be very rare indeed!

[Bisquitlips]

One of the things that I have always enjoyed are pencils. In the world of fine writing instruments, pencils have a niche following and there are some really very fine examples out there which I will refer to at the end of this post.

The connoisseurs of fine pencils are are a rare group and fine pencils are even rarer. This is especially true when collecting MB limited edition in this variety.

For example, the Hemingway. There were no Hemingway pencils created.

The Agatha Christie consisted of 23,000 FPs, 18,000 BPs, and only 7,000 pencils. To make this pencil even rarer, the only way you could acquire one was in the 3 piece set, of course which on 7,000 were made! It is very difficult to collect the MB Agatha pencil by itself as most collectors will not break up the set. I was lucky enough to get one, but it took me over 8 years of watching and wishing.

The MB Dumas. 15,000 FPs, 11,000 BPs and 9,000 MPs. of the 9,000 only 4,000 were sold outside the 3 piece sets. If you are a MB collector, you know that when the Dumas was created it was originally issued with the wrong signature (Signature of the son and not the father, both named Alexandre), and so MB had to do a hasty recall making any of the pencils with the wrong signature on them EXTREMELY rare. I also was able to acquire one of these and was very lucky to do so.

So, with this in mind, don't forget the lowly pencil. If you would like to research more about rare MB pencils go here: http://www.montblanc.com/products/34.php and then click on "Collectors Information".

Here are some photos of really nice pencils that may whet your interest.

Faber Castell. "The Perfect Pencil" (No really. That's its name!)







More Faber Castell





Montblanc Dumas



Montblanc Agatha

[Omega_Precision]

Very cool pencils....I wish I had something like that, back in drafting class.

[shandy]

Thanks Richard. I have a faber castell e-motion dar wood pencil. I love the rich dark soft led they use, ideal for jotting down phone numbers or sketching.
What I would like to get hold of is in line with my Avatar.

Henry David Thoreau's Father as you probably know manufactured pencils and Henry developed a superior led mixture with graphite and local clay that made the pencils highly sought after, boy oh boy to get my hands on one of those!

[Flaxmoore]

I blow through pencils too quick for anything fancy- Dixon Ticonderoga 1288-2 for me. The US-made ones are premium, and I hoard those when I can find them, as the new Chinese ones just aren't as good.

[East Bay Rider]

My wife gave me this (bordeaux) Montblanc pencil for our anniversary this year. I work in an engineering office so there's not much use for pen but the pencil lives in my daily planner and I get a kick out of using it each time.
The color is amazing. I was using it in a meeting this week and the sun was shining through the window and it was actually distracting. Distracted by a pencil? Yeah, I'm over the top.

[Bisquitlips]

Originally Posted by East Bay Rider

My wife gave me this (bordeaux) Montblanc pencil for our anniversary this year. I work in an engineering office so there's not much use for pen but the pencil lives in my daily planner and I get a kick out of using it each time.
The color is amazing. I was using it in a meeting this week and the sun was shining through the window and it was actually distracting. Distracted by a pencil? Yeah, I'm over the top.

I will totally agree that using my pens at work is very satisfying. Makes work / meetings something special to me and more than once there has been distraction brought on by a really nice FP being un-pocketed.

[Lion]

Richard, I have many of my father's old drafting pencils which look like ordinary pencils(they are not fancy) but they have an aluminum(I believe)tip which you unscrew and place a lead(of any hardness-H or softness-B) down the barrel of and then screw down the tip to hold the lead. If these sound interesting I will track them down and give you more information!!!

[Bisquitlips]

Originally Posted by Lion

Richard, I have many of my father's old drafting pencils which look like ordinary pencils(they are not fancy) but they have an aluminum(I believe)tip which you unscrew and place a lead(of any hardness-H or softness-B) down the barrel of and then screw down the tip to hold the lead. If these sound interesting I will track them down and give you more information!!!

Yes. Post a photo or two. I would enjoy seeing them.

My father had the same kind. I wish I would have been smart enough to keep them.

[datejust1]

Wow!! I want one of those!

[Deep Sea]

OUTSTANDING!!!! That Agatha is a sweet looking set. Any chance you'd give us a ballpark price for the pencil by itself (rounded to the nearest $500).

[Bisquitlips]

Originally Posted by Deep Sea

OUTSTANDING!!!! That Agatha is a sweet looking set. Any chance you'd give us a ballpark price for the pencil by itself (rounded to the nearest $500).

I don't mind.

The Agatha pencil will run typically cost about $1000.00 to $1500.00 if you can find them. This is including boxes and papers.

[Deep Sea]

Thanks, Richard. I've spent considerably more time searching around Colorado Pen, Fountain Pen Hospital, and other sites, looking at, well, pens that 100 times what my Papermate will do. It is just as bad as looking at multi-thousand dollar watches, when they do the same thing as my Timex Ironman.

You folks will be the end of my bank account!!!!

[metal man]

Here's a pencil you won't see every day. My Great, Great grandfathers pocket watch chain. I've never seen another like it.

[Skullring]

Wow Red. That is a nice one.

[JBat]

There was a time when I would take my notes in college with nothing but mechanical pencils. Nothing as fancy as those shown above, but I loved the precision and consistency of them. I still use them today, for puzzling and the like. I also like wooden pencils, though they get gobbled up pretty quickly. Dixon Ticonderoga 2 5/10 FTW.

[Bisquitlips]

Originally Posted by metal man

Here's a pencil you won't see every day. My Great, Great grandfathers pocket watch chain. I've never seen another like it.

Absolutely gorgeous!!! Thanks for posting this. So rare!