Round Mirado
A round Eagle Mirado, paired with the hexagonal version:
While it’s fairly common for a particular brand of pencil to be made in different forms, usually the models are given different product numbers (Mongol 480 and 482, for example). Here, both are 174.
Wrong
From time to time I’ll be exhibiting pencils with errors or odd features, grouped into categories, of course. This post will feature problems with pencil tips.
But does “tip” refer to the end of the pencil that may have an eraser (its usual meaning), or to the sharpened end (which seems better described)? The ambiguity of this term has always bugged me. I will mean the former, usually.
Missing ferrule:
Wrong end:
Wrong color:
It’s Registered
Here’s an interesting pair of old pencils. Although they are from different companies, their designs are too similar to be coincidental —
The Handy Pencil was made by American Pencil Co., while the Cock Pencil is from Staedtler. They both start with BBB in the same style.
Following that, they both have appropriate logos — the Handy Pencil has a nice pair of hands, while the Cock Pencil sports a handsome
rooster. If one is imitating the other, I’d say it is American’s Handy, which has “Register” (an error?) in place of the “Registered” printed on Staedtler’s Cock
Pencil.
American Splendor
Two Splendors, nearly the same, but the upper one doesn’t have a No 2. It also lacks crimp marks on the WWII-era plastic ferrule.
Product Number Variation
Occasionally the product number associated with a particular brand of pencil will change with time, such as when Dixon’s Ticonderoga 1386 became 1388. Usually this change is accompanied by an update in design. But here are a couple of pairs for which only the number is different:
I suspect that for these, the product number printed on the pencil depended on the manner in which it was sold, for example individually or in a packaged set.
What a Stud
Sometimes wooden golf-scoring pencils were fabricated from partly finished regular pencils. In this case, to humorous effect.
Lefty and Righty
Most modern pencils are “right-handed,” the text being upright when held for use by a right-handed person. Many very old pencils have a “left-handed” design. Here are some with both handednesses:
The upper Laddie is probably an error, with the wrong end factory-sharpened. But it would be a lucky find for a left-handed student.
Blog note: I just got a new job in a new location, so postings will be less frequent for a while. But keep visiting. I’ve got lots of great things to show you!
Fred's Pencils 
Recent Comments