Product Description
Type Vintage Mechanical Pencil
Product Name This is in the Balance family, and it is the mate to the fat oversize Balance "senior" pens.
Manufacturer and Year Sheaffer 1930s (they produced this pattern from 1929 to 1934, and used this long humped clip starting 1929, so that dates this pencil to 1930-1 at the latest)
Length 5-1/4"
Filling System This pencil takes 1.1mm (thick) leads. A packet of leads will be included.
Color Black celluloid embedded with "floating" pieces of cream colored celluloid. Gold plated trim. The color is quite nice, which is unusual because the cream colored pieces do tend toward the amber color on most examples you see out there.
Condition Very Nice condition with no cracks, dents, or dings. This is a sleek, shiny, beautifully colored pencil. The cap and barrel have light to moderate scratching. There is a gouge, about 1/4" long, in the top portion, to the left of the clip, and seems to be one of a number of bite marks. The cone and cap band have moderate microscratching. The clip has plating wear on the ball and in the lettering. The imprints are clear. There is a small personalization on the lower half of the pencil, "BU D" - it's almost like a set of initials, but there's a slightly wider space between the U and D.
There is a metal pin showing in the top of the pencil, see photo. We've always been intrigued by some of these pencils which seem to suggest the very pointy top of the cap was a separate piece. Now that we've seen this one, which has a line showing the two parts, it makes us think that these parts were connected with a metal pin which would somehow reinforce the fragile pointy top.
