Tuesday, August 15, 2017

Mastercraft During the War

The Moore Mastercraft pencil came along in 1938, just a year before the start of WWII.  It was known for its pretty, striated celluloid and what you might call "patterned marble" in colors you wouldn't be embarrassed to use at your office or jobsite.  They had nice bands and clips.  Some had two kinds of celluloid with two bands.  This is my lady's size Mastercraft.


I wrote about it here:  Moore Mastercraft

During the war in the early and mid-1940s, the Mastercraft pencil was still being produced.  Its celluloid was still very nice, with marble, patterned marble, solid colors, and the striated pattern. However, the bands and clips were simpler and more inclined to show wear, and the rivet holding the clip was smooth rather than tooled.  Here is a war-time Mastercraft.




As before, the clip's "Moore" with interlocking Os is the only marking. The standard size was like this one, 4 & 7/8 inches, with 0.9 mm lead, and middle twist mechanism.  The decoration on the clip is a precursor to the next Moore design, the Fingertip.