Waterman 3 Leans into the Future

Although I have another Waterman pencil in this same dark terra cotta marble, this is a model new to me:   the Waterman 3 pencil made to be sold alongside the Waterman 3 lever-fill fountain pen.  Presumably the 3 came before the 7 pen, which was sold in 1927.  The 3 pen was available in hard rubber, but transitioned into celluloid marble.  Possibly this is true of 3 pencils, too. 

Waterman 3 Pen.  Image courtesy of Peyton Street Pens.

A flat top combined with the riveted ball clip signals the model.  It is a nose drive pencil of 4 & 7/8 inches using 1.1 mm lead.  It has chrome trim, but gold trim was available.  The clip is marked "Waterman's" wherein the two a s are italicized.  It also has an incised inscription on the back of the cap, WATERMAN'S, REG US PAT OFF, MADE IN USA.  The cap unscrews to access the eraser.

The riveted clip is similar to the Waterman 91 pencil, and the cap screws off in the same way, too, but the 91 has a shaped rather than flat top, and has no name logo on the clip.

Above you can see the stylistic differences in the clips.  Below you can see the same marble as was used in the 95 pencil, which coordinated with the 5 fountain pen.  The band size is the same, and the cap screws off in the same way.  They both have two-part tips, but the 3 tip is longer and more tapered.

So, the 3 pencil carried an older-style clip, updated with a name logo, and was made with a marble and a tip style that was used into the future for 95 and Thoroughbred pencils up until they were phased out in 1939. Sadly, they named this marble "Brown" in the catalog.  

It is much too handsome to deserve that!

Autopoint with Metal Cap

Autopoint is an interesting company to mechanical pencil collectors because, unlike many other pencil makers, they weren't particularly obsessed with pens.  Yes, they made them, but it was pencils that were the mainstay of the company.

This black, ten-sided, nose-drive pencil has a ribbed metal cap covering the eraser.  At 5.75 inches, it is long and slim, too, with a plain, straight clip.  Sadly, the clip's chrome finish is in poor condition.  Under the cap is where to look for the Autopoint mark:  "Autopoint" in italic script, "PAT AND PATS PENDING, MADE IN USA, CHICAGO."

Thanks to Jon Veley for dating this pencil to the mid-1940s.  The model was called the "new lightweight" Model 72, and a notice has been inscribed on the side of the pencil that it is "FOR Real Thin LEAD."  The words Real Thin are in the font Realite used on their pencil clips.  Realite owned the Autopoint company from 1923 on, calling the merged company Autopoint Products Company.

In spite of its slightly tatty condition, I like this unassuming pencil.  It makes me want to look at Autopoints more often.

The Autopoint Twinpoint is discussed here:  https://pencilponder.blogspot.com/2016/12/two-points-of-view-uh-lead.html

Two Realites are shown here:  https://pencilponder.blogspot.com/2013/05/seeing-realite-red.html

Black Moores

Two Moore pencils from the 1930s came my way, but instead of colorful celluloid, they are as black as a raven's wing.

The smaller, 4.5" middle twist pencil does have a tiny top of yellow marble with a black dot like a bird's eye in the center.  Made in the early 1930s, this pencil still has the Moore 1925 patented ball clip marked Moore with the Os intertwined. The pencil uses 1.1 mm lead.  There is gold-tone trim, and an imprint on the top half which reads "THE MOORE PEN CO. BOSTON, MASS. USA." It has the thirties-era streamlined shape, introduced by Sheaffer in 1929, but it is a chunky version, all of 3/8 inch thick.

Keeping up with the trend, the Moore Mastercraft was introduced in 1937-- much more streamlined and slender, with a pointed metal jewel at the top holding a newly-designed clip. 

A Mastercraft pencil is a pleasure to hold, and uses the more modern 0.9 mm lead.  Measuring 5", this all black Mastercraft is a man's pencil, while the lady's  Mastercraft is a petite 4.25 inches.  You can follow the link to see it in a previous post.

Its only mark is "Moore" inscribed on the clip.  In the photo below you can see the bullseye-style metal jewel.  The gold trim is untarnished.  A ribbed band divides the middle twist pencil in two.

 You can see a 1940s man's Mastercraft in striated celluloid in this previous blog:  

Mastercraft During the War