Onward!

By Armand B. Frasco on 07.25.05 10:27 pm

In case you might have missed it, the best book on the design history of your favorite writing instrument is “The Pencil : A History of Design and Circumstance” by Henry Petroski. Your “Pencil History” section really needs to reference this book.

The Pencil takes you blow-by-blow through the evolution of the pencil showing how geography, happenstance, and determined engineering by many (including Thoreau) have made the common pencil “almost invisible in its perfection.” Every engineer and usability designer should read this book.

By SJones on 08.29.05 1:30 pm

Thanks, SJones. We are fans of Mr. Petroski’s book, to be sure. The history section is a work in progress and currently links only online sources for now.

By PRevo on 08.29.05 2:35 pm

After locating this site from the Yahoo reviews, I’d like to chime in. Long ago there was a wooden pencil. and then in 5 grade I got my first mechanical pencil - a Scripto. This pencil was the finest mechanical pencil made and I still search for one that offers similar features at any price level. The only drawback was that they were a little fragile. I have ONE still in new packaging and I hope to open it only when I located a replacement that warrants the use of the last “new” Scripto on the planet!

By Timothy Barksdale on 02.13.06 7:35 am

Please bring back the Scripto mechanical pencil! I miss them dearly. They were cheap in price and extremely dependable. The lead was long and thick and held up well to heavy-handed pressure. The lead was easy to reload as were the jumbo erasers. Furthermore, the pencils didn’t break when dropped. I don’t understand why pencils of inferior mechanical mechansims using thin and easily breakable lead along with their scrawny erasers would replace a superior product. It’s another case of where a newer (”nifty”?) design is not necessarily better.

By Don Banks on 05.28.07 11:38 am

I have been a collector of Scripto for many years. They now do not make anymore pencils or pens only lighters

By George Fox on 02.21.08 12:42 am

The older Scripto pencils and leads are available at
www.roger-russell.com/scripto.htm

By Roger Russell on 04.04.08 8:44 am

I agree, agree,and agree more. Bring back the old Scripto with the 1.1 lead.

By Mike Andrews on 04.07.08 2:23 pm