Just a mini update for my Keuffel & Esser collection… I know they were a drafting supplies company (much like ALVIN) but I think I simply fell in love with the K+E logo and their choice of green as their main color. These 3 are rebranded versions of the Faber-Castell TK-fine 9707, TruPoint Automatic, and a KIN 5611 (probably direct from the factory in Italy).
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Hmm. 580435. Another one that says no to barrel and grip separation.
Edit:
@Knockologist - FYI - I got some strange formatting when I started this comment with ‘580435.’ See below for how it clipped the number. Adding indentation didn’t help, but adding ‘Hmm’ corrected it.
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Yeah that logo is gorgeous 
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Yesss… I was always curious as to how the grip was attached on those FCs. Never tested anything to destruction though.
Didn’t know about that. Interesting piece.
My K+E sub-set stops at the three MP’s produced by the company (or rather, by the company for its first iteration, and by Pentel or some other OEM for the next two iterations) to complement their amazing Leroy Lettering Sets — namely, the Leroy ‘020’, the Leroy ‘022’ and the Leroy ‘0.5’. I think I got all three from Dan Linn, at different points in time, as buying the sets was not part of the plan back then.
By the way, I am utterly convinced that the wooden-barrel, twistaction Leroy ‘020’ is an example of a 0.4 mm MP in disguise, as the 0.5 lead I tried to fit in the mechanism is not accepted seamlessly by the writing tip. The ‘022’ and the ‘0.5’, on the other hand, work just fine with 0.5 mm lead cores.
I’m curious to try their “Draftsman’s ‘036’ Thin Lead 58 0366”, but I’m afraid the hexagonal barrel might not be the best for writing, as I tend to prefer cylindrical bodies; also, their prices went up since the glory days, and my priorities have shifted elsewhere in the meantime.
P.S.: the KIN 5611 branded variant is almost certainly from Italy: that silver imprint with the elongated stroke of the “T” is unmistakable, and shines on so many variants of that classic design.
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Have you tried 0.4 in the 020? I can’t recall if I tried that.
Not yet, but it’s in the checklist. And I hope it works, because those super-tiny ‘020’ lead cores are veeery hard to find. I have a small stock — which will surely outlive me — but still.
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Totally. I was sweating while tinkering with it, ‘really got to save this 020 lead, nothing else fits’. But it is not as if I am using it at all.
If nothing else works, I’m thinking about writing to these guys: https://www.legendaryleadcompany.com
I’m not there yet, but every time I look at the K+E ‘020’, I’m inching closer to that moment.
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