I am looking for any and all information on Sanford offerings. My Grandma used to have several when I was a kid that I always thought were cool. My first mechanical pencil experience that I can remember. I grabbed a Paper Mate Pro-Touch to see if I would even be happy with the quality and I was impressed. Now it has me wanting to try and start getting into the actual Sanford stuff. The Pro Touch and Pro Touch Two are definitely on my list but I’m not finding many and they are expensive. I’ve also added the Digit, Silhouette, Technician, and Zeze to my list. The Zeze looks most similar to the pencil she had but I’m unsure. I do remember a similar grip. She knows they would have been bought between 1987 and 1995. Can anyone help me in finding anything on Sanford as a starting point?
Edit-I can’t type.
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I have not gathered much official info. Sanford was a name I first came across while researching the back history of brands like rOtring and Parker… because in the early 2000s, they seemed to share several product designs like the Esprit expandable pen and ‘chunky’ Newton/Facet.
Found out they had all been acquired at different times by Newell Rubbermaid (of all people). Newell had first acquired Sanford in 1991 to venture into office supplies. So clue #1: Sanford dealt in office supplies.
In 1998, under Newell ownership, Sanford acquires rOtring. I believe Sanford basically acted as the Stationery/Office Supplies arm of Newell. So when Parker was acquired by Newell in 2000, I guess the folks at Sanford thought they had more ‘lego bricks’ to play with. Result: the cross bred Esprit and Newton/Facet etc.
For its own branded pens and pencils I am aware of the Pro-Touch II and Silhouette models, which are OEM designs by Kotobuki. Those 2 were also made for Platinum as a member of the Pro-Use family and for the Hayaai 300-yen, except it ditched the vibrant colors for executive style black and grey. Today you might still find clones made under the Penac name, which is Kotobuki’s in-house brand.
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Zebra and the modern iteration of Koh-i-noor have used this OEM design as well.
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Oh yeah, those funky colors on the Zebra OHDEL…
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Thank you so much! I knew about Paper Mate and Berol but had no idea about the ties to rOtring.
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