This anachronistic mechanism might seem a little out of place here amongst so many modern clutch, click and knock variations, but I really enjoy these pencils simple external sliding advance and retract mechanisms
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I have never held one like this but honestly I think I’d prefer it over a twist mechanism.
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I’ll do the twist if I have to, but I prefer to sliiiiide!
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Cha cha slide?
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slots o’ fun…slip slidin’ away…
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Sliding in a few more versions: the Germans seemed to love these (sliding cam) gizmos, although the English had theirs and a couple of American (silver ) misc examples…
black ones are English EMGEE roller and ROLLEX
HAACK was the biggest player…made vesions in from 1.5 mm to 3 mm
Even FEDRA got in on the fun
Three “other” German makers
and the East Germans got in on it…E ROLAND
..
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Ah, lovely!- Always loved that Rollex with its tiny reverse lock component behind the roller! Haak, of course, yes- some great ones there.That Wolffs one evades me still, though… so cool they made that. Never found one. Have a couple of those Rolands but can’t use them with confidence- the plastic is thin and wobbly I found? Lovely to see these all!
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I love how they used to put these extra-bold and often totally nonsensical names on their pencils, typically between quotes.
«No.505 “ARMANDO”»
Just a smidge away from a war cry. ARMANDO! from the Italian “preparing for the war / setting up the wargear and the weapons” Love it! 
PS: While I like the sliding mechanism as a general idea (and I praise all the showcased executions presented above by @TheGoodPhite and @lsd300), I think the twistaction system generally offers a more reliable system of lead retention, in the sense that it is a bit harder for the pressure of the tip on the surface to be enough for the lead to glide back into the chamber. I see that many of these pencils have developed various systems to prevent such nuisance, but I still consider the slotted barrels as an evolutionary dead end, even though a fascinating one.
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Yes, absolutely. A rudimentary mechanism and, one suspects, the reason we don’t see them any more?- Though I do rememeber a magnetic slider, without a slot, on kickstarter I backed a good while ago, that had a twist lock nose that was cool.
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My vote goes to the Fedra by alot. I have no idea how it feels but by the look of it I think it’s both functional and definitely very good looking!
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I think I spotted that campaign: the design looked interesting. I confirm I remember it being about a magnetic slider (and possibly a grip section held tight precisely by the clamping pressure of the thumb and the index fingers holding the mouthpiece, but this last detail might as well regard a different campaign for another pencil).
Who knows? Maybe there will be a renaissance of the sliders someday. I doubt I will ever truly appreciate the system, as the progressive erosion of the lead core (and, thus, the advancement of the diver part) will get in the way of my hand, and act as one of my dreaded pocket clip, which I remove or even file away whenever possible.
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And a clutch of almost Christmas cracker novelty quality litho tinplate sliders that Germany seemed to manufacture in their thousands at one point…
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This one is the British Manufactured version of the Haak patent slider, almost indistinguishable, save for the barrel imprint and rebrand…
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Well golly-gee-willakers, I had never laid eyes on a single item in this thread until today. A new world opens up before me.
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These are fantastic, I love them all! (Even the tinplate ones.)
For what it’s worth, here is my meagre contribution to the field, already in need of update:
I do have a short story about the sliding Addiator pencil still waiting to be typed up. If it finally sees the light of day, all credit is due to this thread for reviving my enthusiasm.
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Oh that’s YOU Alan! I love Graphography. Just a wonderful blog
These were the two possibly you were thinking of- the Penxo (2015), top and the magnetic slider Hribarcain ‘Magno’ (2016) below? both were Kickstarter projects, which I have always had a weakness for!
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Yes and yes! They both seemed pretty interesting, but the Penxo remains the coolest piece from the pair — and a serious candidate for the gold medal at the “most grip parts in a one-part pencil” international award.
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