Thanks for this, Patrick. Really fascinating! I had not known that graphite was discovered in a UK mine and that later, the most refined lead was found in China.
But what really got meâKoh-i-noor. The name reflecting the rare diamond! And interesting that yellow is a reflection of âgold.â Koh-i-noor really set the standard, not just with color but also the hexagonal cuts. It DOES help with anti-roll⌠not dramatically for steeper surface angles, but slow enough to catch. But I also imagine it may have been done for the ease of printing/engraving of the wood for branding and other info.
Itâs also interesting to see the tremendous range of yellow shades⌠from an orangey cadmium yellow to a bright lemon yellow. I also wonder if itâs just a coincidence that school buses are also a common graphite pencil yellow color.
I had no idea Koh-I-nope was so old!
I donât know if lead holder guru Dan Linn is on this forum, but if so, my apologies for borrowing a photo of his (originally posted to the Drawing Instruments group photos section, only accessible by members).
These mechanical pencils combine many of the themes mentioned above - yellow colour, Koh-i-noor (Hardtmuth) in their earlier Austria days, hexagonal section, and even British Graphite. Theyâre also made of wood (mostly). Pity they donât have erasers.