-
The First Mechanical Pencil
It was the first mechanical pencil to be made. It was screw based. It was invented by Slavoljub Eduard Penkala. It was found aboard the wreckage of the HMS Pandora, which sank in 1791. -
The First Mechanical Pencil to be Patented
It was the first mechanical pencil to be patented, and it had a spring feature, which allowed you to put the lead in from the bottom by pushing on the top. It was invented by John Isaac Hawkins. -
A.W. Faber-Castell
It was the first mechanical pencil with a twist-feed mechanism, which allowed you to twist the top to put lead in. It was invented by invented by A.W. Faber. -
Ever-Ready Sharp Pencil (The Eversharp Pencil)
A screw based mechanical pencil, and it started the business called “Sharp”. The pencil was invented by Tokuji Hayakawa, who was the founder of this business. -
The Boomerang
It was the first ratchet based mechanical pencil, invented by Charles R. Keeran. It was made in America around the same time as the Eversharp pencil. -
The Fixpencil
It was the first modern clutch pencil, which are the most common kind of mechanical pencils used today. It is similar to a ratchet based pencil, but clutch pencils use much thicker lead, and have different (but simpler) mechanisms. It was invented by Carl Schmid. -
Thinner Lead
The 0.9 mm lead was introduced, followed by the 0.3, 0.5, and 0.7 sizes, as clutch pencils became more popular. These are commonly used lead sizes today.