I remember Autopoint mechanical pencils from when I was a kid. Not because I used them regularly, but from the fact that my grandfather’s art studio had them in nearly every drawer, or on every desk.
They were there because in the 1970’s, and I’m sure before and after, Autopoint did a lot of corporate branding work. I remember Exxon and Esso models specifically (my grandfather was in the oil business), and mostly I remember the big, bulky design of the pencil. I didn’t recall the name of them until I saw them show up recently at JetPens. Seeing that design brought back a wave of memories and I knew I had to get one to try out.
I went with the basic red 0.9 mm model. They don’t come any finer that that, but that is ok. These pencils were made to be used hard, and the width and strength of the 0.9 mm lead helps out with that. The same goes for the bulky barrel and large eraser.
One of the calling cards of the Autopoint design is how you refill the lead. You unscrew the tip of the pencil, unscrew the plunger, load a single lead, then put it back together. The pencil is twist to extend, too, so most of the action is up front.
The rear of the pencil can hold your spare leads under the eraser, and you will need them because they are half size leads. I hate to call them proprietary because you can snap other leads in half to make the length work, but it’s easier to just buy the Autopoint refills I think. As a bonus, they do come in a variety of colors.
The eraser itself works better than I remember, but that is mostly because they were petrified on the old pencils I used. Hooray for fresh erasers!
Auto point pencils are still made in the USA, come in several colors, and also in the amazing Twinpoint model, which I remember liberating from my grandfather quite frequently. I need to pick one of those up soon as well.
(JetPens provided this product at no charge to The Pen Addict for review purposes.)
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