Today I received this box containing a
gross of vintage
Tru Point 3B drawing lead won on a recent
Ebay auction, that would be 144 drawing leads for those not familiar with that unit of measurement. Since they were marketed for
American leadholders manufactured between 1967 and the mid 1970s, it would follow that they are at least over 30 years old. It was a pretty nice touch that the bottom of the box had been wrapped with a textured paper that gave it a stained wood look.
The leads were packaged 12 per plastic tube that was labeled "
Tru Point Products, Inc. Coloma, Mich. 49038 - Imported West Germany". Each lead was marked "3B TRU POINT MADE IN GERMANY". The plastic caps did not attach securely to their plastic tubes, so it was fortunate that the capped tubes fit snugly in their box. As soon as I poured the box on my drafting table for the first time, several tubes rolled open spilling their contents. While they provide some protection against shock, each individual tube would have to be taped shut to transport the leads safely in them.
Paper insert found in each tube of leads. The
Tru Point website still features their
lead pointers, but it does not mention any proprietary leads among their current product range.
The
Tru Point 3B drawing lead was quite pleasant to sketch with on a Piccadilly sketchbook. Reasonably smooth with just a hint of scratchiness that generally I do not find in newer modern leads. Since their darkness was quite similar to that of the sample marks of the
Faber Castell TK9071 3B 2 mm leads, I would suspect that they were probably outsourced to a Faber Castell factory or to a now defunct lead manufacturing plant in Germany. When evaluating vintage lead auctions and before bidding on large lots of drafting leads you might want to keep in mind your preferred grades for sketching and the cost per lead after adding shipping and tax charges. Many auctions often include several boxes of leads of the really hard grades (3H through 7H) which are of very limited use for artists, so I would not count them in determining the cost per lead of a given lot. With a bit of patience and some comparative shopping, it is not too hard to find some competitively priced drawing lead deals in grades not often found at retail (which is pretty much limited to HB these days).
Today I received this box containing a gross of vintage Tru Point 3B drawing lead won on a recent Ebay auction, that would be 144 drawing leads for those not familiar with that unit of measurement. Since they were marketed for American leadholders manufactured between 1967 and the mid 1970s, it would follow that they are at least over 30 years old. It was a pretty nice touch that the bottom of the box had been wrapped with a textured paper that gave it a stained wood look.
The leads were packaged 12 per plastic tube that was labeled "Tru Point Products, Inc. Coloma, Mich. 49038 - Imported West Germany". Each lead was marked "3B TRU POINT MADE IN GERMANY". The plastic caps did not attach securely to their plastic tubes, so it was fortunate that the capped tubes fit snugly in their box. As soon as I poured the box on my drafting table for the first time, several tubes rolled open spilling their contents. While they provide some protection against shock, each individual tube would have to be taped shut to transport the leads safely in them.
Paper insert found in each tube of leads. The Tru Point website still features their lead pointers, but it does not mention any proprietary leads among their current product range.
The Tru Point 3B drawing lead was quite pleasant to sketch with on a Piccadilly sketchbook. Reasonably smooth with just a hint of scratchiness that generally I do not find in newer modern leads. Since their darkness was quite similar to that of the sample marks of the Faber Castell TK9071 3B 2 mm leads, I would suspect that they were probably outsourced to a Faber Castell factory or to a now defunct lead manufacturing plant in Germany. When evaluating vintage lead auctions and before bidding on large lots of drafting leads you might want to keep in mind your preferred grades for sketching and the cost per lead after adding shipping and tax charges. Many auctions often include several boxes of leads of the really hard grades (3H through 7H) which are of very limited use for artists, so I would not count them in determining the cost per lead of a given lot. With a bit of patience and some comparative shopping, it is not too hard to find some competitively priced drawing lead deals in grades not often found at retail (which is pretty much limited to HB these days).
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2 comments:
Very nice! It's great to learn that this vintage lead is high quality.
Do you own a Tru Point lead pointer?
Thanks Stephen! I am quite happy with this lot of graphite lead, for it performs well and should last me quite a while.
Nope, I have not come across a Tru Point lead pointer yet. Though I do not rely on rotary models all that much. My KUM Deluxe Lead Pointer 23A has proven reliable enough even with daily use.
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