The latest addition to my
leadholder collection, the
No. 120 Tru-Point Automatic Lead holder, was obtained through an
Ebay auction. I think this might be the very first American made leadholder to join its counterparts from Germany, Japan, Czech Republic, Switzerland, and China that make up the bulk of my
sketching kit.
I was pleasantly surprised that the seller included the pristine box, display card, and advertising insert with this NOS
leadholder. The leadholder is made entirely out of metal, feels well-balanced, and its "
hybrid pushbutton spring clutch / pushbutton incremental advance" basically prevents the drawing lead from falling out accidentally when the push button is depressed. Each push advances only enough lead for pointing in a sharpener in a controlled manner.
Paper Insert featuring the entire line of
Tru-Point professional drawing products in the 1960s through 1970s. Given the current state of the drafting industry (completely dominated by software at the exclusion of analog tools), the only tools actually manufactured in the USA would belong to the bygone era of the early to mid XX century.
The No. 120
leadholder disassembled into its component parts.
Close up of the clutch jaws piece.
The opening on the green push button was not a lead pointer, but an access port for new lead refills
New lead refill could be easily loaded through the push button without taking the pencil apart.
The leadholder arrived loaded with a
6H lead which was surprisingly smooth for such a hard grade.
6H and
3B test doodles on regular printer paper.
3B test doodle on
Piccadilly sketchbook.
Test doodle on
Rhodia Reverse book. The
No. 120 Tru-Point Automatic Leadholder would make a fine addition to any
leadholder collection considering it's unique push button incremental advance feature and solid metal construction.
Recommended. 
The latest addition to my leadholder collection, the No. 120 Tru-Point Automatic Lead holder, was obtained through an Ebay auction. I think this might be the very first American made leadholder to join its counterparts from Germany, Japan, Czech Republic, Switzerland, and China that make up the bulk of my sketching kit.
I was pleasantly surprised that the seller included the pristine box, display card, and advertising insert with this NOS leadholder. The leadholder is made entirely out of metal, feels well-balanced, and its "hybrid pushbutton spring clutch / pushbutton incremental advance" basically prevents the drawing lead from falling out accidentally when the push button is depressed. Each push advances only enough lead for pointing in a sharpener in a controlled manner.
Paper Insert featuring the entire line of Tru-Point professional drawing products in the 1960s through 1970s. Given the current state of the drafting industry (completely dominated by software at the exclusion of analog tools), the only tools actually manufactured in the USA would belong to the bygone era of the early to mid XX century.
The No. 120 leadholder disassembled into its component parts.
Close up of the clutch jaws piece.
The opening on the green push button was not a lead pointer, but an access port for new lead refills
New lead refill could be easily loaded through the push button without taking the pencil apart.
The leadholder arrived loaded with a 6H lead which was surprisingly smooth for such a hard grade.
6H and 3B test doodles on regular printer paper.
3B test doodle on Piccadilly sketchbook.
Test doodle on Rhodia Reverse book. The No. 120 Tru-Point Automatic Leadholder would make a fine addition to any leadholder collection considering it's unique push button incremental advance feature and solid metal construction. Recommended. 
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2 comments:
Looks like a great find. Old NOS stuff is always interesting.
Ebay has proven dangerously addictive after discovering the existence of vintage NOS drafting supplies.
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