What metal holds eraser in the pencil?

There is a short metal tube sleeve of soft metal that holds eraser in the pencil.

Does anyone know what exactly that metal is? Is this kind of tubing available anywhere?

Reply to
alexkuzn
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I've seen both aluminum and brass used. Don't have a clue where you'd buy it in that configuration, though. It's most likely something made specifically for the purpose by the manufacturers of pencils. You might check out what is available in the way of thin walled tubing.

Harold

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Reply to
Harold & Susan Vordos

Why? What is your application? There may be a better metal available that someone could suggest if you give some specifics.

Reply to
Rileyesi

Steel with a brass colour is also something I've seen often.

Reply to
Ian Stirling

I've a bunch of pencils with the eraser worn down. Could let them go pretty cheap.

Joel. phx

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Reply to
Joel Corwith

Small diameter brass and aluminum tubing is available from places like K&S as well as other suppliers. The K&S stuff is telescoping.

-- Bob May Losing weight is easy! If you ever want to lose weight, eat and drink less. Works evevery time it is tried!

Reply to
Bob May

from my recent experience w/a 3rd grade science lab, it is not magnetic, and it is not aluminum unless it's also plated. this was interesting to the kids that paid attention and the teacher, too.

w/o some lab work of my own, i wouldn't want to speculate futher.

--Loren

Reply to
Loren Coe

Reply to
Grant Erwin

Brings to mind:

"So what if it's wrong, that's what they put erasers on pencils for."

"Yes, but you're supposed to use up the lead before the rubber."

Jeff

-- Jeff Wisnia (W1BSV + Brass Rat '57 EE)

"If you can keep smiling when things go wrong, you've thought of someone to place the blame on."

Reply to
Jeff Wisnia

Officemaxium, Scriptoium or Pentelium?

It isn't magnetic so it isn't plated steel. It's brighter than aluminum or a zinc alloy would be. A file proves that it isn't plated brass. I'd guess it's a soft stainless steel alloy that is easily stamped and formed.

It isn't tub>There is a short metal tube sleeve of soft metal that holds eraser in >the pencil.

Reply to
Don Foreman

After reading some of the posts, maybe you could e-mail EberhardFaber and see if they will fill in the information gaps. Ken.

Reply to
Ken Sterling

Henry Petroski's classic book "Pencil" says that economy pencils will have a ferrule of aluminum; better grades will use painted ones, "historically of brass." During WW II when metal was in short supply, plastic ferrules were substituted.

Jack Smith

Reply to
Jack Smith

I dunno DoN, I've looked at a couple of pencils here and I can't see any seam where they would have been joined. Looks like tubing, and then it is rolled and crimped (some with a design). Ken.

Reply to
Ken Sterling

You could ask somebody such as these guys:

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I'm thinking some kind of deep-drawing process. Maybe they trim a bit off after the drawing in a progressive die in order to make it into a tube. Anyone know for sure?

Best regards, Spehro Pefhany

Reply to
Spehro Pefhany

OK, I was bored and did some research. Looks to me like the ferrules are made out of a lot of different kinds of stuff. Even saw a reference to plastic.

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ferrule is made from 70% recycled (post-consumer) aluminum

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ferrules are made of aluminum or steel.

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ferrule

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banded brass ferrule

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copper ferrule

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ferrule

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ferrule

BTW I found that one particular pencil, the Eberhard Faber Blackwing 602, (now out of production) is so valued that some are paying $20 for one when they can find them. Read about it here:

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Lane

Reply to
lane

Wrong "Don" here. You were replying to "Don Foreman", not to me. I'm the only one who uses that strange mix of upper and lower case (which happens to make it into either my first name or my initials, if you count the small 'o' as a fat hollow period. :-)

It has been some time since I last used regular pencils, but I seem to remember a seam with overlap where flat metal was rolled to get the ridges, and then wrapped around the pencil body. (But, they may well have changed since I last used them. I prefer ink FWIW.

Enjoy, DoN.

Reply to
DoN. Nichols

Sorry 'bout that DoN. I'll try to be a little more careful with the shift key in the future. Ken.

Reply to
Ken Sterling

i agree unless the al is oversprayed to prevent corrosion.

that at least fits the properties i have seen this week (on current product). --Loren

Reply to
Loren Coe

I buy Dixon "TICONDEROGA" 1388/2/HB a.k.a. soft pencils by the box of boxes.

They are my favorite type outside of some drafting ones.

It has a minor line where the two halves are joined.

I have used pencils that seemed to be made from sawdust or mush and glue. They sharpen funny - and even more so with a knife.

Martin

Reply to
Eastburn

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