Eberhard Faber Microtomic “Van Dyke” Drawing Leads 6100 Eberhard Faber Pencil Co., Brooklyn, New York, USA
	lead type lead size available degrees/colors package quantity package composition production date origin graphite 2 mm 17: 6B–B, HB, F, H–9H 12 paperboard circa 1930s–40s USA   see also Eberhard Faber Van Dyke No. 610 leadholder

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	Eberhard Faber Microtomic “Van Dyke” Drawing Leads 6100 Eberhard Faber Pencil Co., Brooklyn, New York, USA
	lead type lead size available degrees/colors package quantity package composition production date origin graphite 2 mm !7: 6B–B, HB, F, H–9H 6 paperboard with wood core circa early 1950s USA case of lead boxes (1/2 size) see also Eberhard Faber Microtomic No. 610 leadholder Eberhard Faber ad from April 1954 Architectural Record

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	Eberhard Faber Microtomic Drawing Leads 6100 Eberhard Faber Pencil Co., Brooklyn, New York, USA
	lead type lead size available degrees/colors package quantity package composition production date origin graphite 2 mm 17: 6B–B, HB, F, H–9H 6 paperboard with wooden core late 1950s USA    see also Defiance Sales Corp. catalog, 1955, p 249

The silver colored boxes have sandpaper strips adhered to the wooden core to use for pointing the lead. Eberhard Faber's plastic “One Hand Flip-Top Lead Insertor” box went a step further and incorporated a bladed lead pointer into the package.


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Open package showing sandpaper sharpening surface.

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	One Hand Flip-Top Microtomic Lead Insertor No. 6100 Eberhard Faber, Wilkes-Barre, Pennsylvania, USA
	lead type lead size available degrees/colors package quantity package composition production date origin graphite 2 mm 17: 6B–B, HB, F, H–9H 12 plastic box with steel blade circa 1953 USA   see also Eberhard Faber Microtomic Ad Flyer, 1957 Eberhard Faber Colorbrite No. 3100 Flip-Top Lead

	Microtomic Hi-Density Drawing Leads 6100-2 Eberhard Faber Pencil Co., Brooklyn, New York, USA
	lead type lead size available degrees/colors package quantity package composition production date origin graphite 2 mm 17: 6B–B, HB, F, H–9H 2 paper tube (1950s) USA case of lead tubes (1/2 size)

	Microtomic Drawing Leads 6100-2 Eberhard Faber Pencil Co., Brooklyn, New York, USA
	lead type lead size available degrees/colors package quantity package composition production date origin graphite 2 mm 17: 6B–B, HB, F, H–9H 2 plastic tube with eraser end caps circa 1950s USA    see also Eberhard Faber Microtomic 609 leadholder

This tube is capped on each end with the legendary Eberhard Faber flat adjustable eraser. I know, I know. Legendary? But dig this: The out of production Eberhard Faber Blackwing 602 wood cased writing pencils, which used such an eraser, now sell for, like, $50 each! What's so special about them? Nothing, really. Eberhard Faber, or whatever they are called now (probably owned by Sanford or something, but I don’t feel like bothering to look it up right now) claims the Blackwing 602 is identical with the exception of the eraser to one of their pencils which is still in production (too lazy to look up which one right now, though I know I wrote it down somewhere), but diehard 602 fans will hear nothing of it.

Gee, I almost forgot to explain why a pencil in so much demand would no longer be manufactured. The probably apocryphal story I heard claimed that the old machine which formed the specially shaped ferrules for the flat erasers broke, and since the Blackwing was the last pencil to still use the old erasers it was determined not to be cost effective to repair the machine. Of course the cost calculations were not based on $50 per pencil.