Lead And Erasers For Vintage Parker Pencils?

[Fuzzy Logic]

I caught eBay pencil fever last month. The result: I now own two vintage Parker pencils, an orange Duofold and a black Parker 17. The Duofold has a couple minor chips, but I really like the feel of the weight and the grip. The 17 is a small, focused instrument -- 4.75 inches long -- and feels very solid and nimble. Although the 17 came with a stick of lead (0.9, I believe), the Duofold is empty.

 

I've found 1.1mm lead that might fit the Duofold, and I'm confused about the options. I was tempted to get vintage Parker lead for my vintage Parker. But there's much cheaper new lead. Will it fit? Will it be darker than the old lead -- that would be a win! (My favorite lead for thin pencils is dark and soft: Pentel B. I hate to have to press hard to get a light gray, washed-out line.) On the other hand, would B lead smear too much in the fatter 1.1mm size?

 

I wish Pentel made 1.1mm lead. Online, I've found 1.1mm lead by Yard-o-Led (H, HB, and B ), Retro 1951 (HB), Autopoint (half-length B leads, some colors), and Scripto. Any suggestions? The 17 takes 0.9 lead, so I'm thinking about just ordering some Pentel lead and having a go with it.

 

I'm stumped about the erasers. The Duofold's looks similar to pictures of the Retro 1951 erasers -- anyone know if they would fit? (I say "similar," but the eraser in my pencil smells like a cigar, and, come to think of it, has a cigar-like color and texture. Hmmm)

 

Thanks for any and all tips. If this post is out-of-order on the pen forum, I apologize, and will look for a more suitable place.

 

--David

[Tweel]

I have a Vacumatic pencil with a 1.1mm B, current-production Autopoint lead in it. It doesn't smear, although you can certainly rub away the soft mark with a fingertip. Works fine, in other words.

 

-- Brian

[AlanE]

Modern Leads are fine and are available in different grades. Yard O Led make a 1.1, ive used the B grade and its just right for me, fits in Victory and Duofold Pencils. The leads are slightly longer than they need to be but you can always break them in half or discard the extra little bit.

 

Alan

[jbb]

I've caught the mechanical pencil bug lately too.

Edited October 2, 2010 by jbb

[nxn96]

I personally find that for the wider (1.1mm) leads, HB works better than B, because the softer B leads flatten out so quickly and cause the lettering to be less "crisp". For me, B works better for the thinner (0.9 or 0.7) lead sizes. I've never had a problem with Autopoint leads, both the modern and the vintage.

[John B]

I found some erasers at amazon.com. I think they are for the reissue Duofold pencils but am hoping they will work on the vintage.

[OldGriz]

I buy my erasers and lead for old Parkers from Pendemonium....

[John B]

The erasers I got off amazon are too big for the vintage duofold pencils.

[Fuzzy Logic]

Hey John -- sorry the erasers didn't work. I wonder if it matters which Duofold you have? I read today that the non-jr length is 5.5 inches. Mine measures 5.25 inches. I don't think it's a Jr. though, since it just says Parker Duofold Made in U.S.A. On the clip, above "Parker" is PAT SEP 5 16. I was going to order a tube of the new Duofold erasers. But I just ordered a Retro 51 Tornado, and it will come with a spare eraser and lead. I'll try those in the Parker and see.

[WilsonCQB1911]

Sorry to resurrect a dead thread, but I can't find info on this anywhere.

 

I have an old Duofold "Big Bro" and want to replace the eraser. Any suggestions?

[ajcoleman]

I have replaced erasers on Parker 51 pencils and 45 pencils with the vinyl eraser pulled from a disposable Bic pencil. I typically put these in without the metal sleeve found on the original erasers. Another option: buy a refill eraser for a Pentel Twist Erase pencil or one of the long Pentel Click erasers and cut them to the length you need. So far I haven't had any trouble finding erasers to fit the vintage Parker pencils I have acquired, and the vinyl erasers made now days work much better than the pink rubber erasers, even when they are in "new" condition.

[WilsonCQB1911]

The eraser on this Duofold is rather oversize. It dwarfs the eraser on my Autpoint Jumbo, which I thought was big. So finding something big enough is a bit of a challenge. I have an assortment of eraser refills on the way from Amazon that I'm going to try to see if I can find a working solution, but I was hoping that someone might already have been down this rabitt hole.

[Fuzzy Logic]

Thanks for reminding me that I have this orange Parker Duofold pencil! I've been using my Retro 1951 Tornado pencils lately -- I like them, but the Parker fits my hand better, and the mechanism has less slop in it.

 

The Retro leads say 1.15mm -- I just tried half of one in my Duofold, and it seems to be staying put, but it didn't seem to grab quite as well when I inserted it the first time. Is this 1.15 lead the same stuff as the 1.1 lead (just fewer significant figures)?

 

I bought a tube of Parker Duofold erasers. These are the pink kind. I can jam one into the pencil, but I had to slice off about 4mm off the top for the cap to fit. My pencil lacks any kind of collar for the eraser, so I just jam it in. White, plastic erasers would work better, but I can't find any that are big enough. My Retro erasers look almost wide enough -- they might fit, except they're not at all long enough. My twist-erasers are definitely too skinny.

[welch]

I buy my erasers and lead for old Parkers from Pendemonium....

 

 

If Old Griz (Tom Mullane) suggested it, then do it. Pendemonium usually notes the Sheaffer erasers hat fit P51 pencils. Most P51 pencils are .9mm...or close enough that it doesn't matter.

[1930artdeco]

one of the long Pentel Click erasers and cut them to the length you need

That is what I did for my Duofold Pencil. It was 'just' a bit undersized so I wrapped it in aluminum foil several times and jammed it in. Works like a charm now.

 

Mike

[pen lady]

Regarding erasers, and this is a bit of a "macgyver' fix, I've used the empty eraser tube like a cookie cutter. I shove it straight down into a regular, rectangular eraser and cut a new one that way. It's sometimes a bit wonky and you have to wiggle the newly cut eraser out a bit and re-position it, but better than nothing.

Edited December 24, 2014 by pen lady

[amirazar79]

Hi!

I have question. I recently got a Parker 45 set (Fountain pen, Mechanical Pencil and a Ball Point pen).

The set is made in England with gold trims. The MP as a cartridge refill of pencil leads which contains leads with unknown gauge for me. I've tried 0.9 mm leads but they were lose. I wonder it is 1.0 mm or 1.1 mm. Can any one help me on this matter?

[amirazar79]

[J English Smith]

Reviving this old thread - just looking for any suggestions on replacement erasers that will fit the vintage (c. 1929) Duofold Junior pencils (gold appointments, pull off gold cap), which seem to want about an 8mm eraser. Or, good kluges to adapt a slightly smaller available eraser using a shim or sleeve. Thanks for any advice or counsel.

[Kalessin]

A little sandpaper and a 9mm eraser may do the trick.

The only 9mm erasers I can think of off the top of my head are modern Parker Duofold, and Retro 51.