How did they sharpen pencils?

[vmescher]

Personally, I think an excellent subject for an article would be a description of the various tools and devices available and used for writing in our period. Pens, handles, erasers, blotters, wafers, the ubiquitous "red tape", etc. All defined and given illustrative examples might be just the ticket for the blooming writer.

I did an comprehensive article on pencils, erasers, and sharpeners that appeared in the August/September 2002 issue of the _Citizens' Companion_ . Maybe at some time I'll expand on the original article and put it up on our web page. I would like to include the various paper sizes also. Stationery supplies and handwriting of the period are interesting subjects.

[Rob]

Mike,

I think that your observation on the "ink erasers" is dead-on. These are constantly being offered for sale on ebay as "CW scalpels" and CW bleeders" and other falderal. Now, in fairness, some surgeons DID use the ink eraser as a lancer or small scalpel. They did so because in many cases, they were required to purchase and/or provide their own instruments, especially in medical school. The Ink eraser was much cheaper than a scalpel, and made a handy tool when given a good edge.

However, it was still made to be an eraser, and was a darned common item, so common that it's often not even mentioned much, or when it is, is misidentified by current readers who mistake it for the rubber variety.

Personally, I think an excellent subject for an article would be a description of the various tools and devices available and used for writing in our period. Pens, handles, erasers, blotters, wafers, the ubiquitous "red tape", etc. All defined and given illustrative examples might be just the ticket for the blooming writer.

Respects,

Tim, and all,

I own a handful of these ink erasers. Some of them still have their sheaths, which are made of pressed paper, much like some of the eyeglass cases of the time. I can personally vouch for the fact that these are quite sharp enough to do surgery with, having inadvertently performed some "surgery" on my hand with them.

For a good description of writers' tools, see Schnapps' School of the Clerk. With his kind permission, I can send you (or anyone else who might be interested) a copy, if you'll drop me a line with your e-mail address. (Large file - 1.3 MB)

I've also got several photos of inkwells and ink erasers I can share, if anyone is interested.

[Pvt Schnapps]

Tim, and all,

I own a handful of these ink erasers. Some of them still have their sheaths, which are made of pressed paper, much like some of the eyeglass cases of the time. I can personally vouch for the fact that these are quite sharp enough to do surgery with, having inadvertently performed some "surgery" on my hand with them.

For a good description of writers' tools, see Schnapps' School of the Clerk. With his kind permission, I can send you (or anyone else who might be interested) a copy, if you'll drop me a line with your e-mail address. (Large file - 1.3 MB)

I've also got several photos of inkwells and ink erasers I can share, if anyone is interested.

I'm having a weird sense of deja vu here, thinking I'd already responded to this. Anyway, here's the thread on the AC Forum with the "School":
http://www.authentic-campaigner.com/...ead.php?t=6461, and Rob you certainly have my permission to send it. It needs (and will eventually get) another rewrite, as well as to be broken down into smaller, more digestible chunks, but between Chapter VIII and Appendix 4, it's got most of what I know about material culture.

A friend of mine recently lent me a 1943 WD book on Company Administration, which included suggested supplies for the company desk. Interestingly enough, there were no penknives or pencil sharpeners but there was still a steel eraser. There were basically the same as the "ink knife" variety used nearly a century before, and would certainly do the job.

[Greg Renault]

Attached is a pic of some steel erasers, with the cases that Rob mentioned. I also have several of these, and regularly use them when in the field. In my opinion, every reenacting clerk should have one; after all, if you write with pen and ink, you need an eraser.

Note these steel erasers have a rounded top and flat bottom to the blade. This is the most common design I come across. The rounded portions of the top and bottom portion of the blade erase quite well, but the flat, bottom portion of the blade does not, because it cannot bear on the paper. Notice that it is rather knifelike; I find that it works well to either slice paper, or sharpen pencils. I cannot imagine what else that portion of a sharp clerical tool would be used for.

Greg Renault