PencilThings Select™ Indelible Ink Pencil - round barrel, indelible graphite/aniline dye lead. Successor to Sanford NOBLOT Ink Pencil 705, called "A Bottle of Ink in a Pencil."

The bad news is that Sanford discontinued producing the excellent NOBLOT indelible ink pencil. We have none on hand and cannot obtain more from Sanford or its distributors. For reference purposes only, the now-discontinued Sanford NOBLOT Ink Pencil 705 "A Bottle of Ink in a Pencil" may be seen in the "Click for more images" area.

The good news is that our own PencilThings Select™ Indelible Ink Pencils are an excellent replacement. The lead writes as if it were ordinary smooth dark grey graphite lead, but it is indelible. In fact, it is a seductively smooth-writing "graphite" pencil, and you must be careful to separate it from regular graphite pencils. If you write very lightly and erase very carefully with a vinyl eraser in a dry environment, the markings will erase. The indelibility is due to the dyeing of the surface written upon, which is "fixed" by writing firmly, by the rubbing action of mechanical erasure, and further intensified by dampening or exposure to humid environments (your "hot, foggy" breath close to the markings will do). To assist you in keeping this lead away from anything you do not want permanently marked, one end of the pencil is capped with a metal ferrule, and we supply a point protector with each pencil.

This lead does not break as easily as our Veritas indelible pencil leads, but a little more easily than the Sanford Noblot pencil did. The aniline dye component weakens the lead slightly as compared with usual clay/graphite leads. The Select™ Indelible pencil writes more darkly and with a slightly broader line than the Noblot did. We suggest sharpening it to a short point, rather than a long one. The body is round, which assists you in continuously turning the pencil during use to keep the lead pointed. Because this pencil lead is not identical to the Sanford Noblot 705 pencil it replaces, we encourage you to obtain a free sample before purchasing a substantial quantity. If you would like a sample, please write sales@pencilthings.com.

Notice We are selling our limited number of remaining prototype indelible pencils on Amazon, in batches of 144 pencils for $129.95 (90 cents each) with free Amazon shipping. They will be available at Amazon.com by August 1st. The prototype pencils feature the same lead as our PencilThings Select™ Indelible Ink Pencil, but have no identification imprint on the barrel and are not permanently capped on one end with a metal ferrule. We supply a point protector with each indelible ink pencil. The barrels may be round or hexagonal and may be painted brown or dark blue.

Indelible ink pencils also are know as: copying pencil, railroad pencil, copying-ink pencil, transfer pencil, log scriber pencil, hectographic pencil, tattoo pencil . . .

IN STOCK: A short-point KUM sharpener excellent for use with these indelible pencils. Kum has agreed to supply PencilThings with just the sharpener/point protector component of the Blue Ocean set. This hand-held sharpener gives that wonderful steep, short, solid point that comes on many factory-sharpened pencils. The pencil is held firmly in the insertion hole, so the soft indelible lead is much less prone to break. As you use the pencil, you will sharpen away far less of the lead and wood casing each time you tip it off. It is a disposable sharpener, because the blade is screwed into a plastic body. But the blade should last a very long time when used with these soft-lead pencils. It sells for $2.50. We love to find good solutions for pencil needs and think you will agree that this is one!

Another viable solution for sharpening these pencils to a shorter, less sharp point is to use the larger hole (11mm) of a two-hole hand-held pencil sharpener. With a little experimentation you will end up with a short, stout tip.

The lead is manufactured in Europe. The pencil is made in the USA.