Tuesday, January 1, 2013

MY KOH-I-NOR PENPOINT HOLDER



When I was seventeen my artist father gave me a wooden Koh-i-noor crow-quill penpoint holder---the No. 106A.  I've always used it with the very flexible Hunt's No. 108 "mapping" pen point.  Since that day I've drawn all of my line work with this holder and point.  After many years of use, the wooden handle, dipped  into ammonia innumerable times for cleaning, began to crack.  The finish peeled off.  Then the metal gizmo that held the penpoint inside the handle broke. My father was able to fashion a new gizmo out of a piece of brass.  But I began to fret.  How would I possibly draw line work if the handle broke completely?  Koh-i-noor was no longer manufacturing this tool.  I visited art store after art store, hoping that one would have an overlooked penpoint holder in the back room.  When the internet and Google became a reality, I periodically searched for the penpoint holder.  No luck.  All I could do was hope that the holder---now a disreputable version of its former self---would struggle through the remainder of my career without falling completely apart.
A short time ago I idly Googled this penpoint holder once more.  It popped up:  someone on Etsy was selling it.  That can't be right, I thought.  I checked, double checked, triple checked.  Yes, it was my penpoint holder.  It wasn't available anymore in the dark red of my original.  But I could buy it in black or natural.  I made my order; and to make up for my previous lack in foresightedness, I ordered six, 3 of each color.  (I had already stocked up on a large supply of the Hunt's No. 108 points, in case those also went out of production.)  Based on how long the first holder has held up, I figure I am now equipped to continue drawing line work for another... oh, 300 years or so.

9 comments:

  1. oh, i do love a story with a happy ending and this is a very happy ending! thank you.

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  2. Wendy, this is exactly what Bill would have done - except he would have bought enough for 500 years!

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  3. I'm so happy for you Ms. Watson. I love your illustrations. You are an inspiration!

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  4. The funny thing is---even after going to all this trouble to find my replacement pen point holders...I'm still using the original one! Probably will continue to do so until or unless it literally falls apart.

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  5. Yup, I understand using the old stand-by. Glad you found replacements, though! So, are you planning to keep drawing for another 300 years or so?? Just wondering. Have fun! (Hey, you could paint the natural ones red, if you wanted!)

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  6. Do your holders have metal prongs in them because I can't seem to find any that hold mapping pens .

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  7. Yes my holders have metal prongs at the open ends. I use Hunt's #108 mapping point. It is a very flexible crow-quill pen point that fits these small holders. Note: It's a crow-quill, not the larger pen point size (i.e. for a larger holder). Does this help?

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