On Fri, 19 Sep 2008 17:40:58 +0100, Sir William
wrote:


Hello folks,

I notice there have been some previous thoughts about four-colour
pencils...please forgive me if I am going over old ground.

I have a pencil marked "FOUR HUE" "Made in England"..with spare
coloured leads in the barrel...and the mechanism strikes me as being
both clever and unusual.

If you turn the top of the pencil it works like an ordinary propelling
pencil - moving the lead in and out but - if you fully withdraw the
lead and then continuing turning, the mechanism clicks and will then
produce a different coloured lead. You can do this sequencially and
produce the four different colours - each of which will operate as a
normal propelling pencil.

There is no other name or mark on the pencil, which is chrome finish
and machine patterned in alternating panels.

Can anyone enlighten me about this unusual pencil (if indeed it is
unusual). Age, maker, value etc. I would be most grateful

Thanks in anticipation.

William

Guard your Four Hue. You have a treasure.

You are right, the mechanism of the Four Hue is clever and unusual.
Definitely not out of the familiar Norma/Fend pedigree of mechanisms..

I have not dismantled mine, but I suspect the mechanism is the same as
that of the Johann Faber 8010. Both work in the same way, though the
Faber uses 2 mm, not 1.8 mm, leads.

Getting leads is a problem. At 1.8 mm in diameter, they are much
larger than the standard 1.18 mm of most four colour pencils. There is
no regular source. Best to get 2 mm leads and gently sand them down to
fit.

I got my Four Hue 18 months ago on Ebay for the absurd price of 1
English pound. Postage cost me 3 pounds.

They are not, so far as I know, sought after collectors' items.
Nevertheless I suspect they are scarce as hens' teeth. Probably the
product of a falsely hopeful English company in the 1940s or 1950s.
Then the ball pen took over.

I have read a claim that the Four Hue was made by M. Myers & Son,
Birmingham, but that is not stated on my pencil. Perhaps the
information came with a boxed specimen.

I may be teaching you the obvious, but a good idea is to remove the
leads and then spray down the front with an anti-corrosive lubricant
with lanolin. In Australia there is a brand by Inox called Lanox. Work
the mechanism and bit, and then shake out the surplus lubricant before
putting the leads back in. I have brought to life hopelessly stiff
pencil mechanisms by doing this.